The Mighty Jackson

Nice work roddie, and finished with smiley face stepping stones.

I have one just like it. Used it last year to mix cement and build a retaining wall.



I keep it somewhat protected on the front porch of the cabin.

Hey! Two Roberts.. Bob Bob for apples.. I digress

dckrsn wrote:Yep, A quality tool for sure,Roddie. I'm on my second, probably my last.
Another Jackson piece I've used a lot, is their mortar pan.
Mod # MP1 or 1MP?
Works well if you're just whipping up a bag or two of
Sakrete or similar concrete mix.
Also, the project looks nice, well done.
Bob

You'll always be "Bob" to me. rsv1cox (Robert) is Robert to me. I like the pan. I used a poly one when I set the cobbles around the base of our swimming-pool. The pan worked real good for this application. One mix (bag) would set at least six cobbles . It was easy to drag the pan along.. without having to stand-up, shovel-out the mix.. and kneel back down to set another cobble.



I made a guage-tool to set each cobble's elevation and offset, using the wall-track as a reference.



Weed-blocker fabric, covered with stone-dust...



then Lynne back-fills with white marble chips.

rsv1cox wrote:Nice work roddie, and finished with smiley face stepping stones.

I have one just like it.  Used it last year to mix cement and build a retaining wall.



I keep it somewhat protected on the front porch of the cabin.  

Hi Robert, You know; I've been worried about you.. since you posted about driving into a hole on your quad.. Jesus Lord. ....... ya know? You've got a helluva' lot of life experience sir. I can only hope to have half as much.

I like the swing.. in your photo. The swing.. is the thing.. It's a relaxing pause.. that opens up the mind to clearer thinking. Whether alone or with someone.. doesn't matter. Sit for a bit.. reflect.

I'm very glad that you didn't get hurt on the quad. I hope to get more images/intel on the old Buick Riviera that's down the road in storage. My brother inquired that same area for vintage Dodge Power Wagons. There were no less than a dozen late 1940's trucks in that locale. (gone now unfortunately)

I do have a line on a mid 60's Cadillac Coupe De Ville ragtop..






A Musician friend of mine has a Used-Auto dealer's license.

I'm seein' somethin' like either this...



this..



or this...



Imagine cruising up USI95N into New Hampshire or further.. for a week or so, in a big ol' Caddy..

roddie wrote:
I do have a line on a mid 60's Cadillac Coupe De Ville ragtop......

A Musician friend of mine has a Used-Auto dealer's license.

I'm seein' somethin' like either this...



this..



or this...



Imagine cruising up USI95N into New Hampshire or further.. for a week or so, in a big ol' Caddy..

Looks like the ultimate "fair weather" band rig Roddie!  
Load up the boys and hit the road (unless you're in lockdown like me ). We haven't been able to travel outside of our state since March, plus we lost about 3-4 band gigs that were coming up.  Haven't even been (legally)able to get together to jam/rehearse.

I too used to get confused with Bob, Bob (aka Robert), Rob, Roddie and Rod...

That Jackson is a classic, so is the Caddy

KariFS wrote:I too used to get confused with Bob, Bob (aka Robert), Rob, Roddie and Rod...

That Jackson is a classic, so is the Caddy

I answer to most anything including - "Hey you!"

When annoyed Mom called me ROBERT SCOTT, Mark too but with a heavily accented ROBERT.  My wife just called me Bob or Bobby, a hold-over from our high school days.  When annoyed she just gave me - The look - which was quite often.  She loved that swing. She would pick pine cones off the ground sit on that swing and just contemplate. Looks like Lynne has a bad case of carpel tunnel or a broken thumb or wrist.

I love those old Cadillac boats roddie.  The dirty white convertible on the trailer gives me chills.  Years ago I would have torn into the thing "like a monkey on a cupcake."  Some Everyone Loves Raymond quote of seasons ago.

OK.. six months since Robert (rsv1cox/Bob Vining) posted. "Robert".. you paint a picture with words that I often see so clearly, like I was once a visitor.. or acquaintance in another life. Many of you people write that way.. and it makes it a pleasure to read your posts.

The "Mighty Jackson" emerged from the shed this weekend. Time to transplant/harden-off some seedlings started a few weeks ago. Got out the homemade  "sifter"; a 2' X 2' square-frame of 1" X 2" pine with a 2' X 2" sheet of 1/4" hardware-cloth stapled to it.




I have a dirt-pile...   (you people should all have one) which receives the previous seasons dirt.. roots.. emptied from pots the following Spring. I shovel some onto my sieve-frame.. and sift into the "Jackson".



Peat-Moss is mixed into the dirt,, which is what we transplant our seedlings with. Yesterday we transplanted some Basil.. because Lynne makes Basil Pesto.. and we by-chance scored a good deal on "Pine-Nuts" (Pinoli, Pignoli) Pine-Nut WIKI

a key ingredient often substituted with walnuts.. but lacking the Pine-Nut essence.

Then there are several Nasturtium seedlings.. a Crimson Red variety chosen to attract/invite hummingbirds to our property.

We're experimenting with bird-bath/fountains this season. I'd seen videos of bird-fountain/baths and wanted to dive-into the concept. Still-water bird-baths can attract mosquitos to breed.. but the fountains prevent that.. because of the moving/oxygenated-water.



The above fountain-bath is solar-powered. I watched a vid on the subject..  ordered the fountain-parts and built mine. I am happy with the results. It runs on sunlight.. period. A large-enough basin will feed the fountain for "weeks" providing the return-bowl catches most of the fountain-splash.

Love your home-made fountain solar powered bath roddie.  I would think nothing less than you scratching out a clone. Is it something that birds use?  We always had bird baths in Florida.  We would watch the birds flap their wings and splash water all over themselves.

I have made a few of those sifters myself, using mesh just like yours.  Wish I could take you on a camera journey that I made yesterday.  Previous owner left a small planter box that he and later I grew tomatoes and corn in.  Timbers rotten, but the black soil was excellent.  Didn't get out the Jackson, but instead used the ATV and Craftsman cart.  Shoveled out the soil filling the cart and used it to fill low spots in the lawn and Ground Hog/Fox dens out in the field.  

All that's left.



My dirt pile doubles as a fire backstop.  Burned off a Lot of those limbs cut last year a couple of days ago during a rain storm.



Area to the left was the brush pile, thankfully now gone, some of my back along with it.  

Hey Robert! I like a nice contained brush-fire. Wish I was there to help you! Hope your back-ache is gone. I eat ibuprofen like candy.. so I can relate.

The fountains are fun to make. It takes some messing-around with different tubing.. and drilling-out the assorted spray-nozzles to get the desired flow.. but they'll be fun to watch. I bought three kits.. and built a second fountain this evening. I'll fill the "bowl" with water tomorrow afternoon after work to test it.




Tomato stakes are used to suspend the solar-panels. The chip-dip containers hold the panels and the stakes are fastened with little zip-ties. The wire-harness from the pump has a weather-proof connector that screws-onto a short pigtail at the panel. The fountain-kit doesn't come with tubing.. so that must be sourced. I used some latex/surgical tubing leftover from when I made some sling-shots.. (remember when I posted about those?.. )

"Chain-Drive" baby! That's what it's all about!!

Last Fall I gave the old Jackson the "Slime" tire-sealant treatment.. which worked like a charm! My homemade sieve was again used to sift the soil for the annual plants that Lynne and I bought this past week.





Several years ago.. we bought ten 18" railing-planters made of welded wire.. that originally had cocoa-fiber liners. Their brackets are adjustable to fit wooden railings 2 X 4 to 2 X 6 width.



The liners lasted a few years.. but then started to break-down (rot).. so we lined them with "weed-block" landscaping fabric for a few years. The welded-wire frames however; have stood the test of time. They've always been out in the elements.. but show no signs of rusting.



They had to be done every year though.. which was labor-intensive and being of a black material; they got hot in the sunlight.. which caused the soil to dry-out sooner.



Last year I decided to try making 5-pc. liners from a surplus of thin (3-4mm) plywood that I had brought home from work. I figured out the required angles to the planters' "trough shape".. I used my compound-miter saw to cut the 50 pieces needed.

We didn't use the planters last year.. so this is the first year trying them..

This is more strange than funny, but for the last couple of days this thread and my "Jackson" has been on my mind.  A premonition maybe, but not unusual for me.  It motivated me to go out and check on it and snap some pictures.

Neglected, the Jackson doesn't get any use since I bought a tractor.  I sits on the front porch of the cabin unused.  It's so much easier to load the bucket of the tractor climb aboard and move stuff.  But it did serve a purpose.  It transported 77 (I'm a counter)  loads of fill dirt from the dirt pile (why I bought it) to where I placed the shed a distance of about 200 yards, it took me about a week.  My son probably moved an additional 10.

And to add.

Shortly after I typed the above I watched the American Heros Channel (AHC), a story about a British Lancaster crew on their last mission (30) before they were eligible for leave and a six month rest.  The title of the episode is "Wing Walker".  

The mission was a dangerious one, deep into Germany.  They made it and dropped their bombs but on the way home they were jumped by a FW-190 which set their #3 engine on fire.  Conventional methods did not put it out so a crew member volunteered to climb out on the wing with a fire extinguisher and put it out while others in the crew fed out his parachute lines holding him.

While this was happening the FW-190 returned finishing the job.  The pilot losing control ordered the remaining crew to bail out while the wing walker slipped off the wing and was gone.  The pilot went down with the plane.

The remaining crew landed in a field in France were captured and taken to a hospital to treat their injuries.  While there they noticed a badly burned airman wrapped in bandages with casts on both legs.    

The crewmans name was Norman Jackson.   He had slipped off the wing with a burning parachute and landed hard breaking both legs then crawled into the village on elbows and knees.  

After the war ended he was awarded the Victoria Cross asking "What the he// for."  Story related through archives and his son.

The Mighty Jackson indeed!

Definitely the Mighty Jackson.. The Mighty Airman Norman Jackson!!!