Is spring really close?

A dear friend wrote me and said that her flowers are blooming and that the birds were birdying.

“Birdying” I ask? Ummmmm, never heard it put that way before. That explains the flashing of feathers in my backyard. What a lovely way to court your special lady. As the sun throws the first color across the sky, you share an early morning breakfast of Millet and Sunflower seeds at the Cedar Inn on John’s Rail Fence. Then you fly her away to the tallest Cyprus tree along the fence line. There among the heaviest of the sweet smelling limbs, the birdying is shared. Love is in the air.

Free!

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wolf

The strength of the pack is the wolf.
The strength of the wolf is the pack.

Hello Folks,
Don't listen to John or just take his comments very lightly. Maybe it is the millet and the sunflower seed combination on the rail fence but be careful. DO NOT try to fly to the tops of any cypress trees and do the things that he implies. "Birdying" is not for people our age. I didn't do it in tree tops heaviest and sweet smelling limbs when I was young and I ain't trying it now! Let me know if any of you folks try it. Take a picture of John if you see him up there trying it.

We had some lightning, thunder and a downpour late last night. It has been a long while. Now we have puddles and mudholes around the town. That means I keep the Cobra in the carport. LouElla doesn't want her clean white Jag all muddyed up either so if we go anywhere we will take the Ranger pickup. We don't have anywhere to go until LouElla goes to work tomorrow morning. Itis still raining lightly so I guess I wiil be in the house the rest of the day. This ol' dry lander don't like getting wet.

I ran an ad on Craiglist to give away all my CB and Ham radio equipment to needy young radio enthusiasts. I have been getting a lot of response and even found some old radio compadres. Small world. The equipment is all free but I ask they only take what they need and know how to use. I have completely lost interest in talking to strangers all over the globe so I no longer need the mass array of rotatable antenna on the roof and the rotor equipment to operate it. It is also a lightning threat now that most of the operating wires and coaxial cables have rotted away. I have saved the tall stack of QSL cards and letters from distant contacts. That gives me something to brag about with the authority to prove it. I know... BIG DEAL! Clearing out my radio stuff has opened many more shelves, drawers and cupboards for LouElla to fill with her stuff. She is down there now already filling the spaces I have cleared and I ain't done yet. I haven't seen her this excited in months!

JC says, key up distant stations, JC is done ringing your bell!

JC,

If you can no longer fly to the tree tops, you might take her under the bushes. I am reminded of the made for adults film, Peter Pan. He had also allowed himself to get so old that he could no longer fly or crow.

I used to get "patched" through several HAM Radio operators while I was in 'Nam to talk with my wife in Ohio. It was a bit awkward having to say "over" at the end of each sentence, but the service was free and greatly appreciated.

It is lovely here, but rain is in the distance.

John

_________________
wolf

The strength of the pack is the wolf.
The strength of the wolf is the pack.

I forget the nomer for that type of Ham radio work John. I wanted to be that type of relay radio operator near the beginning of my radio experience but the gumment squeezed me out with all their red tape crap. An operator could actually have been supplied with some very high tech gear for pennies on the dollars if they wanted to be totally under the thumb of the FCC and record every contact. Some Hams did not mind and wanted the cheap radio stuff. I never ventured any farther into it.

I did have a world of fun being an outlaw type operator. I had tech friends that would modify my radios for cabinet work at their homes or for their radios. I could then easily infringe on Ham frequencies without detection. I did not cause trouble and met many other operators around the world doing the same thing. A lot of Ham operators are very stuffy and uppity people. Who needed that?

I still have about 8 microphones, 2 linear amplifiers, one antenna rotor, 2 power supplies, one frequency counter, several SWR meters and lots of scrap Coax cables with terminals. Come on by if you need any of this free stuff.

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JC says, As I lay rubber down the street, I pray for traction I can keep, but if I spin and begin to slide, please dear Lord protect my ride." -Amen

I have given away ALL the radio and Ham equipment I had except for two radios. One is a DAK tube type radio that has over 1000 frequency capabilities. I am keeping it until I find a worthy recipient because it would be illegal to use it or sell it due to the modifications that have been done.

The other one I am keeping for a while is a HealthKit set that will do 90 watts linear power. That takes an accomplished Ham operator to be legal. It was hand built in 1980 by a close friend who was in the Air Force at the time but is no longer with us. I will find someone who will appreciate it's value someday. None of my grandchildren or step kids have an interest in Ham radio.

I just finished putting away ten packages of sliced bacon for the freezer. We bought two 3 pound slabs of bacon but LouElla is afraid that it will get strong if we keep it too long in the refrigerator. I put 8 slices in each package that I have cut in half. That way the slices cook better without curly up so badly.

That is about all the current news from here because all the snow melted by noon. We awakened to about one inch of fresh light snow and it was still doing it. The temperature is now holding around 47* and partly cloudy skies. It will be cold again tonight but tomorrow is going to be warmer.

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JC says, As I lay rubber down the street, I pray for traction I can keep, but if I spin and begin to slide, please dear Lord protect my ride." -Amen