[AT] Hey Ralph, SHUT THE DANG GATE!!!

[Francis Robinson]

-----Original Message-----
    Now Farmer, you knew the bill was coming due for the warm 2 months we
have had so far this winter. Need to kill off the mosquitoes and flies.
    The Amish will be cutting ice next week. They have been worried about
that. I got their ice saw all cleaned and sharpened so they can cut now. Be
interesting to see this work. It is a horse drawn model and should cut the
ice pretty fast. Ice should be 4 inches or more by Monday or Tuesday.
Gene


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	My father in law once explained horse drawn ice cutting to me 40 years ago
when I spotted a one horse ice cutter on the farm and wasn't sure what it
was. I don't recall if they ever cut ice with a tractor since they horse
would have had good winter calks on their shoes and the tractor was on
rubber. I don't know what they did about "Yellow ice" from the horse...
;-)
	When Diana's folks were first married her father mowed a good-sized
cemetery at their church with a large horse reel mower. I always enjoyed
talking with her dad about early farming.
My grandfather never owned a car or tractor and farmed with horses but he
passed away when I was a year old. My father had grown up with horses but
left the farm young and didn't like horses and didn't talk about them much.
When he returned to the farm when my grandfather's heart was failing about
1942 he bought a new 9N Ford and 3-point equipment. He was working 12-7
testing aircraft engines in Indianapolis so money for a tractor and
implements was easier to come by than time to farm with horses, especially
since he didn't like them. My mother did keep a riding horse during the
1940's. She used it mostly to ride down the road to a river pasture and
bring the cows up for milking.
I believe almost all of the local Amish here use either generators or gas or
K-1 refrigeration. I suppose a few might use ice but I don't recall ever
seeing an ice-house at one of their homes. If I can remember it some time I
need to ask my Amish friend with the sawmill. If any do cut ice he would be
the source for the sawdust for packing it.




--
"farmer"
Proud owner of several cordless hatchets and a large collection of
solid-state hammers.

"Axe me no questions and I'll tell you no lies"

Francis Robinson
Central Indiana, USA
robinson at svs.net



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