My ride report doing a 1000 in 24 /And life on the farm.

I dodged a few today :)

Good luck, may you not lose the power

Thanks B...
Power loss is NOT a big deal... Ya know we are prepared for that

What a bloody night ... Heavy winds,rain.Lighting strikes all over the place... The good note we got 7ths of an inch in the rain gauge...

We have power... It flickered most of the night...The last wave of storms rolled through 3am...:huh

Working...

Well it's still berry picking season here on the farm..
It starts with BlackCaps(black raspberries) then Dew berries,and now BlackBerries...

Ya'll have got to see my berry picking outfit...
I go packing when I go picking on the mountain ...
You might ask why??
Bears~ MountainLions ~Wolves~Timberrattlers/Copperheads ..
I go alone ..As I said before the Cattle show up sometimes..
So they help keep watch....

Ok here ya go..




The tall boots let me get into the brambles
The hat for shade.. And the .45 just in case ...

We have a momma bear w/3 cubs on the mountain, they are so small and soooo cute..But very dangerous..
And where I go picking it's there territory..
Plus the Mountain lion killed 2 calves 1 farm over last week:eek1..

Ah Life on the farm.. I wouldn't trade it for any thing...

I made 2 batches of jam and 1 pie in the oven .. It smells so good...

Yeah yeah I know I need to get my RR's up...
I have just been to busy...To write one up..

Damn T.

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Whut .... That's how I use to dress all the time...
Them boots I had long before HB came along
That gives ya an idea just how old they are...
And they still fit.. That's when they made boots to last a life time...
OBTW they are Frye's

Remember I am a real Horsemen... That's where HB and I started our life long friendship...

Howdy LD! I finally checked out your link in your sig line. Nice work! I read some at the start and a little at the end. I will need some time to catch everything in between. I like your pics, comments and outlook on life. (And I love your berry pickin' outfit)

I hope to catch you at one of the local get togethers. Take care and keep the good words coming.

I KNOW.

I was gonna call HB out, well cuz that pic is kinda...um...sexy. I have some old boots, but they don't look like that. Oldest pair I got in 84 though--I'm guessing those aren't as old as that--since you two are still in your 30s.

Part 1 .....

Well I thought I would write about our trip to see our friends in Ohio and the Ohio Picnic....
We left not to early in the morning...As we only had a 300 mile day...
We headed down our main road 61... Ooo I think I can see ....



Yes the camels are out I like them.. They are NOT always out by the road..



There is my riding buddy We took the back way,up..



We had packed food with us so we stopped at the Big bridge..



Great views..



I had soy bologna sandwich ...



Highbinder had Roast beef..



After we finished eating,we headed the dragons back up north..
Found some sweet roads...



This was a real fun ride US 60 I think it was..



Then we hit the road along the river...



Saw some old towns ...



It was real nice and cool for the middle of May..



We went past the Glen Ferris Inn ... It opened in 1839 ...
What a cool old building..



This little town was called Falls View..



We are still on US 60 W... As you know I like old Fire houses...



We rode through Glasgow,Crossed over the river a few times..



We hopped on the Slab for a few miles ... Through Charleston..
I like to snap this shot of the Gold Dome there..



Look at all the people in the stadium.. There must be a game going on...



Hey that's Paul Bunyan and Babe the Blue OX..



Saw a few of these ,MoJo told me they are coal fired plants..



The name of this place and the pic tickled me...



That's the turn for Winfield Locks and Dam ..



That's the Kanawha River..



They are filling the silo up with something feed maybe...



We are on 62 now...



A lot of cool old farms on this road...



Ohio barns are sure big and grand..



Some are just fine ...We rode past more small towns like Leon...



Then took the new bypass.. It was getting very hot out...



On our way to Point Pleasant,But we will NOT stop to see Moth Man...



The bypass went for a good ways .. And was very cool..



That's the bridge that fell that cold December night in 1967



Can you imagine just how cold it was..That night..
Point Pleasant and Ohio when the bridge suddenly and unexpectedly collapsed. The rush hour traffic crossing the bridge was caught in the middle. Cars were sent into the icy river, and 46 people were killed. Only 44 of those bodies were found, and they were all buried in the same cemetery in Gallipolis, Ohio.



A black and orange oil well..Or maybe it's gas..



This barn was very nice looking... We are back in to farm land heading into the rolling hills of Ohio..



Now we are on RT 7... It was a nice road..

Until we hit this huge plant.
It really made my eye burn..

This is the Kyger Creek Plant



WOW the stacks are really tall !!!



It's really a big plant...



Now that s a lot of cement to make them big stacks the cone shape thingys..



After a while we were to meet up with our buddy MoJo..
We stopped at a little gas station.. We had only stopped for about 10 min.. And MoJo showed up...
He took point to lead us to his home...



We still had about 30 miles to go..So I took pic of more things along the way..



I just like the way this looked..



And all the yellow..



I liked the buildings..All in a row..



I just liked this tree...It was begging for a shot..



Just cool..



Mail Pouch..



This is a neat farmstead..



A very interesting corner..



Welcome to Coolville !! Yeah we are almost to MoJo's place..



We have arrived .. Sitting on his back deck over looking a hay field..



One of his neighbors stopped by to say Howdy..The old timer is Denny..



This is Sindee MoJo's mate chatting with Connie, she is Denny's wife of 65 yrs.?
If I can recall...


Everyone needs a Gargoyle watching over the shop..



Well It's getting late ,I'll write more very soon...
So stay tuned ...
Till next time...

Thanks for peeking in VaLongBeard
Thanks on my working outfit...

Yup. We're not made of stone ya know.

Cheers HB...and LD--

Love those camels in the first pic

Well the next morning after Sindee made a wonderful breakfast..
It was time to head out for the Ohio Picnic ...
MoJo loaded up the trailer with all kinds of stuff..


I packed our cooler and off we go ....
Well not so fast.. First stop Coolville for Ice and fuel...




OK now lets ride... MoJo had this Valk for a long time ..
But he only triked it last year IICR... Bad hips and knees ,is why he triked it...
He really would rather have kept it as a 2 wheeled.. But he said to stay in the wind he had to trike it...



LOL yes I PS the trailer out of this pix..



Hey there's my Honey again...



Hey another Mail pouch!!!



Ya got to love weathered barn siding .. We loved it so much HB had put it up in our old living room back in Highland.. It was wormy chestnut...



This brick building caught my eye... Holzer Clinic



Sindee told me that their kids played soccer on that field many years ago...



I liked that sycamore tree..



I don't know where Logan is but it's 24 miles..Yes I have been on this road before...



You can really see the rock up heavies in this pix...



This small group of dead trees in the middle of live green ones..



Just liked the way this hill curved..



Another cool barn..



Oh boy Fast Traxx ... Can we stop and watch ?? Hmmm I guess not..A lot of folks are counting on the food in that trailer,MoJo is hauling..



Cool mural on this building



Hocking Valley train rides..



LOL ya knew I would throw in a shadow rider shot at some point...



Now that is a nice clean looking setting.. To bad it's along the highway..



I have always like the old Chromed diners.. They are suppose to look like the old Diner train cars..



Now that's a lot of info on this corner... Cattle,Horses,tractors and kids...



It says 1853 Sharp Farm



Yuppers I would grab a shot of a church..



A cool little brick building..



Now we are on 22W ,With mild rolling hills..



Just like this little grouping of trees...



WOW ... That's flat...



This was a real pretty Church..



A neat old house



Looks like my old barn...Some what...Man the ice and snow would slide and curl off our barn...I have some cool shots some where of that...



More flat farm land.. I bet they get some killer winds here...



This is a nice homestead too...



Hey that sign says Picnic area .. I wonder if we turn there??



Oh wow what a cool brick house...



AW Marion State Park this must be the place



OH cool a lake .. And look the Geese have goslings !!!



I enjoy watching them float/swim by...



Ok I have things to do so, I'll have to end this part now ..
And with this note ... There was a 5K going .. And the banner made me chuckle... No one knew why I was tickled so by the banner.. But I know all you FYYFF will get it....



Stay tuned for Part 3 ...Every one shows up....
Who we haven't seen in years!!!

When we arrived .. Navydad & mom was already there !!:eek1
MoJo chatting with NavyDad.. Haven't seen then in a very long time.



As I said there was a 5K going on..The dude with the tats all over his body says "Skinny Boy" I still don't understand,why put something like that on your body that will be there for life !!:huh



WickedWanda and Bones showed up... I haven't seen them in a coons age..



Then RTaz and Devl showed up all the way from MI !!!That's RTaz talking toHB & MoJo...



Come on baby light my Fire!!!



Hmmm now that's a blaze!! Good job guys .. But I think it's to high to cook on yet..



Let the cooking Begin!!



The area is filling up..



Skinhead and his folks showed up.. No FF's not that skinhead...



HB and RTaz coming back form looking at bikes...



Ah time to eat... How about a little food porn...



Time to walk off the grub.. And look at bikes..



And Orange/Black Valk and a Shadow.. That's Monica's she just started riding



I have never seen so many Black/red valks in one place...



A few bikes w/trailers showed up...



Murdoc's Blown Valk ...



This is Messy's bike... Murdoc built it for her...It had been many years since we have seen them..



This is Bones and WW's BMW... I think they got it last year...I haven't seen them in a few years .. The last time they have there Valk and Shadow...



This is the shelter that the Ohio group reserved for the picnic...



MoJo is always grabbing at us gals.. But WW is the only one I snagged a pic of...



He likes the way WW smells.. She wears Patchouli most of the time...
I think MoJo's in love ....



Time for that group shot...26 in all..



Now with being full .. Time to just hang out in the shade and chat..



Hey that's my Honey !!!



The picnic is on the wind down..Time to go... Sad faces... On saying our GoodByes...



On the road again... Hey they are NOT real deer !!



The Farmers Flea Market...



I also dig painted Silos or water towers..



This barn and Hex sign caught my eye&#8230;



Here on 33E You will see the big painted brick wall of Rocky Boots&#8230;



I like when the DOT&#8217;s do cool things to the bridges.. Like this pleasant design..



Oh yeah we passed FastTraxx again&#8230;



It&#8217;s a bird&#8230;.. It&#8217;s a plane&#8230;.. Nope&#8230;&#8230;It&#8217;s&#8221; Super Osprey&#8221;



Hey someone is home the car is in the front yard&#8230;A red sports car&#8230;



OMG it&#8217;s quicksand hayfield!!! Look out !!!!



Just countryside&#8230;And trees..



The lighting on this caught my eye..



Something about this place got me to snap a shot&#8230;



Now on 550E .. Saw this barn with the windows on the ground?



I guess by know ya know I like Brick structures..



This house just beckoned me to grab it&#8230;Now remember I do all this on the fly..
So sometimes, I miss the photo altogether&#8230;



Cool house and hayfield's ..



This was the field after the house .. The hay is in windrows..



More hex signs that are more like Quilt patterns&#8230;



Black berries and old barn..


This was a very pleasant and cool road along side a creek&#8230;.And it was very hot that afternoon..



A splash of colour on the barn..



WOW nice brick building&#8230; We are in a little town of Stewart



Sod busters&#8230;Look at the dust&#8230;



The route MoJo took us back to the house was great !!



It was along a small river bed&#8230;



Yuppers cutting through the woods&#8230;



A nice peaceful scene&#8230;



This was on 144 outside of Troy&#8230;



LOL&#8230; Sometimes the camera can&#8217;t keep up&#8230;



Once we got to Coolville we stopped and refueled for our ride back home Sunday&#8230;
And all these cool old cars where there.. And ya know I just had to take a few photos&#8230;
There was about 15 .. Here are the few that I really liked..



Cool rims and colour..



The Southern A club&#8230;



Sweet rumble seat&#8230;



I like a nice hood ornaments. I have not seen a grouse/quail used much..Until this day..



Ok this is the last A that I liked&#8230;



Joe and Don chatting waiting for me to stop drooling over the old A&#8217;s&#8230;



We had a really great weekend with our ole Ohio friends&#8230;I&#8217;ll have to look for one of my old posts from Holiday Hoopla in Ohio&#8230;That was the last time we had seen them all&#8230;

Sunday morning Sindee had fed us and they rode out with us a ways&#8230; Took us on a few back roads &#8230; We stopped at a station and look who I bump into, a fellow FYYFF !!!



Now what really sux.. Is I have forgotten his name and handle&#8230;



Well that&#8217;s it for Ohio Picnic weekend, with ole friends&#8230;

Stay tuned for my other May RR&#8230;.
Till Next time&#8230;

Really looks like a great crowd...love that pic of the intersection too, with the brick building in the back...

We couldn't get a sitter so we could only do a over night trip...
Our buddy Paul aka Britman had a ride in going on in Lenoir NC.
So we turned the bike to NC...Hit some of our favorite back roads down..



It was a cool morning..



We like riding through Saltville...



Got a nice shot of the train on the fly...Most of the time ,I cut a part of it off..



With it being Memorial Day weekend I though a shot of a cemetery would be appropriate..



I saw this rock and thought of my Buddy Knybanjo..



We liked cutting around in the woods..



The waters had a chill to them.. But very refreshing view..



Now we will have to hit the highways for a little..



That's OK I can grab a shot of my riding buddy !!!



This bypass wasn't to bad .. Nice grand views..



I have always wanted to get a shot of this stone church..



This church caught my eye..I liked it's lines..



Sometimes I will crop a photo a lot to get the shot I wanted..



Views..



NC has a whole different look...



We are on the top of 421 or was it 321 ??Been on it at least a hundred times.. But felt the need to grab a pix..



I always miss this photo of the ole steam tractors..But not this time ..



Now at the motel... As I said ya never know what I take a photo of.. And I always love this kind of shot of a bike ..Looking down on them..
This is Highbinders bike .



And of course TheBeast..



Now once everyone showed up I snagged a pic..



That's Britman in the shorts... And my buddy NormanDog..



HB and Detn8or..



Mark aka Detn8or blows things up for a living...



HB grabbed the camera..



We loaded the bikes up ,so we could leave in the middle of the ride..



It was a late night and an early morning ..
Note to self .. Don't trim bangs before a ride !! Crap I cut to much off them .. But they did grow out



Staging time...



LOL SmokinJoe was in agreement it's early..



Paul telling everyone it's NOT a race ...



Paul got a new coat...



A cool rock garden



That's Detn8or behind me...



Did see some nice views..



We hit 181 for a little...



It was a tad hard to snag pic on the fly ..



I saw this field and had to grab it...



Then we rode the parkway for a few miles...



That was a nice change...



It's always a brisk pace when Britman leads a ride.. But it's NOT a race



This was the first time we got in the middle of a ride.. But we had our normal riding guys around us.. It's funny how ya like folks that you have been riding with over the years around ya... When you see a lot of new faces on bikes that ya don't know..:eek1



I just love small red barns...



This horse ran out of the barn when we all went by...



Cool tree...




Once the main group stopped at Roan Mountain... SmokinJoe and HB & I split from the group... Joe took point.. So we could cut through the woods and keep cool..



As we were getting ready to split off from Joe,I took this shot of him..



We had a good time for an over night last minute trip..
I just thought about it, but this was the same ride that we did when I had done my Solo SS 1000 in 24 So many years ago...

We have done Paul's ride a few times... It's always fun to see folks that we don't always get to see...

Till next time...

Just a little farm up date..
Our neighbor had lighting strike his trees!!!
We are finally getting some much need rain this evening
Been picking Squash from the garden and a few Tomatoes..
Had a leaf spot blight hit a few Tomato plants ..
But they seem to be better now.. They got stressed from the little drought.
It's a real strange growing season for this 2012 year...:eek1

Berry season is now officially over as is Cherry season til next year..
But still have Apple and Pear season yet to come...
And have already pick the Yellow transparent and Summer Rambo..
The very early apples ... There haven't been many...The late frost took it's toll on the trees... And the Heavy wind storms that we had been having..

The cattle are doing great.. NO calves this year.. And it looks like none for next... No bulls around... The cattle have gone on walkabout at least once a month since Feb.. They are only gone for a day or two...
I guess the neighbors are wise to our girls

Still making and baking breads.. Putting up jams,today I canned Pickled beets...Only made 3 pts.... Oh well more then I had..

Our Hummingbirds are finally feeding well... I have been making 18 C of nectar every other day... We sit on the porch swing watching the many
little feathered friends feed and fight..

They help in the garden too,with pollinating, they like tomato plant flowers....
And of course I have annuals in the gardens for them too...

We have Quail !!! About 23 in a covey,was here the other day..
Dang I almost had a bird strike going down the driveway on the Valk..:eek1
They was running in front ,along side and behind me... What a strange feeling .. I was so worried they would go under a tire !!!

I love calling them in.. It's big fun in the afternoon. On the mountain...

Well that's a good update .... Sorry no photos...

I'll get another RR up... From June ....

Take Care .. Til next time....

The Back of the Dragon festival.
The first weekend in June ..

A few years back they started to promote our own VA.16 ..
It’s a fun road and very technical at time and challenging at times..
All kinds of stuff.. Heck you can even have cattle in the road…

We had a small super cell drop down that Thursday/Friday and hope that the damage didn’t stop the events…We had many trees down on our main road..



Our closest neighbor had a huge apple tree down on one of his 2 tractors!!
When we got back from the event ..The tree was cleaned up already!!! Wow that boy is fast!!



They blocked the town off.. So you had to use all the side streets ..



Saw this Trike …



And ya have to take a photo of a rat bike… There is on at every bike event…



It has a saddle on it… Hmm the saddle fenders are backwards ..



I wonder if he knows the horseshoe is upside down.. All the luck is running out!!



Now for the stunt show !!! I missed the part with the scooter doing stunts .Like stopies and wheelies.. I never thought of a scooter doing stuff like that…
The fella got real close to the crowd!!



This was a hell of a wheelie .. Most of his wheelies were impressive…



He had 5 different bikes that he used in his show…



There was a good size crowd to watch the show..



He did a few burn outs.. Other then heating up a tire for stunts for grip.. Burn outs just never made sense to me..



The smell was putrid..



This bike was fun to watch..



You can see how high this one would get!!



He would do these stopies and then do a turn in the form !! That must be really hard…
Lets face it he was stopped ,and then would leave enough momentum to make the turn..


He changed bikes again.. This was his full stunt bike…And I took a bunch of photos with this one…I hope this gives you the feeling of being there…The show was free….







Even the pros have that Oops moments…



But he mounted right back up and the show must go on !!!



There were all ages watching, even State troopers…



I did notice that he runs a low tire pressure…



Hahaha No feet on pegs !!!



A showman all the way… You could tell that he really enjoyed putting on a show..



He would ride up and down the crowd and slap hands.. That was cool…


You can see the concentration in his eyes..



This was a good stunt..



He did a ring around the rosy …



I guess the show lasted a good 45 min…



My photos just really don’t show how cool it was to watch..



When ya see a rider starting to stand up.. You know it’s getting to the end of the show…



Yuppers this is what I thought he was going to do…



This was cool he did a 360 in the saddle..



Sitting backwards on the bike in a very short area.. He also did a stopie that way !!!



Always look to the turn!! Here is a good example of that..



And the finale Wheelie..



This was the bike that 80% of the show was done on…You can see the flat tank and all the foot pegs..And the frame…



Time to wonder around and look at bikes and cars…This was a strange looking thing..



Yes that’s 4 wheels, you could take a demo out on it..



With my old love for the Porsche .. Ya know I would snag a few shots …



They had the VA 16 wraps on them..



A Cobra engine..




There was going to be live music. But we didn’t stay to watch and listen..



You could get Shirts and other goodies ..There was also a few give a ways..



I like to call this part of Tazewell old town…



Remember I love ole brick buildings.. And Tazewell old town has plenty of that…
Our Court House..



Ah our Dragons wait for our return,,,



I hope you enjoyed the festival as much as we did… We ride VA.16 at 4 times a month and some times more then that… If ya ever get a chance check it out …
It’s a sweet road….



Well that’s it for now.. Stay tuned for The big Valkyrie June Ride….
Ya’ll stay safe….

Great to know things are going well with y'all on the farm
And all the other cool things happening
~Blessings~

Heya George ..
Thanks for Peeking in...

HB and I saw one of our many bears on the farm.. This was about 150 lbs'er
Maybe a 2 yrs old.... We were out checking the smoldering tree at our neighbors.. The tree was hit hard by lighting the night before last..
Also found a huge old Poplar tree that came down and took 5 other trees with it ... Very sad.. The cattle all ready stripped the tree of it's leaves..:eek1 Ya got to love longhorns..They like to help us ...

We rode to bike night last night... Had a good time... No live band this weekend.. Next Sat. they will have an Elvis impersonator from Pigeon Forge Tn come in and do a show .. He was there 2 years back and put on one heck of a good show... And it's all free of course...So if you feel like heading to my area .. Come to the Super Stop and HotRod cafe,Belfast.. On US19 in between Lebanon and Claypool hill