Running Bear's June 2024 Coffee Shop

[santafewillie]

Looks like we have a new resident in our neighborhood. This is the scene next door this morning.

Yep! A baby Texas Longhorn. I think that the white cow is the mama, and the brown bull to the left is the papa, since he's the only bull in the pasture. And yes, that eccentric neighbor does have a fountain in his watering pond. I don't know whether the other mature female is expecting or not.

 

[traiNscale]

ey everyone

today was a great day so far! i managed to wire up the H0 layout and i could run my first diesels on it. all turnouts working! iam happy!

wish you all a great weekend!

 

[Grizzled]

Morning folks

62F, all sunshine, and a forecast high of 81. That's a bit too warm for my liking but it obviously can be a whole lot worse.

For the dog owners in the group. My Border Collie LOVES to fetch tennis balls, her little "sister" just like to chew on them. I found a company online that recycles tennis balls for dog play, and they were cheap! 19.95 for 25 balls with UPS shipping! Check out Second Throw Recycle Balls
You should have seen the happy tails when I dumped the box of balls on the living room floor tonight!!

I have two border collie males, one 5 years and the other 7. Night and day difference, sort of like their black and white coats. The older one will fetch anything that can be lofted, the younger one just looks at you and apparently says what are you throwing that away for? Thank heavens for Chuckit's

Not exactly sure what I'll get accomplished today. Another night with way to many trips with my wife to the bathroom.

 

[migalyto]

Looks like we have a new resident in our neighborhood. This is the scene next door this morning.
View attachment 192355
Yep! A baby Texas Longhorn. I think that the white cow is the mama, and the brown bull to the left is the papa, since he's the only bull in the pasture. And yes, that eccentric neighbor does have a fountain in his watering pond. I don't know whether the other mature female is expecting or not.

Don't know much about cows, other than they taste really good!

Are these raised to be the eating variety, or are they for some other purpose?

 

[bnsf971]

Looks like we have a new resident in our neighborhood. This is the scene next door this morning.
View attachment 192355
Yep! A baby Texas Longhorn. I think that the white cow is the mama, and the brown bull to the left is the papa, since he's the only bull in the pasture. And yes, that eccentric neighbor does have a fountain in his watering pond. I don't know whether the other mature female is expecting or not.

I’ve been told the reason for aerators in ponds is to help keep them from becoming stagnant, and any aesthetic benefit is coincidental.

 

[santafewillie]

Don't know much about cows, other than they taste really good!

Are these raised to be the eating variety, or are they for some other purpose?

These particular ones next door are there so that the landowner could regain his agricultural exemption back after turning approximately 100 acres of pastureland into a "Country Estate". However the county tax assessor would only give him back the exemption on 70 acres. Remember from past posts that I have made, this is the fellow who uses a weedeater along 1000' of barbed wire fencing along the county road.
Longhorn beef is good beef for eating. They are very relaxed and friendly creatures, so there isn't as much marbling as Angus or Hereford; and their meat isn't tough at all. Most of the fat is on the outside edges of the various cuts of meat, so it is just as flavorable as a marbled cut. However only about 30% of the Longhorns raised are processed for meat.

 

[santafewillie]

I’ve been told the reason for aerators in ponds is to help keep them from becoming stagnant, and any aesthetic benefit is coincidental.

Except he has tri-colored underwater lights shining up at night!
Aerators can be useful as you pointed out, but are not necessary here due to the amount of relatively steady wind that keeps the water aerated. That and the pond size of almost 2 acres is adequate. While I don't know for sure, I am willing to bet that he also has had it stocked with some kind of fish, which controls algae. Algae is harmful and in some cases deadly to cows.

 

[Bruette]

Willie, thank you for the lesson in agriculture, very interesting!

However only about 30% of the Longhorns raised are processed for meat.

What do they do with the rest?

 

[Sirfoldalot]

WILLIE - Could you inform your neighbor that I would like some of that remaining 70% that is left over?

 

[migalyto]

What do they do with the rest?

I can only guess, but I'm sure some of it ends up here.

 

[bnsf971]

I can only guess, but I'm sure some of it ends up here.

View attachment 192369

Tube Steaks!

 

[PRR Modeler]

Afternoon All,

Started out the day hot and muggy, currently hot and muggy, later hot and muggy, with chances of rain. Same forecast until mid-October. I did the normal Saturday chores followed by running a small coal drag (4-H21a's) pulled by a RS1 and the consist ended with a N8 cabin car for about 90 minutes. I did have to fix one of the trucks on a H21 that sounded like it was rubbing. It looks like we're having youngest grandson stay 2 days next week while daughter and SIL celebrate their 20th anniversary.

Louis- Damn shame about the bridge. I'm glad ACA worked for you. In my experience our wives are our biggest advocates.

Karl- I can imagine how happy your pooches were with the balls. Great layout shot. I had that bldg. on my last layout (on a corner edge) until I knocked it off twice.

Smudge- Cool video. You're right they were beyond stupid and narcissistic (like so many these days).

Troy- Listening to your wife is very important.

David- I hope you had a good visit with your daughter.

Willie- I don't have the patience to paint a bunch of little people. Neat Longhorn's.

Christian- I haven't heard that song in ages.

Jay- Congrats on the model RR milestone.

I hope everyone has a good night.

 

[kbkchooch]

Karl - Is this nationwide computer hack affecting your place of business?

No thank heaven! Our system is by Reynolds & Reynolds. The systems affected are from CDK. Probably the 3 biggest systems for dealers are Reynolds & Reynolds, CDK (ADP) and Dealertrack (Cox automotive). Friends at other dealerships using CDK tell us can't do anything. Writing up service, sales, and parts departments invoices, some can't even order replacement parts or do payroll! Everything is computerized, they are up the creek without a paddle!

BTW, it's 96° outside right now. I'm not cutting grass today!!

 

[NYC_George]

I'm cleaning out the house so it's ready to sell as soon as possible. I put a few things out hoping maybe someone will have some use for them. I'll try to sell most of the train stuff at the next yard sale in September. The office chair & plano bench have been in the garage for the last 3 years. I used the dust to write free on it.
Swal

 

[Sirfoldalot]

CURT - I really like your extended forecast - funny!

We have only made it ti 97F today - it is 1PM - normally the hotest part of the day!
But it is a "dry hot" with a relative humidity of 23%.
Beautiful clear skies!

 

[troyphoto]

Question for those of you with AARP memberships. Does it do any good outside of supplemental insurance?

I’ m about to turn 60, and got yet another mailer today from AARP.

Is the discount any better than AAA?

 

[NYC_George]

Question for those of you with AARP memberships. Does it do any good outside of supplemental insurance?

I’ m about to turn 60, and got yet another mailer today from AARP.

Is the discount any better than AAA?

Troy I never used AARP for anything other than their health care supplement so I'm the wrong guy to answer your question. Hopefully some else can answer you.
Swal

 

[migalyto]

How not to railfan!

 

[santafewillie]

Question for those of you with AARP memberships. Does it do any good outside of supplemental insurance?

I’ m about to turn 60, and got yet another mailer today from AARP.

Is the discount any better than AAA?

I do not have an AARP membership. We looked into it and discussed it with many family members and friends. It's not that expensive but all you actually get is a list of places that offer AARP members discounts; travel, hotels etc; many of which are available to any senior that looks it up on the Internet. For example, they offer a 10% discount at Schlotzsky's; but I get that anyway just by asking! You also get access to games and activities designed to stimulate brain health, including puzzles and quizzes. Your junk E-Mail and snail mail will increase by a factor of at least 10!!! They exist to sell you their products like life, home or auto insurance. In a very few markets, it is competitive but mostly not. A lot of their informative articles are excerpts from articles already on the web. They make a lot of their money by selling your personal information to their stable of business clients, so you will also get E-Mail and snail mail from them as well. Their Medicare supplement when we looked at it was no better than we got from Blue Cross of Texas, but it cost about 10% more. They have an advantage plan as well, but it (along with most others available) exists for them to make a profit.
Better than AAA??? Not from what we found out, maybe about the same. They do offer a comfort zone to those who may be apprehensive about retirement, but if one actually does their homework, much better options exist.
They are actually a non-profit organization, but I have read that their officers and directors live pretty high up in the world. This I cannot verify.
My advice is to check them out along with as many other options that you can, and then decide which ones are best for you. As I already posted, their membership is not that costly and can be dropped at any time. When we looked at it, it was $16/year for a couple, $12 for the first year if you set up auto-renewal.

 

[bnsf971]

How not to railfan!

If you're gonna be dumb, you gotta be tough...