Alan Skeoch

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  • Fwd: EPISODE 141 “I TURNED 90 AND TOOK OFF IN A HARVARD….”, SAID BRAD SCHNELLER BREATHLESSLY



    Begin forwarded message:


    From: ALAN SKEOCH <alan.skeoch@rogers.com>
    Subject: EPISODE 141 “I TURNED 90 AND TOOK OFF IN A HARVARD….”, SAID BRAD SCHNELLER BREATHLESSLY
    Date: October 15, 2020 at 8:23:18 PM EDT
    To: Alan Skeoch <alan.skeoch@rogers.com>



    EPISODE 141   “I TURNED 90 AND TOOK OFF IN A HARVARD…”. SAID  BRAD  SCHNELLER BREATHLESSLY

    alan skeoch
    Oct. 11, 2020





    “Alan, What a day this has been,” said  Brad Schneller breathlessly.  He was so excited he could not
    even sit down on our socially distanced  lawn chairs.  He was flying high.  Why? Because he
    had been flying high an hour earlier.

    “I just turned 90 years  old and got my birthday wish…a  flight in a World War II Harvard.”
    “You did what?”
    “Sandra and the kids, Anne and David, Booked a joy ride for me out of Hamilton Airport…on a  Harvard .  We flew southwest
    to Caledonia…”
    “Dangerous?”
    “Suppose so.  The pilot told  me not to touch any of the controls.  The Harvard  was  used
    to train fighter pilots in World War II…two sets  of  controls.  I kept my hands  clear.”

    Brad  just could not sit down.  He paced up and down our lawn keeping his distance 
    …masked of course…but as excited as a kid in a candy store.
    Marjorie served them, Sandra and Brad, ice cream on a stick.  Brad wolfed his down
    as he described the flight.   Then he looked hungrily at Sandra’s which had not been eaten.
    Between bites he told us about the flight.

    “Flying in a Harvard has been a dream that I never believed would actually happen. Years  ago
    I remember a  Harvard coming to land on my friend Bill Greig’s farm near Rockwood.  It was magnificent.
    But beyond my grasp.  Then today, as I turned 90, the dream became real.”

    “The Harvard  only flies  on good  days…clear sky in other words…and today was  just
    perfect.”




    FACTS  ABOUT HARVARD HISTORY

    1The North American Harvards first appeared in 1937 
    2) 1939, first 50 Harvards delivered to the RCAF, Sea Island, British Columbia
    3) 1940, metal fuselage replaces  tube and fabric structure
    4)  1940-1, Canada receives 1200 American made Harvards
    5) 1941, Canada  begins manufacture of Harvards
    6) 1940 to 1945, Canada builds 2,800 Harvard  Mk 11B’s distributed  to 15 flying schools
    across  Canada
    7) Harvards were necessary bridge from the Tiger Moth to Spitfire fighter aircraft and  other
    front line fighters.
    8)1945, Canada keeps  some Harvards  as trainers but large number were sold to civilians
    9)1949, Cold War with the Soviet Union – Canada realizes it needs  Trainers again
    and leases 100T-6J Texans from the United  States Air Force.
    10) Canada orders 270 more Harvards toBE rebuilt by Canadian Car and Foundry, Thunder Bay.
    11) Harvards continued to be used as trainers until retired in1966
    12) 1938 to 1954, three were 20,110 Harvards belt, 3,370 built in Canada
    13) “Countless numbers  privately owned Harvards are still flying today.”
    14) The Hamilton Aircraft museum Harvards was built in 1953, sold  in 1965, donated back in 1973 by Dennis Bradley, Alan Ness and John Weir

    ANOTHER 1951 HARVARD BEING RESTORED

    • Status: On display
    • Airworthiness: Under restoration to flying condition
    • Type: Trainer
    • Built: 1951
    • Serial Number: RCAF 20213
    • Construction Number: CCF4-4
    • Civil Registration: CF-UUU
    • Current Markings: RCAF 20213
    • Length: 28 ft 11 in
    • Wingspan: 42 ft
    • Power: 600 hp
    • Engine: 1 x Pratt & Whitney Wasp R-1340-AN-1
    • Maximum Speed: 180 mph
    • Cruising Speed: 140 mph
    • Service Ceiling: 22,400 ft
    • Range: 800 miles

    North American Harvard Mk. IV











    “Alan, this day has become one of the best days in my 90 years.”
    (And Sandra, sitting opposite Brad on a lawn chair, smiled…happy for her husband)

    alan skeoch
    Oct. 11, 2020





  • EPISODE 140 WILL THE MONARCH MAKE THE TRIP OR DIE TRYING

    EISODE 140    WILL THE MONARCH MAKE THE TRIP OR DIE TRYING?


    alan skeoch
    Oct. 12, 2020



    The Monarch  caught my eye as it grabbed hold of a lingering cosmos flower.  A cool day.
    All the indicators screamed that winter was on the way.  Screamed in those vibrant colours
    of late fall.   The Monarch should not be here.  It should have flown south a month ago.
    Yet it seemed to know where it was going.  Heading south to Mexico.  Hopefully.  

    Usually Monarch flit here and there. Land on one flower then flit to another.   This Monarch
    gripped the Cosmos bloom for a  long, long time.  Was it a death grip? It held firm Long enough for me to get off the tractor
    and try to get closer with my camera.  But I could not.  The cosmos was  growing on a
    steep  face of land where the pond had dried up.  One slip and down I would go.  How could
    I tell the Monarch  story without pictures of those beautiful wings?

    Ninety percent (90%) of the Monarch  butterflies we enjoyed  20 years  ago are now gone.
    And there is  a good chance they will all  be gone in the next 20 years.   

    Should I do anything?  Could  I  do anything?  Maybe raise Monarchs?  Not so easy
    as  many human raised Monarchs  seem to be missing the SOUTH GENE.  They
    flit aimlessly and cannot survive when the heavy frost hits.  How do I know that?
    Because one scientist lassoed  some home raised monarchs and found they did
    not have the FLY SOUTH BEFORE THE COLD HITS gene.  Those Monarchs  living
    in places  like Hawaii do  not need  that gene.  But our monarchs need it if they
    are to survive.



    Where was my lone Monarch  going?   After a  ten minute rest on the  cosmos the
    butterfly would released its grip and continued south.  Erratically but definitely south.

    How far is Mexico?  How many km. can a  Monarch fly in one day?  
    What can it eat along the way?   My  Monarch stopped to answer 
    questions.   It needed all the energy it could muster to make the north
    shore of Lake Ontario that was 40 km. away.   Then it would face
    the flight over Lake Ontario or Lake Erie.  Could my Monarch  carry
    enough lunch for that flight?   Were there Monarch  restaurants still open
    on the Mississippii flyway?

    The trip is not as easy as it used to be.  Less  milkweed for them to eat as farm fields
    get bigger and bigger and the old  fencerows get cleared.  In those fencerows the milk weed 
    plants survived.  (Also survive in our garden at the expense of things we can eat.)  The forest
    fires ravaging the American west are devastating to the Monarchs.  No  escape.  In 2016, 62 million 
    trees died in California alone.  Today, in 2020, the death whole of forests is far worse.  Here in Central
    North America there is  a  glimmer of hope due to the Monarch  Butterfly Biosphere Reserve
    in Michigan, a UNESCO world  heritage site.

    Perhaps the worst part of this horror story is the illegal logging of the Monarch butterfly’s
    home sites  in Mexico.  They hang by the millions on those trees and die by the thousands
    as  an illegal log is ‘harvested’.   Who is to blame?  No  easy  answer.

    My monarch on this bright sunny fall day has to be admired.  Monarch  butterflies are the only
    insects that migrate  like birds.  Migrate 3,000 miles to our farm.  Not the same monarch
    however.  The progeny makes  the journey.  Some only live one month on the flight.  But 
    the monarch  I see today has lived  for 8 months.  It has never seen  Mexico it seems
    to know where Mexico is?   How is that?  The Monarch brain is the size of a pinhead
    yet it knows this  sunny  day in mid October that it should be on its way south to 
    Mexico…yes, brain the size of a pinhead.  What triggers that brain to head to Mexico?


    I asked my Monarch.

    “Where are you going?”
    “Mexico.”
    “Have you ever been there?
    “Never.”
    “Then how do you know where Mexico is?”
    “My brain just cuts in and says ‘fly south’ when 
    the temperature gets cooler.”
    “A lot of humans, Canadians, do the same thing.  
    Did you know that?”
    “My brain is learning about the human migration
    but not learning fast enough.  Millions of my kin
    get killed on highways,  particularly US 35 which bisects
    our flyway.”
    “How do you know that?”
    “Not sure…so many things in our life are disappearing
    but I am reminded of a saying among butterflies…”We can but
    hope that good  will be the final goal  of ill.”   That hope 
    keeps us going.”
    “We have the same expression of hope among us humans.”
    “Maybe you humans can  do  something about the state of the
    world.  Your brains are so  much larger than mine.”
    “Size of brain and intelligence do not seems to go hand in hand in
    North America these days.”
    “That is  tragic.  Tragic for us, the Monarch  butterfly population,
    and tragic for you, the human population that has peopled the earth.”
    “I like your attitude…keep on flying…keep hope alive.”
    “Right.  Well, I cannot hang here talking any longer.  I am late.
    My target is the shore of Lake Ontario in the next few days…and
    then Mexico before freeze up.”

    And  away it went.  I forgot to get the name.  Not sure if the Monarch
    was male or female.  I do know, however, that it was smart.  It knew
    where it was going and would try to get there with all its might.

    Wish I felt the same about us.

    alan skeoch
    Oct. 13, 2020

    WHY ARE THESE COSMOS FLOWERS SO BRILLIANT.  THEY HAD NO CARE.  NO SPECIAL  WATERING.  NO LOVE AND SPECIAL  FOOD.
    WHILE OUR SPECIAL COSMOS  GARDEN WHICH HAD CARE ALL SUMMER HAS BEEN DEAD AND GONE BY THE END OF
    SEPTEMBER.  DID THESE COSMOS SURVIVE BECAUSE THE FLOWERS  KNEW THAT MY MONARCH BUTTERFLY, MY FRIEND,
    WOULD BE ALONG?  I LIKE TO THINK SO.

    OUR TREES  IN LATE FALL LOOK LIKE A MILLION…A BILLION…MONARCH BUTTERFLIES

    JUST WAITING TO TALK WITH US.  

    alan skeoch

    Oct. 12, 2020


  • EPISODE 139 TWO STARTLING EVENTS OF 2020…COVID 19 AND THIS JOHN DEERE DINOSAUR OF THE FARM FIELD

    EPISDOE 139    TWO STARTLING EVENTS OF 2020….COVID 19  AND  JOHN DEERE DINOSAUR


    Alan skeoch
    Oct. 2020

    In  February 2020 would you have believed a Pandemic was about to change the world
    so completely.  Air travel which we took for granted is now a thing of the past for most of us.
    And who would believe that it was necessary to wear a face mask wherever we go.  

    Just as unbelievable are the changes  in agriculture.  Who could possibly afford to buy
    and  operate a tractor and cultivator so big that it spans two traffic  lanes.  More 
    startling is the fact that this machine now cultivates thousands of acres of farm land
    removing small farmers from the market … driving them into cities for work
    while their land is rented to these corporate elephants.

    The one sure thing in life is ‘Change’, as I have one to believe.

    AUTUMN LEAVES:  They are wonderful this fall.  I am so glad you enjoy them.  
    More to come.

    alan

    P.S.  Brad, can you tell me how much this  tractor costs?



  • EPISODE 139 PUTTING THE BEES TO SLEEP FOR THE WINTER

    EPISODE 139    PUTTNG THE BEES TO SLEEP FOR THE WINTER


    alan  skeoch
    Oct. 12,2020

    Andrew’s bees need  tender loving  care at this time of year.  They
    are getting  ready  for a  long sleep and their home needs  to be
    winterize and a surplus food supply of sugar and  water needs to
    be available.


    Late fall colours  are holding just so the bees can remember how glorious their nectar collecting days have been.
    Once Andrew gets them sealed  of for the winter they may peak out occasionally … at their peril


    Andrew has decided to let the bees keep their honey this year.  New Bees…new home…new country.

    “Tate this Dad”  … he scooped spoonful of honey with his bee knife.
    “Terrific…can i have another shot?”

    At that moment a bee stung poor Norman on the ass.  He took off like a bat out of
    hell for home.   The honey tasting was  forgotten.




  • EPISODE 138 HAY LOADER AND BILL BROOKS MAY 2018 and Angus McEchern



    Begin forwarded message:


    From: SKEOCH <alan.skeoch@rogers.com>
    Subject: Fwd: HAY LOADER AND BILL BROOKS MAY 2018 and Angus McEchern
    Date: May 30, 2018 at 9:33:59 PM EDT
    To: Alan Skeoch <alan.skeoch@rogers.com>




    Begin forwarded message:


      EPISODE 138 



    THE HAY LOADER…INVENTED1895….REPAIRED AMD MADE FUNCTIONAL 2018

    alan skeoch
    Oct. 2020


     Setting:July Day, sunny day, beautiful day…year 1950, age 12

    “Well, boys, today we have work to do.  Hop on the wagon with a hay fork, each  of  you.”
    “Where are we going, Angus?”
    “Loading hay…cured perfectly by the sun…”Make hay  while the sun shines,” and old saying…true saying”
    “Anything special we should know?”
    “Nothing.  Just don’t stab each other or fall off the wagon as the load builds  up.”
    “How can we fork hay from the field  if we are on the hay wagon?”
    “No  need to do that.   See that machine in the hay  field.  Called a hay  loader.  it does most
    of the tough work after it gets hitched to the back  of the wagon. “
    “What do  we do?”
    “You will soon see.  There all hitched.  I will drive down the windrows with the tractor.  Don’t look
    at me or you will be smothered in hay.”

    And  away we went.  Hay came off the ground  with wire tines…moved  up the elevator and dumped
    on us  with a steady  stream.  We forked as fast as  we could…piling the loose hay as  neat as possible
    but it just kept coming and we began to stand higher and higher until Angus stopped and unhitched
    the hay loader.  Then we rode the load to the barn.  Angus  McEchern  knew how much hay he
    would need to feed the cattle and  horses over the winter.  He still kept a team  of  horses for old
    times sake.  He loved is animals more than money.The new hay  smelled  like the finest after shave lotion that dad  used or perfume.
    Timothy hay  with clover interspersed.

    Once unloaded in the mow, we headed back to the field  and rehitched the loader  starting the
    job all over again.  We were as dry as  popcorn farts by the third load so Angus  had a special
    surprise.

    “I’m going to get close to the fence row.  Park your forks and  get your hands ready.  Chokecherries
    …grab a few fistsful.  You  might like the taste.  Spit out the stones.”

    Chokecherries are an acquired taste.  Awful at first.  Makes the mouth pucker up.   Dry as an empty
    dipper.   Then they begin to taste good.  Angus swung by the chokecherry bushes several  times.
    We grabbed and  gobbled…and  spit out the cherry stones.  “You  boys should pick a basket of
    the cherries  for your mom…make terrific jam.  Do that after we get the hay in the barn.”  And so  
    the day went by.  Hay just kept coming from the gaping top mouth of the hay loader. Kept coming
    and  we kept forking.

    That was one grand  day.  Never forgotten.  Just the one day…only a few hours really.  But
    the day  got lodged in my brain forever.

    Decades later…perhaps 40 years later or longer…I bought that hay loader after Angus  died.
    And  hauled  it to our farm where it stood by the cedar grove for another 20 years or so.…
     festooned with bittersweet vines helped along by two
    poplar trees growing through it.  A shame.  So this  year, spring 2020, we cleared  the vines and
    ousted the trees  by t heir roots.  The result?  Look below.


    The Hay Loader was invented in 1895 as a labour saving machine that would pick up hay that had  been dried by the sun and
    deliver the hay to a couple of men or women standing on  a  hay wagon pulled by a team of horses or a tractor.   What labour
    is  saved?    Tossing cured  hay onto a  hay  wagon meant working against gravity.  Tiring.   A hay loader worked with gravity
    by dumping the cured hay directly on to the wagon and therefore farmers just had to catch the stream  of hay and place forks  full
    neatly on the wagon bed.  A lot more hay could be loaded with a lot less effort.
     
    More of the story to come…as told and shown by Bill Brooks…below.









    That is not the end of the story….Back in 2018, Bill Brooks called me up.


    “HAY LOADER REBORN AND READY  TO GO.”

    alan skeoch
    May 2018

    “Well,  young fellow,  you should see  what I’ve just rebuilt”
    “Must be something ancient, Bill.”
    ‘Drop by the  shop today if you can.”


    Bill Brooks and  his  wife Leah own a machine shop not far from our farm.  Bill loves  old machines…more than he

    loves profits.  He had just restored a hay loader that had been snapped  up by  a Mennonite family north of Kitchener.
    Before he delivered the hay loader he wanted me to see it.   I was  flattered.




    This is  Angus  McEchern with one of his pet Hereford steers.  That story is coming next

    if I can get the time.



    alan skeoch
    Oct. 12, 2020