Christmas Eve

Its Christmas Eve

Today I walked for miles in the bush following the snowy tracks of a fox out hunting.

The fox passed by swamps and through forest thickets looking

for mice and rabbits.  

I think the fox was just out for a stroll....open to the possibilities of the day....so was I.

Eventually I wound up on a rock ridge that overlooked a frozen beaver pond.... covered in fresh snow.

The air was crisp with the temperature around seven degrees below zero.....

A good day for a walk.

Nothing really happened on my walk....

I didnt see the fox...

  I didnt bring a rabbit or bird home for the pot...

It was just a nice day and a nice walk....

beautiful, silent and calm...

Some of my fondest memories in life have been realized from such simple 

experiences....uncomplicated and peacful, there for those open to looking....

Merry Christmas!

-Martin

Time

Time 

Time has been passing by faster than I like it to. 

Since my last post I have been working more than I care to and hunting less than I normally do...

Tasks like fixing my wood furnace and making money to pay for dental bills and real things like taxes

have been pressing.....

But one can hunt for time too......

In and amongst a forest of distractions I managed this fall to make a two week trip up to Northern Quebec

with my bow and arrows

A goal of this trip was to travel some new ground and take my recently departed friends

Coleman Lantern

along to light in the quiet of an isolated lake...

Before my friend died suddenly this year, we had always planned to make a trip like this to Quebec.

Time though just got in the way of that ever happening......

Gerry....

You may be gone but you certainly are not forgotten...

-Martin

Flashlight Friday

Yes its Flashlight Friday again!

To change things up a bit not only am I going to feature an new flashlight but I am going to

reveal my new method for cleaning rust.

This flashlight you see below was given to me tarnished and rusted. 

I proceeded to disassemble it and put it through my home made "electro bath" before polishing.

This "bath" for cleaning rust has to be one of the best things I have ever discovered how to make on the Internet ever!

By immersing rusted parts in this tub with a water and laundry soda mix.  rust can be removed electrolytically. Rust is turned into iron and just washes off!

I made this setup with a piece of rebar, a battery charger, a plastic tub and some lengths of copper wire!

The "Delta Powerhead" lantern went through it in parts which were dried and polished with
moms mag polish

You can see the reflection of my  camera in this  shot!

-Martinhttp://www.amazon.com/Mothers-5101-Aluminum-Polish-Paste/dp/B0009H519Y

Flashlight Friday

Its Flashlight Friday Again!
(Yes I know! Its actually thursday isn't it - see todays FIELD NOTE? )

Its starting to seem like friday has become the only time I can get to the computer to post.

The summer has beome a "series of endless fridays"

Well I can think of worse things to reflect on than "cool retro flashlights"!

Here is a flashlight that a friend recently rescued from the local dump.

It was sitting in the recycle bin destined to be crushed and melted.

Luckily there was an intervention and it has since been added to the collection.

This light was manufactured by the 

Tang Fun Lee company in Hong Kong under the Navy brand.

My guess is that it was made in the 1960's

-Martin

Flashlight Friday

Its Flashlight Friday again.

What's this....another Coleman Lantern?

Well sort of.....

This is a "Coleman Flashlight" I recently came across.

Its a departure from my usual retro Friday flashlight pick

but I thought you might enjoy this novelty light for a change.

-Martin

Recent Finds on the Coleman Trail

Its been a long summer. The chainsaw hasn't been getting much rest cleaning up from the last big storm and now the electric start on the ATV has given up the ghost. 

Taking some time off to recharge I hit the garage sale trail on the weekend in search of Coleman's.

Here are a couple of recent finds!

This 228e was sitting in a pile of things by the roadside with a "free" sign on it!

Here is a Coleman "G.I." Pocket Stove Model 530

It comes nestled in two cooking pots.

Six "Grate Bars" unfold to hold a cooking pot

This stove is missing a pot handle / wrench  and funnel that 

came with it originally but is in mint condition. It will burn either coleman fuel or gasoline.

The 530 is a civilian version of a military stove that Coleman designed for the U.S. forces in 

world war two.

It's my most amazing stove find ever!

-Martin

Searching for Coleman

So where was I on Flashlight Friday?

Out at yard sales while driving north on an errand.

The errand was the mission but the yard sales were an added bonus that I built into the the task.

The big score of the day were a few old Coleman lanterns that I found along the way.

This is one of the most beautiful lanterns I have ever seen!

I am teaching myself how to take them apart and restore them.

If you look close you will see that one of the burner tubes is broken off. 

I need to figure out how to replace it.

Here is whats called a "Sunrise Mark" on the lantern tank or "Fount"

See the stamping 27    6 

This means that this lantern was made in 1927 in June

Here is another lantern. 

I don't know if the red top or "Ventilator" is original.

I think this one was made in Feb. 1929?

Now that I know the dates that these lanterns were made I can find out what models they were and look for their schematics online.

"Hunt to live....Live to Hunt"

-Martin

Flashlight Friday

Yes its Flashlight Friday again!

I have been busy researching Coleman Lantern Restoration for an upcoming post but took a break to bring this sleek light out of the archives to share with you today.

This is an Eveready 2 cell light circa 1950.

It has a wide boat switch and is all chrome. 

The logo has vertical lines.

The design of this light reminds me of an Airstream Trailer.

-Martin

Summertime reading

Well the summer has truly come. 

Early morning I was sitting on the front porch having a cup of tea and the early day air was  already "you don't need shoes on" warm.

Time to do some fishing and read some books.....

I haven't added any titles to "the library" in a long while so I thought this might be a good time for us all to have a good summer read.

My pick today is Jack London's THE CALL OF THE WILD

The book is a classic  wilderness adventure.

Don't have this book in your own library?

Click here

Enjoy!

-Martin

Flashlight Friday

It's Flashlight Friday Again and here is an exciting new addition to the collection!

It's an unmarked lantern style light that was given to me by a friend and what a beauty this light is. Check out the retro lines to its design.

I think it might have been made by Burgess but can't say for sure.

The breakdown beacon extends for emergencies.

It's not mint (note the scratches and other wear marks) which makes it cool because it was used. It has two switches on the handle one for the front light and one for the rear. When I get a new battery to fit it I'm  going to try it out!

-Martin

Food For Thought

A few months ago I went to a friends for a weekend visit and to participate in a field day he was presenting to the community on the subject of wildlife management.

Wildlife used to manage itself very well on its own before our society became a burden on it and now, sometimes, it can use some help.

That day I learned about creating  forest food plots  for deer. 

The idea seemed like a responsible act in conservation.

At the time I talked about it with my friend Brian and indicated an interest in maybe making a forest food plot on my own property. Who better to talk about it with than  Brian who is a farmer/scientist and  is very familiar with what needs to be done in order to plant one of these special food and shelter sources for wildlife.

Well yesterday morning I got a text message from Brian. He was going to be in my area planting an agricultural test plot and would have his tractor with him and would I like to get that plot planted.

My answer was sure!

What you see below is the result....

A driveway full of gear

An overgrown field

The first pass with tractor and discs

Some more weight on the discs 

Soil ready for fertilizer

Seeds to sow

A planted plot and 

two friends....

-Martin

Scherenshcnitte

This is Scherenshcnitte.

(pronounced Sharon-Sh-Net)

A German word, it is the name of an old pioneer craft popularized by

Quaker American settlers who established themselves in the region of what is now known as 

Pennsylvania . 

The word means "scissor cutting" or "scissor snipping"

The frame below measures only 3 by 9 inches.

The wildlife silhouette it contains was cut from a single piece of paper and features turkeys, goats, and geese frolicking in the wild.

I found this amazing tiny piece of folk art in a box of bric-a-brac at a church yard sale.

It now hangs on the wall of my house.

The tiny scale and fine detail make this scene fascinating to look at!

-Martin

Flashlight Friday

Another week has past and its Flashlight Friday again!

I'm getting a bit nervous about not having enough flashlights in the collection to sustain my Fridays with new material. We still have quite a few in "the vault" but no new flashlights have been added for the longest time.  

This lantern style light you see below  has no labelling.  It was probably made in Japan sometime in the 70's. It has a light that swings up and flashes. I think that is for using at the side of the road as a breakdown beacon. The cap on the swing up light was missing when I found the light so I fit the red cap off of a spray can on it. 

Did you notice?

Some people have asked me about how I photograph my blog pics.

Below is my complicated studio setup. The flashlight is sitting on the floor on top of a piece of white paper. 

The backdrop is resting up against my refrigerator . A magnet on the door holds the paper up.

It seems to work....

-Martin

Flashlight Friday

It's late flashlight Friday. 

The day is almost over after a fine meal of local fish, that I caught on a nearby lake, shared with a new friend. 

This switchmans' railway lantern you see below was made by the Conger Lantern Company of Portland Oregon circa mid 19th century. Its a favourite from my collection.

Enjoy!

-Martin

Funnel Cloud

A few days ago a huge storm came raging through my neighbourhood.  Funnel clouds were spotted in my region. Everywhere you looked there were trees that had blown down and damage to peoples homes and property. 

These are some images taken along my driveway

the day after the storm.

Trees uprooted by their roots

See if you can find my van....

See if you can find my driveway......

It took 4 hours to clear 30 trees from the highway to my house. 

It will probably take me the rest of the summer to clean up properly.

Sometimes I find myself hunting for something to blog about and sometimes.....

-Martin