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I’ve driven our FD tanker on hilly, icy roads and it’s not fun. Especially when they are calling for water and you’re trying to get there as fast as you safely can. Perhaps even worse is driving empty to the nearest fire hydrant to reload. With no weight on the drive axles loosing traction while going up hill or braking on a downhill certainly raises the pucker factor!! Any firefighting in sub-freezing temperatures presents a whole new set of challenges. I hope everyone is safe and nobody got hurt. I know you guys like pictures so here’s a picture of our tanker.

I usually by junk, throw a lot of cash at it to make it pretty & right again. Then I try to figure out where I'm going to store it. Never really tried or wanted to sell any of them.

I’m not the smoker in my family, it’s my son-in-law. He does the cooking and the whole family reaps the benefits! I can’t believe these pictures are from almost 7 years ago. Time flies! I’m hoping to get all my tractors out this summer for updated pictures of my collection. At that time I’m sure we’ll be smoking some brisket and who knows what!

I have seen a few wood stoves on here but not as many as I would have suspected from some of you. So far ours have come in handy this year mostly using the one in the basement and a little on the first floor. We do have a new Boiler as of December of this year. More on that later. With 5 heating zones and 1 for domestic hot water. The electric hot water tank was removed a couple of years ago ,tired of the electric bill. A few pictures of ours, a 1975 Vermont Castings in the basement and a Vermont Castings Intrepid in the living room, first floor. Almost forgot the Jotul 602 in the Cabin. Post them up .

I can tell you one thing from experience............ Keep the day job because you are NOT going to survive on wheeling and dealing WH Tractors... they don't have that sort of return.....But they always bring you your investment back....and alot of fun. I have been at it for 50 years.... Wheel Horse ONLY..... I make a little ....spend it on more stuff.....Make a few more bucks....spend it on a few more items for inventory. ... buy a few more Machines....sell a few more Its a cycle. its all for the fun and reward. I will never sell my Eddie murphy 418-A I bought from him.....it will never be worth more than any 418-A that is clean with low hours..its the point of owning it and the story Huge profit cannot be made with this low dollar hobby. Its really just a LOVE for Wheel Horse and Wheel Horse only !!! PROFIT is not going to happen. My .02 cents !!!

@JCM Funny Jim, because when I posted that I didn’t notice her in the picture until you brought it to my attention! Lucy pretty much goes everywhere with me, most of the guys at my firehouse know her by name. She really is my companion,❤️ I keep a leash in my truck in case of emergency but she hardly ever goes on it. Basically she is always within 50 feet of me 😂😀👍🏻

Maybe that's why people turn into collectors - not being able to recoup the money they've sunk into making a tractor right.

When I was a volunteer fireman in the late '60s and '70s both of our pumpers had straight cut geared transmissions. The standing rule was to put it in second gear and drive carefully if you hadn't mastered double clutching. I grew up on tractors and a Ford AA Doodlebug so double clutching was second nature.

I regularly scan CL for lawn & garden tractors in my area so I do notice listings that stay for weeks (or, for the eager, get reposted every few days). The market does work and from what I’ve seen, over-priced items do not move. What drives a lot of it, I think, are two types: the flipper and the out-of-touch owner. The flipper is hoping for a quick sale to an uninformed buyer. The out of touch owner paid $000s, is unfamiliar with the market, and thinks they should get 50% of their purchase price back. Frankly, I think those sellers rarely get what they are asking and often will discount heavily in the end. I’ve had neighbors ask what my nicely refurbished 854 with all its attachments and upgrades is worth and be shocked when I tell them it’s hundreds, not thousands of dollars.

Peanut butter and banana sandwich is my go-to.

Honey is also another favorite, just for the change of pace. And I have been known to grab a spoon and the jar of peanut butter for a snack.

On toast almost every morning.

Okay guys it looks like everybody got a bit cold, but that nothing new for you guys. Here's my story: I live just a 16 miles north of Pensacola Fl. beach the most snow fall we ever had on record is 3" and the was in 1886. The most I've been here in 71 years is 2.5". Tuesday morning it started snowing at 10:30am and didn't stop till 19:50, that's 9 hour of non stop snowing, got just a little over 8". It was another one of those amazing experiences that I've had in my 71 years but I don't won't to experience it again, did I mention I'm in FLORIDA! The temps Tues and Wed night were 13 and 11 degrees with wind chills in the mid to low single digits, again FLORIDA. I will try to post some photos in the next couple of days when my daughter shows me how to on my new to me "SMART" phone . This is for my man Steve, put some friggin sock on, it 15 degrees, WTF.

There is a small island, Prudience Island, off the east bay coast in RI. A "hardcore" place to live yearround - no running water or electricity. There are about 40 yearround folks, about 250 in the summer. Their Volunteer Fire Department just delivery of their NEW tanker truck that was on order for about a year. Even though their existing 1958 Mack tanker still works, there are only TWO people there that know how to double-clutch it to drive it!!! One is the Captain - he retired the end of December. New truck was special ordered - automatic transmission and bare-bones for electronics. The salt air does a job on those....

When Marcellus Gilmore Edson first patented peanut butter in 1884, he probably didn’t realize it would become a taste sensation that would sweep the nation. Whether you go crunchy or smooth, on January 24 we put down our cell phones and pick up our spreading knives to celebrate National Peanut Butter Day. In the 1840s a resident of New York, Rose Davis started making peanut butter. Historians say that a Canadian chemist named Gilmore Edson filed the first patent for his ‘peanut candy’ in 1884. In 1895 Kelloggs’ patented their ‘Process of Preparing a Nut Meal,’ which also included ‘ a pasty adhesive termed nut butter.’ The first recipe for peanut butter and jelly sandwich was written by Julia Davis Chandler for the Boston Cooking School Magazine of Culinary Science and Domestic Economics in 1901. Peanut Butter was introduced at the St. Louis World’s Fair in 1904.

Well, it snowed 2 to 4" of snow last night and the real temp was 15 degrees today. I wanted to get the 876 out and clean the drive way, but I don't handle the cold like I used to. Sun was out but the temperature was not going up. My problem was wether to wear socks or not and what was it going to take to reach my feet to put them on. I considered my issue over a Martini and decided to go for it and not risk a stroke trying to put on socks.. Anyway, the snow was powder, the 876 started right up and 25 minutes later the driveway and sidewalks were clean and I was back inside warming up my feet. I know it is not true without pictures...so !!

You guys are posting faster then I can finish a post.

Just saw a average mule drive listed for $150. I sell those for $25. It's tough for us old guys to stay in tune with inflation when our income is fixed.

On celery, bagels, and apple slices, it must be extra crunchy for this nut fanatic.

We've seen -14 in the lower valleys this week. Last year it never went below zero. Nice warm 4⁰ right now. 🥶 Sunday it's forecast to hit 33⁰ but with a strong breeze so it'll feel much colder. Maybe one other day in the next ten, above freezing. I'm not at all OK in hot weather but I'm ready for spring...... sometime. Ain't right when Florida has MORE snow than Maine. @c-series don that's a beautiful Pete!!

2 to 8 degrees every morning for the past week. Sunday forecast is for 36 F. First day above freezing for 10 days. Sock installation equipment? A pair of these from my tackle box did the job.

I like my wood stove, but it's really only good for keeping the living room warm. With the proper use of the ceiling fans I can get the warm air back to the kids' rooms too, but the rest of the house stays fridig. What I really love is the New Englander wood furnace in the basement. No fancy glass plate in the door, but the hot air outlet is piped into the duct work for the heat pump, so the whole house stays toasty.

Thanks for the pics Don. We talked before about our Springers. I'm not sure if I told you that my first born had four legs. Brandy was a 10 week old liver and white pup when she joined Mrs.K and me in 1964. Her Baroness Brandywine had a pedigree traceable back to England with many champion field trial relatives. She responded eagerly to our training and taught me how to send hand, voice and whistle signals that she must have remembered from a previous life. I have many stories of Brandy, as I know you have about Lucy, demonstrating how well these amazing animals respond to training. I don't have a beautiful collection of photos like you have of Lucy, but here is Brandy showing off what she loved to do. And her mate Barney that joined us several years later. .

I like peanut butter but I prefer it in this form: Yum...

Getting slow in your old age

I've got one other story to tell, why we are at it. Don's dog...I went back and looked and found it after about 5 minutes. Don was talking about keeping a leash incase. I know a lot of you guys know Mike's RJ from the big show, and he always has one of his Malmutes with him. We were on Skype one time when he talked about the sites rules that...a dog must be on a leash. Now, his dog was trained to go into hospitals to give care to kids for dogy therapy. I told him, "the rules are, a dog must be on a leash, but it does not say that somebody has to be holding the other end." It might work for Don also.

Depends on your area. But with the price of the Tin Plated MTD"S that Lowes and HD sell I feel any WH in running condition with a functioning deck is worth at least $695 all day long and I have sold quite a few of them. Some have looked WELL USED. But no one has come back and complained.

I’ve had just about every type of smoker available at one point in time. I currently use my pellet grills and electric smoker. Love the convenience of not having to tend to the fire. IMG_0670.mov

My late brother could sit down with a jar of peanut butter and a box of Ritz crackers and empty them both in one sitting! I'm not far behind!

@Alrashid2 was thinking more like this , also note , additional winch pull of another tree , apparently , not enough drag weight , pete

My favorite go to whenever you get a hankering, peanut butter and strawberry jelly. I had those for lunch just about everyday when I was working.

I didn't see Lucy either. Even after Jim pointed her out, it took me some time to find her. I thought fire dogs always rode on top of the truck.

You should know by now that Lucy will be in every picture Don posts.

A little birdie told me you have to "cut back " on the pie.

If you can't free up the wheels, I've used a plastic slide-a-bogon... just put under the wheel and tow... worked like charm...

@stevasaurus typically use pull on sorel boots for plowing , easy on and off , BTW HOW IS YOUR SPINAL FUSION WORKING OUT ? mine is nowhere near where it was ,for stiff pain walking every day , stairs , alternating exercises , and regular back related stretching , for my new hip , regularly used a store shopping cart , early on to keep going , my HARTFORD HEALTHCARE , gave me lots of phase exercises, all printed out , do a version of balance / movement every day , eyes closed , fingers just touching counter top , another level of reaction intensity . after my daily walks , I am comfortably tired , added a nap to that , couple hours , just about pass out , dr told me reacting to tiredness , is a great retention / body relax , do suggested , exercise's every day , walk parking lots , initially with a cart , way out of traffic , today my walks are much easier / smoother , react to what ever highlights itself , look it up , picture / function detail , kick it in the ass , your own , pete

I guess I was bored and curious so I mounted an old Dico 23x10.5-12 tire on 7" and 8.5" wheels. Here it is on the recommended 8.5" wide wheel. I then de-mounted the tire and mounted it on a 7" wide wheel. The tire sits just fine.

I have redone 2 non-runners, one rat one "nice", had a blast doing it and riding them, then sold them for a slight loss... worth every penny. Never expected to make money... Have also purchased 3 pretty rare 's... weren't cheap due to their relative scarcity... batteries etc... again sold two at slight loss but loved learning about them and using them... very cool! Profit? Never expected or anticipated it... Just a great hobby and a great way to get kids working on and using tools and machines...

With the off brand tires running significantly smaller a 23x10.5 tire is actually closer to an 22x8.5x12 tire. So a 7" rim would be the perfect size.

We are having more land cleaned up around the outside of the garden. They're clearing out stumps and brush and burying all that while flattening out the land. One of the main focuses will be to give us a flat trail for getting the tractors down into the forest. We were going to do that by putting up a couple of bridges, but I think it'll be easier if this guy makes a nice level area with a runoff stream first. Save us an incredible amount of work. Before. A couple evenings ago. In process.

Paid 2000 for a Deere 420 that the seller had a few red flags, tractor too, engine cratered 45 minutes after i owned it. Another point is, Rarity and Value dont always go hand in hand. A running Yugo is rare, but they aren't valuable. A tractor may be very uncommon, but if theres only 2 people looking for one..you probably dont have alot of potential for value.

Thanks for the heads up, @953 nut My three-year-old grandson’s go to breakfast request is “peanut butter oatmeal....please”. PB&Js and PB&Celery are my standbys.

Orange marmalade for this nut Randy.

I just noticed the DOG, DON DIDN'T see it last night.

I have a large Chargriller pellet smoker (Can smoke 4 pork butts at once) and a Green Mountain Davey Crockett. The Davey Crockett is one of the first things to get loaded when going camping or to a tractor show. I also have vertical smoker that I built myself out of an old water heater, it is a charcoal & wood. I like the results that I get from my vertical smoker, just don't always have time to baby sit it. Advantage of the pellet smokers - I can get as much or as little done as I want while the meat is smoking. Example : Pork butts or brisket need to be ready for a noon meal. Throw the meat on the smoker at 11:00pm, go to bed, wake up around 6:00am to check on the food. Once you get used to the convenience of a pellet smoker it's a little hard to go back. A Weber can be a great smoker as well. My buddy can run his Weber at 225 for 8+ hrs using the snake trail method. Hickory and cherry are my 2 favorite woods to smoke with.

This morning was almost 15 degrees warmer than yesterday for my drive to work. Yesterday was -11, today was 3.

This is my smoker. I’m always trying new recipes.

As a Mother in Laws kiss…. Anyway, I’m sure @ebinmaine or @JCM can corroborate, It’s been at zero or 5-10 below most of this week up here with today getting warmer being a balmy 24 degrees. On one hand, it’s definitely cold but on the other, it’s supposed to be winter. You kind of expect it here. Besides the last storm, It’s been pretty decent weather besides the cold. I’m still sorting tractor parts, putting in gaskets and working on my new engine. So, at least some of it can be done on the much warmer kitchen table (Perks of a Bachelor).

Today was the first time since Saturday that our high was above freezing. Lows in the mornings have been single digit but we haven't had any new snowfall so I've been able to stay in where it is warm. By Tuesday we should be back above 40 degrees. Steve, since my spinal fusion I too have not been able to bend far enough to comfortably put on socks. I bought a Sock Aid and love it. Load a sock onto it, put your toes in and pull the straps and the sock is on. https://www.google.com/search?q=sock+aids&rlz=1C1JZAP_enUS981US981&oq=sock+aids&gs_lcrp=EgZjaHJvbWUyBggAEEUYOTIKCAEQABixAxiABDINCAIQABiDARixAxiABDIHCAMQABiABDIHCAQQABiABDINCAUQLhiDARixAxiABDIHCAYQABiABDIHCAcQABiABDIHCAgQABiABDIHCAkQABiABNIBCDQzNDNqMGo3qAIIsAIB&sourceid=chrome&ie=UTF-8