Rumblings from Nifty Galoot » Nifty Galoot

Turning and Piling Compost

Nifty Galoot — Tue, 20 Apr 2010 16:50:09 +0000

A short time ago several truckloads of partly composted cow manure were delivered by a neighbor. Yesterday proved to be a good day to turn and pile the compost. I got the TD-6 international crawler tractor running for the first time this year and got the job done. Took some video of the compost being turned:

After turning a few more times, this should be some great compost to spread in the fall for next years market garden crops.

First Day of Spring 2010

Nifty Galoot — Sun, 21 Mar 2010 01:40:35 +0000

Sunrise was beautiful this morning on the first day of Spring. I’ve been taking pictures every day this Winter and Spring. Most days it’s a short walk to the mailbox and along the road, some days it’s a little longer walk along the river bank, and on a few days it was ‘Open the door a crack, stick out the camera and take a picture.’

Here’s one of the photos I took this morning:

20 March 2010

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I think it’s one of the best photos I’ve taken these past few months. There were quite a few other good photos too, here’s another one taken of the dawn:

12 February 2010

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Of course… The dog really enjoys going for a walk in the mornings. She’s not easy to capture in a photo, just doesn’t stay put for long or hold a pose well. A few times the camera was able to capture her in a good picture. Here’s one of her drinking from water on ice in the Mississippi river a couple of days before the ice went out:

14 March 2010

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It’s been fun taking pictures every day even if it’s sometimes hard to pick the best one from a whole lot of good ones. And… There are a few days when it’s just hard to get a good picture. Oh well… That’s just the way it goes sometimes.

Hilling Potatoes

Nifty Galoot — Fri, 03 Jul 2009 14:23:29 +0000

The potatoes are coming along nicely and it was time to hill them. Got the tractor set up and did that yesterday.

Here’s a short video of the hilling:

The Allis Chalmers model G tractor was made for truck farming and works good for a small potato patch. This tractor was made in 1950 and has 4 forward speeds. Special low lets you creep along and road gear lets you cruise at 7 mph. It’s powered by a 4 cylinder flat head Continental, 62 cubic inch engine. This was rated at 10 hp in it’s Nebraska tractor test.

Dirt is mounded up around the potato plants so the spuds won’t poke out of the ground as they grow, and turn green from the sun. It’s also a chance to bury some weeds.

The spud plants in the video are red ones, the russet spud plants aren’t quite as big, yet.

Did you see Raven getting into the action? She really loves to run!

The Day Dawns

Nifty Galoot — Sat, 20 Jun 2009 21:15:07 +0000

It was a nice foggy morning with the Sun just up in the sky after loading the truck for Farmers market. There was just enough time for a quick walk with the camera before it was time to leave. I think the camera did a good job of capturing the beauty of the dawn.

Click on a image to see it larger:

Sun above the Oaks

Fog on the River

Foggy Sunrise

Dawn above the Rye

Dew on the Rye

Pretty Bright Flowers

Nifty Galoot — Mon, 25 May 2009 17:23:58 +0000

Pretty Bright Flowers by Kent Lorentzen

Bright colored flower plants were blooming at last week’s Farmer’s Market. They make a beautiful photo.

One of nice things about selling my garden goodies at Farmer’s Market… Is seeing all the great things other vendors bring. This time of year there are lots of lovely flower plants all ready for folks to put in their gardens.

I try to snap some photos each day I’m there… Once in a while I’m lucky enough to capture a really pretty image.

Pretty Bright Flowers by Kent Lorentzen — View Larger

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New Websites

Nifty Galoot — Sun, 22 Feb 2009 23:59:44 +0000

Some online friends and I have been working on getting new web sites set up to sell products featuring some of our favorite subjects.

A gal that loves horses and equines of all kinds has created Longears Love, a site that features Mules, Horses, Zebras, and much more on great products and gifts.

Her Mules in Harness section shows great mules being useful.

Looking at the Mules has brought back good memories of watching the Francis the Talking Mule movies. Now… That was one smart Mule! They were a fun series of movies done in the 1950′s with Donald O’Connor as the co-star.

For something a bit different… There’s Dress Wicked.com featuring Goth, Punk, and Halloween designs.

I’ll confess I’m not into the darker stuff. I do like a bunch of the Cute and Spooky designs the webmistress has picked for her site. Cute Devil Baby brought a smile… Don’t we all know some cute kids that get into lots of mischief?

Moving on to Sweet Tees & Cakes… Which is about… You guessed it… Food!

I wonder how hungry she got picking out designs and products to feature on her website?

Just looking at the Fruit and Veggies section makes me want to nibble on something. And… What’s better to nibble on than some fresh Fruit or Veggies?

Last, and hopefully not least… The site I’m working on… Nifty Sky. Photographic gifts featuring beautiful Sunrises, Sunsets, Rainbows, and Clouds.

I love how pretty nature can be with her lovely skies. What better way to share the wonder of nature than with Greeting cards, Calendars, Mugs, or others gifts with pretty photos? Something as simple as a Lone Tree under Clouds can be such a pretty sight.

I’m sure we’ll all be busy adding more good stuff to our sites as time goes on.

Beaming Sunset

Nifty Galoot — Sat, 14 Feb 2009 16:54:30 +0000

Beaming Sunset by Kent Lorentzen

Glanced out late yesterday afternoon and saw an orange sky. Oh my… It was the sunset. Grabbed the camera, threw on a jacket, hat, gloves, and boots, then headed out to try and capture the lovely sky.

It’s so hard to know when taking the pictures how they will turn out and if any will do justice to the view. Several turned out decent and a few others could be improved if they were cropped

This one… Is just the way it came out of the camera.

Beaming Sunset by Kent Lorentzen — View Larger

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Turned out to be a nice winter sunset with the orange beam of light shooting up into the sky. There are enough clouds to color the sky nicely with the orange tint from the setting sun. It’s not every day you get such a view.

Pretty Dawn Sky

Nifty Galoot — Fri, 06 Feb 2009 15:35:03 +0000

February Sunrise by Kent Lorentzen

This morning’s dawn sky had pretty colors, so I grabbed the camera and went out to capture some photos of the pre-sunrise sky.

Here’s one that that’s not too bad:

February Sunrise by Kent Lorentzen — View Larger

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I took this from the road in front of my house looking across the Mississippi river at the pine trees on the East bank. The river is completely frozen over and snow covered after the cold weather. You can see some snowmobile tracks on the river and there are a bunch of animal tracks too. Deer, fox, wolves, and whatnot.

Reviewing a Cardinal print from Loxly Gallery

Nifty Galoot — Sun, 01 Feb 2009 18:40:49 +0000

This is a nice giclee print of a Cardinal that I received from Loxly Gallery. What a beautiful bird and photograph, the print quality is outstanding.

Here’s a photo I took of the print:

Red Headed Cardinal from Loxly Gallery

Click on the image to view it larger.

The photo doesn’t do justice to the print quality or show all the great color and detail that show up when looking at the print in person.

Here’s how the print is shown at Loxly Gallery:

Cardinal (Tucson) #3881 by Vincent O’Hare

Summing it up… I’ll give a thumbs up as my Review rating to Loxly Gallery for producing a great print! I’m sure to enjoy it for a long time.

Computer Helper…

Nifty Galoot — Sun, 04 Jan 2009 13:08:21 +0000

Oh yes… I often get help at the keyboard, whether it’s wanted or not… First there will be a little nudge on the right hand or I’ll notice something weird appearing on the monitor screen. Oh! It’s just Raven coming to aid in getting something done on the computer…

Raven helping type

Click on the picture to view it larger.

Dogs can be so helpful… And are real good typists. I thought as camera shy as Raven is… maybe it’d be hard to get a picture of her. Well, as you can see, she isn’t a totally camera shy dog.

I wonder if other folks with critters in the house get help at their computers too? Do any of them have pictures to show?