Flight Radar 24: a Great Website

Had old friends up for a chat today, and was shown this website that I'd like to share with you.


A fine example of the voluntary collaborative ventures that you see springing up online - only made possible by the internet - great fun and really useful if you're planning to pick someone up.


And of course, a gift for the hidden Geek in all of us!

this is a screenshot: real time aircraft information

hours of fun - check it out!

A Most Satisfying Weekend!

Despite my moaning at the end of last week, a little application has gone a long way this weekend. Most absorbing, creative in a different way, and very satisfying to look back on.


The fruits of my labour:

All the boards down. The gap is for a concrete plinth for the cooking area

it's 10 metres from end to end

floored to the door

collateral damage - marker pen on my watch - no wonder I was having trouble telling what time it was!

News about our 'plough'

Many thanks to all those who know their agricultural implements much better than us for the information about the implement that we unearthed earlier this month.


It seems likely that it is a potato ridger or grubber. Our dear neighbour Frank thinks so.


Thank you Sandra from Horsepower in Ireland for your comments:

Hi John,
What a beautiful place you have, the views are stunning!
It is fairly common to find old pieces of horse-drawn equipment in ditches, behind barns, under dung heaps etc., often covered in nettles like yours. But it is always thrilling to find these things on your own land! We found our first piece of horse-drawn equipment - a spring tooth harrow - behind our barn, and we still use it with our two horses.
Common ploughs usually have two wheels at the front, a smaller and a bigger one (one to run in the furrow, and one running on the un-turned ground). So it looks like yours, given it has only one wheel, used to be a potato ridger or possibly a scuffler (which is a horse drawn hoe of some sort). But because the acutal piece running through the soil is gone, it is hard to tell. You may find it hepful to look up the equipment we use: http://www.horsepowerinireland.com/about-our-equipment.html. There is a picture of a potato ridger and a plough, and I've just put up a picture of a scuffler as well.
There is a fantastic museum in Johnstown Castle in Co. Wexford (http://www.irishagrimuseum.ie/collection/index.htm)If you ever go that way, it is worthwhile visiting, and you might find some useful information.
Best wishes,
Sandra

Her site is brilliant, lovely pictures and lots of fascinating facts - good luck with your great venture

lovely site - and lovely logo!

Here's some pictures of our one:

Paul on unearthing day!

a beautiful thing

generally ploughs have two front wheels (so I'm told!)

you can see the indentations where they screwed in the height adjuster

hand wrought - lovely

there would have been two blades fixed here

and one here

This is a picture of part of a horse shoe that we found last July.
Could it have shod the horse that pulled our grubber?

found when we were making a flowerbed