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- We are probably closing the following machines:

- 1 Round Baler John Deere 565

-1 Round Baler John Deere 570

-1 Round Baler CLAAS Rollant 255 RCC comunicator (1 year use)

-1 Round Baler CLAAS Rollant 250R

-1 Round Baler CLAAS Rollant 45

In a month more or less we will have prices.

The little sage loves all things John Deere, and the day before he had devoured the crisp air, the orchard rows and apples everywhere.  Now I faced the door and turned around to hand the little sage the puppies' leashes.  He's 'bigger' now and he can do it on his own.  "Don't help me, Anty." 

Except this time he was underfoot with the almost brand new (but already dearly loved) John Deere tractor toy from the Saturday adventuring.  A few months past the Big Three, the sage started to have a tough time with goodbyes.  Yet here he was now offering to let me (Anty [aka anti-gen-x]) keep the tractor until Thursday. 

How absolutely priceless.  That's cliche I know, but FFS- the state of being true, authentic and still uniquely universal, is how something gets to be cliche, so I'm not taking credit or blame.  It reminds me how absolutely second nature it must have been once to share, to give and receive freely.  Probably still certain that, in the end, chances are good for breaking even or even netting a bit of extra joy.  

I've never been more proud to have been entrusted with the safe keeping of an almost brand new (but already dearly loved) John Deere tractor.   I carried it in my bag to the office today.  "And don't be confused about it Anty, it's a tractor and not a mower, 'cause there's a seat here for the driver.  Mommy and me, we have mowers."

As I went to sleep I thought of how to acknowledge the gesture.  Hey, maybe a 'thank you note', the little sage does so adore a letter from the box especially addressed to him.  I bet I did too, at that age.

Late week, our beloved delivery person pulled up front and brought us a ton of fantastic goodies to play with!

We spent the last few days rearranging, pricing and oooing and ahhing over our new exciting John Deere Toys!

The John Deere toys are of EXCEPTIONAL quality. I say this as a Mum and as someone who is pretty picky when it comes to the quality of plastic toys.

In fact, my dearest friend, who coordinates a university daycare, often pops by on her visits to check out what our latest stock is to update the centre's toy collection.

We both feel that the sturdy-ness of the materials used and the pure thought put behind the activities of the toy are what sets it above.

The toys are made with accuracy, attention to detail and genuine appreciation for the farming and heavy equipment industries.

My current favorite has to be the Big Red Barn Playset and Preschool Collectibles. The Collectible components can be purchased separately and enjoyed or played together as a set.

Our Big Red Barn Playset complete with Farmer and Growing Corn is getting a huge amount of attention from the local children, I think its a keeper!

In my last entry, I posed the question, “would you mind seeing a logo all over your game if it were fun and free?” Many companies wonder about the answer to this question, too, as many “branded” mobile games are provided for free rather than for sale. This means that companies are pouring significant money into game development in hopes that consumers will take advantage of a free download and immerse themselves in the brand environment.

Some brands, though, have achieved the recognition and coolness factor required to charge for the brand experience. Think you would never pay to be advertised to? Let me ask you this: do you own a Harley-Davidson jacket? A LOST T-shirt? Companies do give away promotional items like John Deere caps and bank pens, but some companies have the brand clout to draw consumers in willingly. If you are ever in Atlanta and want to see a branding phenomenon, go to the New World of Coca-Cola Museum. Not only do people stand in line to pay admission – $15 for an adult – to be surrounded by Coca-Cola history and memorabilia for a couple of hours. Granted, there is the sample room, where you can enjoy limitless samples of Coke beverages from all over the world, including some unusual selections like mango fizz. What I really want you to notice, however, is the gift shop behavior. People pore over selections of Coke branded playing cards, picnic sets, clocks, and especially T-shirts, then shell out the money to take the brand home with them and display it for friends and family to see.

Other companies have succeeded in this brand fascination, too, such as Aflac, which in response to requests began selling stuffed ducks that quacked “Aflac” on its Web site. The proceeds – over $75,000 – went to a Children’s Cancer Center, while consumers all over North America played with plush brand quackers.

So how does a brand get to be so beloved? Are there any brands that could bring you to part with your money for more than just the product or service? Would you pay for an Aflac ringtone? Would you buy a Volkswagen Beetle T-shirt? Would you go pay admission to a Purina Pet Park? I'm eager to hear your opinions!

Van het zomer toen het ook nog eens mooi weer was om te hooien, belde een vriend van mij. Hij was bij zijn oom aan het schudden met de John Deere. Dus er heen gegaan.

De 1120 met trommel schudder kwam er aan te pas.

Bruute power.

Mooi hooi geworden!

Er mag ook wel eens wat aan het uiterlijk gedaan worden.

Thomas zit er altijd nog vredig op.

Denk er aan! De hof fotograaf moet je niet over rijden.

Arbo technies ook verandwoord?

Met een gang zeg!

De laatste foto van de 1120 ze hebben nu een 1850 gekocht.

"Our entire economy is in danger."
                                                         President George W. Bush
                                                         September 2008    

"When was the last time you cared about something except yourself, hot rod?"
                                                          Doc Hudson (voice of Paul Newman)
                                                          Cars       

This is a look at two Hollywood icons. One fictitious, one real. One that’s alive and well and one that just died. 

But before we get to our heavyweight match-up let's look at why I've put them in the ring together.

"It's the economy, stupid" was a phrase made popular during Bill Clinton's first presidential bid. It's always about the economy. Well, usually. Understanding economics can help your screenwriting greatly.  

First let me clarify that if you're looking for "The Economics of Screenwriting" (how much you can get paid for screenwriting)  then check out Craig Mazin's article at The Artful Writer. 

Few things are as primal in our lives as the economy. Wall Street's recent shake-up joins a long list of economic upheaval throughout history. Just so we're on the same page, the word economy flows down from the Greek meaning "house-hold management." I mean it to include how people, businesses, villages, towns, cities and countries manage resources such as money, materials and natural resources. 

That is a wide path indeed. It's why college football coach Nick Saban is on the cover of the September 1, 2008 issue of Forbes magazine as they explain why he is worth $32 million dollars to the University of Alabama. Why is the economy center stage once again in the most recent presidential election? Because... it's always the economy, stupid.

Looking back you'll see economics at the core issue of not only Enron, Iraq, 911 and the great depression but world wars, famines, and even the Reformation. I'm not sure how much further we can look back than Adam and Eve, but that whole apple/fruit thing in the garden had huge economic (as well as theological) ramifications. (In fact, it's been said that there is more written in the Bible about money than about salvation.)    

There is no question that economics plays a key role in films as well -- in production as well as content. On some level it's almost always about the economy. This first dawned on me when I saw Chekhov's play "The Cherry Orchard" for the first time and I realized the thread of money in it. Then I read Ibsen's play  "An Enemy of the People" and noticed the economic theme there. They I started noticing it everywhere in plays, novels and movies.

From the mayor's perspective the real danger of Bruce the shark in Jaws is he threatens the whole economy of the island town. In The Perfect Storm, George Clooney takes the boat back out because money is tight. Dustin Hoffman auditions as a women in Tootsie because he can't get work as a male actor. Once you see this you see it everywhere in movies. 

Here is a quick random list where money, need to pay bills, lack of a job, greed and/or some form of economics play a key part in the story:

Chinatown
Scarface
Titanic
Sunset Blvd.
Tootsie
On the Waterfront
Wall St.
Cinderella 
Cinderella Man
Ragging Bull
Rocky 
Jaws
Jerry Maguire
It's a Wonderful Life
Field of Dreams
Big
Greed
Body Heat
Falling Down
The Godfather
Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid 
The Jerk
Gone with the Wind
The Verdict 
Gone with the Wind 
The Grapes of Wrath
Risky Business
Do the Right Thing
Hoop Dreams 
Rain Man
The Treasure of the Sierra Madre
The Gold Rush
Home Alone
Babette's Feast
The Incredibles
Castway
Ocean's Eleven
The Perfect Storm
Pretty Women
Trading Places
Indecent Proposal 
The Firm
American Ganster 
Rollover 

And it's not limited to dramatic films. It's hard to watch Hoops Dreams, Ken Burns' The West, or any Michael Moore documentary and not connect it to economics.

So if you're struggling with a story or struggling what to write, open up that door that explores economics. You don't have to write The Wealth of Nations, but at least explore some aspect of it.  Join Tennessee Williams, John Steinbeck, Eugene O'Neill and other great writers who tackled that monster.

One thing living in the Midwest the past five years has done is help me understand how the world works economically. Because on a small level you see when John Deere is selling tractors locally, nationally and globally it helps the housing market here as the standard of living increases. The Midwest was the only place to to see homes appreciate last quarter. (Other parts of the country saw a 2 to 36% drop.)  But that wasn't always the case.

When the farming crisis hit in the mid-eighties and John Deere (Cedar Valley's largest employer) laid off 10,000 of it's 15,000 employees and people were walking away from their homes. A film that came out of that era was the 1984 Sam Shepard, Jessica Lange film Country filmed right here in Black Hawk County. (By the way John Deere the company celebrates today 90 years being in this area. If you've ever eaten food they've had some role in it along the way.)

Three years later Oliver Stone's film Wall St. came out the same year Black Monday occurred as stock markets around the world crashed. It was the largest one-day percentage decline in stock market history since the great depression. (It only ranks #5 now.)  So here we are 20 years later still trying to figure it all out as two of the top ten largest stock market drops have been in the last two weeks. (Sept 29 update: Make that three of the top ten stock market drops have occurred in the last two weeks.)

(I'm sure Stone felt good when Wall St. first came out, kinda of like "I told you so." But on the DVD commentary Michael Douglas said that he often told by stock brokers that they got into the business because of the Gekko character he played. Douglas said he doesn't understand because he was the bad guy. But how many of those guys now in positions of leadership in the financial crisis had Gekko as their hero? To quote writer/professor Bill Romanowski one more time, "Movies reflect the culture they help produce."

The news will tell us what happened, critics will tell us why it happened, and it's up to writers to tell us what it means. For years now I have noticed in many different states that more often than not when I go into a convenience store I see someone buying beer, cigarettes and lottery tickets and I ask myself, "What does this say about about the direction we are heading?"

Screenwriting is a place where we can pose those questions --and the playwright Ibsen said it was enough to ask the question.  So get busy asking questions. And if the economy gets worse remember this Carlos Stevens quote:

”Throughout most of the Depression, Americans went assiduously, devotedly, almost compulsively, to the movies.”

On the opposite end of Hollywood from Gordon Gekko is Paul Newman. If there ever was an example of a talented actor/director and giving businessman/ social entrepreneur it was Ohio-born and raised Newman who passed away last night. Newman's films Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, Cool Hand Luke, Absence of Malice and The Verdict will always be favorites of mine.

"I had no natural gift to be anything--not an athlete, not an actor, not a writer, not a director, a painter of garden porches--not anything. So I've worked really hard, because nothing ever came easily to me."
                                                                                            Paul Newman 

(Newman's Midwest roots extend to performing in summer stock theaters in Wisconsin and Illinois. And an Iowa connection is his last Academy Award nomination was for his role in The Road to Perdition which was based on the graphic novel by Iowa writer Max Allen Collins. And don't forget that the Newman's Own label was inspired by Cedar Rapids artist Grant Woods' American Gothic.

I find it interesting that the three largest legendary film actors coming up in the 50s were all from the Midwest; Marlon Brando (Nebraska), James Dean (Indiana) along with Newman.)

Gavin the lawyer Newman played in the David Mamet scripted The Verdict says words that are just as relevant today as when they we spoken a couple decades ago: "You know, so much of the time we're lost. We say, 'Please God, tell us what is right. Tell us what's true. There is no justice. The rich win, the poor are powerless...' We become tired of hearing people lie."

The world is upside down when we pay executives millions in golden parachutes when they drive a company into the ground. And that's after they lied about the about the companies financial record along with their hand picked spineless board of directors. And after they've cashed in their own inflated stocks while the stockholders and employees are shortchanged.

But how nice to see a company like Newman's Own whose entire profits from salad dressing and all natural food products are donated to charities. The company motto is "Shameless Exploitation in Pursuit of the Common Good." To date Newman and his company have generated more than $250 million to thousands of charities worldwide. 

"What could be better than to hold out your hand to people who are less fortunate than you are?
                                                                                                      Paul Newman

P.S. Robert Redford had hoped he and Newman would be able to make one last film together and had bought the rights to Des Moines, Iowa born and raised Bill Bryson's book A Walk in the Woods. 

"I got the rights to the movie four years ago, and we couldn't decide if we were too old to do it," said Redford. "The picture was written and everything. It breaks my heart."

Copyright 2008 Scott W. Smith

Monica stuurde mij wat foto's op van het aardappels rooien. Veel blauw eens voor de af wisseling.

De New Holland met Midema Kieper.
 

Ok moest monica samen met zus Renate even de clown uit hangen. Dus de quad werd er even onder gezet.

Het karretje zit er ook achter dus laden maar!

Deze New Holland TSA 135 was even verder op bezig.

De woeler gaat er flink door.

Even draaien.

Amazone zaaimachine er bij achter.

Bedankt Monica!

I have included a photo of them so you can see how beautiful and delicious they are.
[caption id="attachment_183" align="aligncenter" width="300" caption="a taste of the country"][/caption]

unfortunately, this pack had two pigs and no suns, so the sun isn't pictured above with its fruity comrades. I assure you, however, that it is the tastiest of all john deere fruitsnack shapes. the bulldozer--on the other hand--was deplorable. plus, it didn't even look like a bulldozer. it looked more like a vacuum cleaner, and vacuum cleaners have no place in my fruit flavored snacks.

Deze foto's loonbedrijf Wilmink en loonbedrijf De Weer aan het hakselen stuurde Rick Asbroek op.

Claas jaguar 890 met ernaast een New Holland T7030 met schuitemaker Siwa 's morgensvroeg in een perceel maïs.

En de John Deere 6650 met ernaast een Fendt 818 van loonbedrijf Wilmink.

Na een lange onderbreking is hier het maïsseizoen ook weer los gebroken. Donderdagmiddag werd door loonbedrijf Wieringa maïs gehakseld voor Simon de Lange, tijd voor mij om een kijkje te gaan nemen. Speciaal voor de foto's een donkere lucht ingehuurd :wink: . Tevens het 500e bericht op Agralog sinds januari 2007.

Ludwin met de 6830 bij de bult aan het lossen.

Harmen kon er met een aardig vaartje doorheen met zijn Jaguar 850 GreenEye; de maïs stond niet bijzonder hoog.

Deze John Deere 6820 was één van de drie trekkers waarmee gereden werd.

Gelukkig kwam er gisteravond geen regen uit de donkere wolken zetten, het land was net mooi droog.

Gossé met ook een 6820 inclusief klepjes op de wagen om Oom Agent tevreden te houden.

Zoals gezegd, geen bijzonder goeie maïs, is ook wel te zien aan de grootte van de kolfen.

John Deere 6230 van de boer zelf begon gelijk met het lostrekken van het land wat vandaag alweer ingezaaid zou worden.

Al valt het misschien meer in de categorie 'onkruid wieden', er werd perfect tussen de stengels door gecultied.

Even verderop werd er ook nog druk gekopegd.

En toen moest ik ook maar weer op huis aan, de zon ging langzaam onder en ik was tenslotte ook al ruim twee uur onderweg.

For the last week or so, a strange woman has been mysteriously climbing into bed with me about 2am every night. She's vaguely familiar. I think she might have been at my wedding. But it must be a dream because by the time I wake in the morning I am alone again.

Today is different. "I wanna wake up with you" is the soundtrack of the day. Yes, it is Jane (the campaign manager's) day off! Apparently it's the custom to keep them out of the office whenever there's a full moon, after the unfortunate incident from the '99 Election.

Above: Full Moon over Burnaby-Douglas

However, a day-off in the life of a campaign manager isn't a day of rest when a million small chores have built up. At the opticians I buy glasses while Jane whips out the Blackberry and discusses some constituency work - how best to help a constituent's relative get a visitor's visa. A minister's permit is discussed and decided on as the best option for this case.

Some minor shopping, and a dozen or so miscellaneous calls re events and advertising (did you know for $700 you too can have your name emblazoned across the bike lockers at Lougheed Station?) and we're sitting down to sushi for lunch.

Above: Bike Lockers - soon to be available in Orange? Photo by mag3737

One wasabi high later and we stop off at neighboring MP, Dawn Black's offices. The election is discussed, in particular which opposition candidates actually live in the riding (New Westminster-Coquitlam), and how this might affect Dawn. We pick up lawn signs for our garden, and return home to find one has already been delivered.

Inside and the rest of the afternoon is spent in front of the TV. But Jane has the remote and so we're watching CPAC, a Canadian political channel. New Democratic leader Jack Layton is making a speech outside a soon-to-be-closed John Deere factory in Ontario.

Political speeches have always amused me, ever since the time a local MP visited our school to answer questions. I got to put a question on behalf of the Economics class, and the answer - while not clarifying one iota the government's policy on direct Vs indirect taxation - did reveal the extent to which a person can govern the country, despite being as bright as a 20w bulb.

Above: Light Bulb: "Hey! I resent the implications of that joke"

Liberal leader Stephane Dion visited the Burnaby-Douglas riding last week and made a similarly revealing speech. Confused about how to answer questions about gas prices, while revealing a green policy, at a housing co-op, the remarks I heard on CBC were less intelligible than my four year old son's excited babble at spotting a passing fire engine. I'm still not sure what he (Dion) was trying to say and, in fact, people who had actually attended the event could throw no light on the matter.

Back to the TV. Although Layton is not always the best of speakers, he does make telling points. In this case he was banging on about $50 billion worth of Tory corporate tax cuts that were supposed to stimulate jobs, but didn't. That may or may not be true, but for me the key point was, what are we doing giving such tax cuts to companies whose biggest export seems to be Canadian jobs?!

If I ever was mad enough to run for office, it would be prompted by injustices like businesses which make a huge profit but, because it isn't huge enough, or is slightly less than the previous year, decide to make workers redundant. John Deere made a profit of $575 million in the last quarter, and workers are rewarded by being laid-off, and their jobs (allegedly) moved to Mexico.

You might say that it's their company, to do with as they wish; and you'd be right. But in the name of sanity, why reward such behaviour with tax cuts? Doesn't the Canadian government have an obligation to at least try to save Canadian jobs?

To me it just increases my conviction that corporate tax cuts in a laissez faire economy are a scattergun approach; like swinging at a pinata, you know that almost anything could happen, but you're willing to risk someone else getting a broken nose on the chance that your swing may be the lucky one.

Anyway, the day-off ended with a second visit to the campaign office, followed by a nice walk around the neighborhood, dropping off election signs.

Now it's nearly 2am and I'd better go to bed in case that strange woman turns up again.

As always: Let me make it clear that yes, I am totally biased in favour of my wife keeping her job. So “Vote Siksay” is the order of the day. And yes, my politics do lean in that direction already; otherwise the basis for my marriage would have been a lot more tenuous.

However, I’m still trying to document things as I see them - good or bad - and as truthfully as possible.

Op de laatste dag dat er nog mest uitgereden mocht worden, 15 september, waren jan-Koos en Ludwin bij ons te sleepslangen. Het wachten was op een mooi zonnetje om nog even wat foto's te maken van de John Deere 6920.

Zoekplaatje: waar is de zon?

En toen kwam de zon eindelijk achter de wolken vandaan, het werd tijd ook.

Ludwin had een rustig dagje op de 7430, over de modderhoop heenscheuren met de quad was voor hem het hoogtepunt van de dag.

De sokken ruiken ook weer heerlijk.

amanda ∞

Continuing to bamboozle you with non-VS-related T13's, today I got to cash in on my being employed by one of the better known manufacturers of agricultural equipment, and go to the 2008 Outdoor Farm Show, with a couple of the lasses from the office.

It's a spiffy day out, clambering all over large machinery, sampling organic stuff (mmm ice cream and fudge) and enjoying that hefty aroma that comes from livestock.

For your viewing pleasure, thirteen pics from the day's excursion.

1. The best parking job of the day

2. My beloved employers

3. Myself in a JD4380 Sprayer

4. Co-worker Heather, in the traditional sit-inside-a-wheel shot

5. Baby Cow!

6. Curious Cow!

7. Horny Cow!

8. Not in fact a real Cow!

9. Smells like poop...

10. Because it is!

11. Co-workers Heather and Deets, with a tree that pours beer!

12. Tandem electric bike! Though I'll point out, I'm holding the pillion handlebars, not Co-worker Heather's butt...

13. Sitting on Tractor Tracks

As usual, these and more ended up on my Facebook for all and sundry to enjoy. Now, it's on to play the next Summer Of Love match...

This morning was one of those wierd end of summer phenomenons in Texas where there is both fog and blue skies.  It has something to do with the "dew point", whatever that is, and is an early indication that it will be an incredibly muggy afternoon.  Even though the temps have 'plummeted' to the low 90's the humidity makes the afternoons like a Russian steam bath and by afternoon I mean after 10am.  By now most of the cotton is picked and setting in giant bales the size of mobile homes in the cotton fields. Another week and they'll be on their way to the gins.  It doesn't matter what price cotton prices are its always regarded as a 'loss' by the farmers.  I have asked a few of them about this and they give me these long stories about the price back in aught two or fuel prices soaring or interest on their war bonds or whatever till my eyes glaze over.  Anyway, I'm driving down this farm to market road where there's a straggler still baling cotton in his field.  His green and yellow tractors and big bales of white cotton are on top of the brown cut field like decorations on a cake.  The image is made more magical by this rain-forest like mist or fog or whatever it is.  Because of the good rain we've had the past weeks everything else around these fields is orgasmicly verdant.  And in this mist the green shimmers like precious emerald.  I round a bend in the road and this field comes into view.  It appears to be corn that has been cut and will be plowed into the ground.  I have heard from the farmers that none of the corn fields made it because of the drought, but I don't think farmers are to be trusted.  This one is shimmering gold in this wierd misty light.  It struck me so that I decided to turn back around and take a picture of it.  I used the old 3.2mp Olympus and in this light I couldn't really even see through the viewfinder.  I guessed on a couple of shots and stitched this photo together.  I confess I amped up the color saturation a bit, and added a little glow to it to make it more match what I remembered it to be like.

Anyway, instead of swilling vino at the tasting room sampling some of their fine wines this morning, we stuck to kid-friendly activities, which included Cooper getting to ride on a bunch of tractors...

Enjoy a carmel apple sucker...

REALLY enjoy that carmel apple sucker...

And my Mom and I taking the most unflattering pictures of ourselves ever, enjoying the heck out of a couple of apple donuts. My Mom told me not to post hers because you can see up her nose. Sorry Mom...if mine gets posted, yours gets posted. So here they are!

<

We did come home with a couple of bags of fresh apples, too, so mission accomplished!

Hier gaat de eerste mais er warschijnlijk in het weekend er af. Maar eerst is er nog wat gras aan de beurt. Daar voor werd de 6630 weer van stal gehaald.

Frank was weer als hulpje in geroepen.

Wat een paard!

En maar jagen.

Niet over al stond het er even dik op :P .

Dat schiet op zo met 150 PK.

Appie zit er weer bij in om frank af en toe een beetje scherp te houden.

Momenteel zijn ze aan het oprapen.

'T laaste beetje.

Geforscht werden soll in Kaiserslautern unter anderem im Bereich der satellitengestützten Steuerung von Erntemaschinen. Ähnliche Forschungszentren unterhält John Deere den Angaben zufolge in Indien und den USA.

Der künftige Standort liegt im PRE-Park, einem früheren Militärgelände. Ministerpräsident Beck zeigte sich zuversichtlich, dass die geplante Investition zu 15 Prozent gefördert werde. Die noch junge Erfolgsgeschichte zeige, dass mit öffentlichen Investitionen in Forschung, Entwicklung und Innovation Zukunftsfelder besetzt werden. Der Kaiserslauterer Oberbürgermeister Klaus Weichel sprach von "einer der wichtigsten Ansiedlungen der letzten Zeit". Diese werde große Strahlkraft haben.

We sale a self propelled silage harvester John Deere 6910 with a kemper 4500 as equipment.

Machine is year 1992 and has 3500 work hours and 5600 engine hours. It has been reworked and has new blades.

Machine located at SPAIN, Leon.

THIS MACHINE HAS BEEN SOLD ON 08-SEPTEMBER-2008

Welcome to Oil Ridge. My Aunt Cathy and Uncle Jim had asked me a while back to go up to the property where they had lived with Uncle Jim's dad as newlyweds. It was my absolute pleasure to capture these memories for them...not to mention the view was STUNNING! Nancy, you are so lucky to have that view every single day! I'll be visiting later this fall for even more picture taking opportunities! The funny thing is that my mother and grandmother had sent me on a wild goose chase the day before telling me all these great places in Sistersville to take an aerial shot of the town. However, they failed to mention that they hadn't visited these "secret" spots in over 20 years. Needless to say, things had grown over a bit. So I was very excited to see this view of the Ohio River and the Ohio Valley from Oil Ridge.

Uncle Jim, the tractor pictures are just for you! Aunt Cathy said that you'd really like them. I don't know that much about tractors, so I hope I caught the right details for you. This tractor was parked over by the woods and I wondered away from the ladies to see what kind of photos I could get. I was really getting into the different angles and colors of the tractor when this HUGE (and I mean HUGE!) deer came leaping out of the bushes and took off down the hill. It scared the heck out of this city girl...I must have jumped 4 feet in the air and then sheepishly glanced around to make sure no one saw. You just don't see that in Royal Oak, MI everyday.

Above is my mom, Aunt Cathy and Nancy. Can you tell that the colors are already starting to turn? When we go back for the next football game, they will be blazin' with color!

Speaking of football...to the sports fans alike and those who know me best, you know that Saturday was the highlight of my weekend...in more ways than one! West Virginia won their opening football game against a pretty talented Villanova Wildcat team. We had a lovely tailgate, visited with old friends and celebrated the victory in style (which is really the only way I know how to celebrate.) It was so nice to see everyone this weekend. Big hugs and kisses to each of you and I hope you all made it home safe and sound. Can't wait for our next game together!

Stay tuned...I have more country side and a surprise for my grandma later!

The 56th Annual Hesper-Mabel Steam Engine Days will take place this weekend, September 5 - 7, 2008 in Mabel, MN. Toted as the "Oldest Steam Engine Show in Minnesota," this three day festival provides an opportunity to see, hear, smell, and touch some of the earliest tractors of the world.

The festival kicks off both Saturday and Sunday with the steam tractor parade at noon, followed by a festival parade at 1pm. The Steam Engine Grounds are accessed by a $5 button at the gate. Several local churches also provide excellent local fare at reasonable prices on the grounds, plus kids carnival rides, raffles, displays, steam powered threshing and wood sawing, as well as the bingo & beer barn. More information at www.steamenginedays.com.

Please CLICK HERE to see a special multi-media piece about Steam Engine Days produced by Benji and Aryn Nichols. (or click on the picture below!)

Click picture to see a special multi-media Steam Engine Days Piece by Inspire(d)!

Blom-Hofmeier was bij ons tegen over bezig met persen. Natuurlijk had ik nog even tijd om wat foto's te maken.

De 6920 voor de pers.

Eigenlijk een pers/wikkel combinatie, van Welger.

Gaat mooi zo!

Hupla de volgende maar weer :P .

Toch wel erg mooi.

Laatste zwad.

Dikke combi 8) .

Steph collects cookie jars so I was extremely excited when I found her THE COOLEST COOKIE JAR ON THE FACE OF THE EARTH. It's too fucking awesome to ship it because I would literally die if it were hurt in the process. So Stephanie will have this picture to get excited about until I'm able to deliver it in person.

Super Happy Birthday wishes Stephanie. Love you madly, hope the next month goes by quickly!!! xoxo

Ah, September in Carolina - the air begins to get crisper, leaves begin to change, school is back in session. That can only mean one thing - time for the Auto Fair! From a display celebrating the 100th anniversary of Ford's legendary Model T to a spectacular hot rod that earned the title of America's Most Beautiful Roadster, the Sept. 4-7 Food Lion AutoFair at Lowe's Motor Speedway will be a four-day automotive celebration.

www.tommackclassics.com