Running Bear's May 2025 Coffee Shop

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Marlin - Really neat picture. How'd you keep the dog in check?

Willie, she's a Great Pyrenees. She definitely didn't think it was a predator and probably thought it was just a big goat. It concerns me when my wife takes her out because the dog weighs more than her and if they happen upon a coyote she would get thrown & dragged. I told her if she couldn't get the leash off her wrist quickly to just sit down and hold on with both hands.
 
Na. We’re all tea totalers.

I don’t care for urchin but my daughter and wife and SisIlaw all had some. The lower right* fried things in one pic are the deep fried shrimp bodies/heads. They’re really good.

* when looking at the pic from where I was seated. I think the pics ended up rotated 90 or something

My wife and I are planning a trip to Japan next year. Our son works for a Japanese based company and they give Japanese lessons weekly that he has been taking. He'll be our translator and tour guide. We want to just pick one city to visit like Osaka, Kyoto, or Sapporo. More of a culinary tourist trip than anything else.
 


Good morning all!

Cool weather continues. This is not our typical Memorial Day weekend weather. Usually we are fairly warm
by this time of year. I remember some of the years being in the mid 80s. Not this year, don't think its going
to break 70F today. Sun is out though, so not all is lost.

I actually worked on the layout for the first time in months, and it involved more than just running trains.
I made up several rock castings, and started blending them on the mountains.

Not sure what the day will bring yet, we shall see. Mowing and laundry were done yesterday.

Have a safe day everyone!
 
Good morning all,

43 and sunny here, we just mowed the lawn yesterday and it smells great this morning!

Splitting wood and spraying weeds next on the agenda, with coffee at 930.

I ran trains yesterday and made a few signs for the layout, about half done signing the switches.

Willie, kind of hard to believe that tornado was a year ago!

Louis, praying that you feel well

Have a fine day--

Dave LASM
 
This is not our typical Memorial Day weekend weather. Usually we are fairly warm
by this time of year.
The "cool" weather extends to the Jersey Shore. Right now, it's a damp 58, with a forecast of partly sunny and 65. I recall several Memorial Days like this, but most are significantly warmer. The thermostat shows the inside temperature is 70, and I still have the heat on automatic.

We hope to do some planting today. Air Force is active this morning. No "96" for you!
 
Good morning from Pasadena. Change in plans. Instead of hitting Long Beach and the Port of LA this morning we are going to meet up maybe Tuesday morning. Things kind of dissolved yesterday for both the guys I was to meet up with this morning. I’m not the adventurer I was or I’d have zipped over there myself this morning. It’s about 45 minutes in good traffic is what I was told. Maps this morning at 5am said it was 28 miles and 91 minutes. I thought very briefly about it…

The rehearsal dinner last night was great. Absolutely great food and boy did the booze flow. Lots of winos in the families but mainly the brides (our) side. The hard boozers were on the groom’s side. It was funny as I have met over the last few years most of the groom’s family. That includes his sister who has lived in a nice Madison suburb and was one of the first buyers of the lots we sold a couple years ago. She was unaware until her hubby was spouting off to the groom about where they are now living. The groom said as I was standing there yes I know where you built because Tom showed me the property before he subdivided it. The sister who has basically ignored us for years at get togethers tried to become a good friend.

I met a real live and big named movie star! Joey King is married to my niece’s (the bride) cousin. She seemed like an ordinary person which was cool. The only other star who was invited and accepted but could not make it is because he died last week. George Wendt was a friend of my sister’s family. He is the uncle of one of the brides best friends since kindergarten. He had been to my sister’s house in Illinois for parties over the years. I met him many times years ago, just another guy but always funny.

The brother wants to investigate a few opportunities in San Marino which is next door to Pasadena. Terry is getting ready. It’s always interesting when the brother is on the prowl for an “opportunity”. Even more interesting is when he invites the financial wizard and leaves me out. The last time we were here together he and Terry went in as partners to buy the building my sister lives in, (since sold). Lots of LA and the surrounds are for sale with “great” deals to be found. The weather has been beautiful. The traffic before 8pm in the evening has been a nightmare. The food for dinner has been spectacular. Terry and I agree In and Out Burgers are over rated but we accidentally found Tops Burgers Pasadena and they were great. I absolutely positively could not live here for more than a couple weeks.

The wedding is this afternoon at 4:30. After seeing the drinking last night I am very happy I’m not paying for the booze at the reception (groom family said no last week after agreeing months ago) dinner or the after party.

Willie, I can’t believe that was a year ago already. Wow, time moves quickly.
 
Speaking of Feral Hogs and California.... ;)

When we were out there for the wife's job, took a trip up to Santa Barbara. While waiting on the Wine Tour driver to show up, found this VW bus in the parking lot. The owner came by as I was taking a pic, so we chatted for a while. It's all original on the outside, some mods inside.

He said he'd hit a wild boar a few years before. There's still a dent in the front bumper from it. Said a local stopped and said he'd take the hog and get the DNR tag or whatever was needed, so the VW owner just went on his way.

VW MicroBus 1, Wild Boar - 0

Screenshot 2025-05-24 at 10.52.02 AM.png


And here's some grill action:

grill 1.jpg

Hmmm... similar to a pot and boiling, Does a watched grill ever smoke?

Here's the not wild boar pork butt:
grill 2.jpg


Tom, if you have time, a two or three hour visit to Huntington Gardens in Pasadena is a pleasure. Different flora and fauna in "themed" gardens large enough to get lost in. And they have one or two "Corpse" plants in the arboreum. Wife and I would go about once a month just to spend some time chilling in nature.
 


Feral hogs are a problem in Arkansas too. Lots of folks gear up for it for crop protection, as they can do a LOT of damage. Branson is going well, although a water main broke this AM, it's back on now, so that is good news. Rest of the family got in yesterday/this AM so it will be busy the rest of the weekend. Hit a local hobby shop yesterday, a really nice shop. Picked up a locomotive cradle, a building and some Tamiya paint. Gonna grab another cup of coffee, y'all be good.
 
Speaking of Feral Hogs and California.... ;)

When we were out there for the wife's job, took a trip up to Santa Barbara. While waiting on the Wine Tour driver to show up, found this VW bus in the parking lot. The owner came by as I was taking a pic, so we chatted for a while. It's all original on the outside, some mods inside.

He said he'd hit a wild boar a few years before. There's still a dent in the front bumper from it. Said a local stopped and said he'd take the hog and get the DNR tag or whatever was needed, so the VW owner just went on his way.

VW MicroBus 1, Wild Boar - 0

View attachment 220111

And here's some grill action:

View attachment 220112
Hmmm... similar to a pot and boiling, Does a watched grill ever smoke?

Here's the not wild boar pork butt:
View attachment 220113

Tom, if you have time, a two or three hour visit to Huntington Gardens in Pasadena is a pleasure. Different flora and fauna in "themed" gardens large enough to get lost in. And they have one or two "Corpse" plants in the arboreum. Wife and I would go about once a month just to spend some time chilling in nature.
Thanks. We were looking at that! Maybe Sunday afternoon. I have been told there will be no politics of any kind this trip. Turns out that includes the now cancelled trip to the Ronald Reagan Presidential Museum. We will get there yet…

The pork looks good
 
Feral hogs are a problem in Arkansas too. Lots of folks gear up for it for crop protection, as they can do a LOT of damage. Branson is going well, although a water main broke this AM, it's back on now, so that is good news. Rest of the family got in yesterday/this AM so it will be busy the rest of the weekend. Hit a local hobby shop yesterday, a really nice shop. Picked up a locomotive cradle, a building and some Tamiya paint. Gonna grab another cup of coffee, y'all be good.
Iron Planet is up the road in Springfield
 
Ooopsie!

Forgot to reset which channel on the fireboard controller is connected to the grill ambient probe.

I was trying for low and slow, and got it pumping air into the grill for hot and fast.

So, now I'll just always plug it into channel 1 and not worry about it. And, yes, I misspelled "ambient"

Controller 2.jpg
 
Yeah, Texas and a few of the nearby states do have wild pig problems. I often read about the pig hunts using night vision from helicopters and fun stuff like that... Or even just land based night hunting with fancy night vision or FLIR type sights...

However, did you know that they are not real wild boar? I think all the wild pigs in the US are descendants of "domestic" pigs that escaped over the last 400 or more years, in addition to small quantities of actual Eurasian Boar that were introduced in the late 1800s and into the first half of the 1900s, and that have mixed with the feral pigs populations... The Spanish brought the first pigs from Europe and let them "free range" with De Soto leaving pigs all along his route from Florida to Texas in the 1500s. Columbus brought pigs to some Caribbean islands in 1493 on his second voyage. They've had around 500 years to roam and become feral and to mix and hybridize and become what we know today as feral hogs...

(I did not remember the small amount of real wild boar that were introduced for hunting and escaped in the last 125 years until tonight when I went and looked it up -- they've all mixed and hybridized so that there are probably no pure wild boar left)

There were some European (aka Roosian or Prussian) wild boar imported to the U.S. There were some raised for paid hunting in Central Tennessee back in the '60's. Clarkrange Hunting Preserve was 6000 acres of the hilliest, dense brush you ever saw. I took three of them at a range of ten feet to 25 yards back then. With those "tushes" (tusks) sticking out, they could really tear you up.! They did have hybrids with feral hawgs that were a lot bigger than the Russkies.
 
I finished another under $10 Walthers kit for the next swap meet. Co-Op Storage Shed.

I slammed this out in about 3 hours. I was moving too fast and forgot to put the window glass in, but it's not real noticeable.

I have about 3(?) kits left....unless I find more in storage. I think this is the last plastic one.....thankfully.


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I finished another under $10 Walthers kit for the next swap meet. Co-Op Storage Shed.

I slammed this out in about 3 hours. I was moving too fast and forgot to put the window glass in, but it's not real noticeable.

I have about 3(?) kits left....unless I find more in storage. I think this is the last plastic one.....thankfully.


View attachment 220121View attachment 220122View attachment 220123
I've seen many of those, some still in use, with the window glass missing. I wouldn't bat an eye at that, it looks good.
 


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