Here at the Meadow the division run deep….. Celtic! Rangers! Chevy! Ford! Harold! Charlie! Rock! Country! Yankees! Cardinals! Packers! Browns! Very few things unite them….
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Kill the Train!!!!!!!
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Kill the Squirrel!!!!
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We love you old guy!
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So, each day the battle rages on with brief moments of unity during which ….
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First the Hammock then the WORLD!!!!! Muwahahahahaha
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FORD JOKE OF THE DAY (my favorite car)
What kind of car did Fred Flintstone drive? A ford of COURSE and it ain’t much different now!
Our song of the day.. another hit from the advent of the Model A… Country instead of Jazz…
The old guy likes to read and then apply or see the things he reads about. ONe of his first favorites was was a book about Daniel Boone. Recently on the Internet archive, where they have tons of old books he found that exact book for his kindle and read it with much joy. When he grew up the Old Guy visited the rebuilt Boonesborough ….
Another early book he enjoyed was about Buffalo Bill Cody… a few years ago he found the book and bought it…. this book was his favorite for years and he regularly checked it out of the library. Now he has his own copy and keeps its in a glass door bookshelf…. someday he plans on visiting Buffalo Bill’s grave…. just as he did Daniel Boone’s.
-This is the book.. it is nothing special but the memories…
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-The old guy loved Terhune’s books when he was a kid and has collies now and wants to visit Sunnybank. He studied lots of Presidents, visited their homes… he loved Fords, tractors and had other hobbies he read about then either visited the sites, graves or used the items he studied.
What we collies are trying to say is it is great for ppl to read about things, but what really brings it to life is seeing, visiting, using, making a hobby of or whatever of the things you read about. Don’t just live through other ppl’s experiences or lives, visit those places, see those things or bring those items into your lives and use them. It gives you hands on experience and fullfills your wisdom in ways you can’t even imagine.
Dad loved collies when he was a kid, Lassie and Terhune made him want collies. When he grew up he made us part of his life. Through this he came to realize that the things written about collies by Terhune and others were true and that like those who wrote about collies, his life was heavily impacted by our presence. The triumphs, love, life and finally tragedies were more than he could have ever imagined and it made the books of Terhune come even more alive for he experienced those things.
What we are trying to say is dont just observe, study or read about things. That is great and dad loves it himself. But, bring it into your life, experience it, do it. Why? Because then you experience life and it makes the things you read about come to life! You gain insights and wisdom and breath and live what you have read about enriching your life. When you read it again you will see the books through different eyes and enjoy them even more… but most of all your life will be richer also.
Dad read about and loved collies. Then he had us and we changed his life in many ways and he has come to treasure Terhune even more. He never dreamed that would happen…. while he has lost many a collie he loved he would never give up one moment to take away the pain for the pleasures, love, joy and life experiences far outweighs the pain he has felt. So, do read and enjoy things… but live it! Only then will you get the fullness of what life can be…. most of all love and be loved…. and whent he time comes…. you will be mourned more deeply than any mere collie or human should be mourned…. live…. love and live while you can….
-Reading about collies is one thing… living your life with them brings your readings to life and brings your life much joy, love and fullfillment. Whatever you enjoy reading, watching or seeing, make it part of your life… you won;t regret it…. 🙂 Imagine how boring the old guy’s life would be without us…. especially Ginger! Muwahahahaha Okay, we wrestled the computer from Ginger but are leaving her comment there for you… for how boring would his life be without her? How empty would his life had been without Trevor? Niamh? Both Hallies?
As you know everything here at the Meadow is for the collies. You have seen our collie indoor plumbing unit, our collie transportation unit #1, our collie entertainment unit, our collie food preparation unit.
Today we wanted to show you our Collie Transportation Unit #2. While Collie Transportation Unit #1 fits more of us in it, we look very stylish in our Tuxedo Black Collie Transportation Unit #2. Since it is smaller only a few of us get to go in it at a time.
We look good in it too.. we look like some wealthy show collies riding around in Collie Transportation Unit #2. The one thing we really love is the inside is black also and the darker tinted windows allows us a lot of privacy.
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We love the collie seat belts that keep us safe, the collie heating unit that keeps us warm in the winter and the collie air conditioning unit that keeps us cool in the summer. Most of all we love the four doors that allow us to easily enter and exit, especially as we play Chinese Tag at a stop light where we get out and run around the collie transportation unit#2 and pile back in before the light turns green. It is nice having our own collie chaffeurs… er.. mom and dad drive us around.
WE enjoy immensely the collie musical entertainment unit that keeps us with beautiful music as we travel with songs like Lassie, How much is that Collie in the Window and other wonderful collie entertainment. So, that is our Collie Transportation Unit #2.
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While all those things are nice what I Ginger like the most about Collie Transportation Unit #2 is the huge trunk it has. A great place to store things, like food, treats, machine guns, the remains of those who refuse to accept one of my deals they can’t refuse!!! That reminds me…. Mick bring a shovel with us on our next ride….. Now, we are off to some cat named Guido to make him a deal he cant refuse…. Muwahahahahahaha
In the animal world there are some disturbing things I see… so I will address them after some cool information….
Here is a collie in the 30’s at the home of Edsel Ford! In the min-cars are Josephine Ford, known as Dodie who loved animals till the day she died donating large sums of money for their care. Josephine Ford was the daughter of Edsel Ford who was the son of Henry Ford. Edsel was a kind man who did not like many of the antics his father pulled. Edsel was not only President of Ford but of Lincoln and Mercury. He founded Mercury and had a big role in designing all Ford cars after the advent of the Model A which was his first Ford design. While all that endears me to Edsel, he had a collie!!!!
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The other child is William Clay Ford who is the youngest child of Edsel and Eleanor Ford. William Clay Ford is the only one alive of Edsel’s 5 children. He is presently 88 years old and he owns the Detroit Lions….. too bad he can;t have success on the football field that his family has had with their cars!
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-My love for Tractors is also well known on this blog. Here is a picture of a Ford 9N tractor and beside the back tire is Henry Ford and in the middle of the picture is Edsel. Next to Henry Ford is Harry Ferguson. Ferguson developed the revolutionary hydraulic three point hitch that changed the tractor world forever! He later had Ferguson tractors after working with Ford till Henry died and then later was merger with Massey-Harris to build the Massey-Ferguson company that still thrives today!
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To further see a quick shot of their collie as a young dog go her and go to 2:33 on the film to see Eleanor playing in the snow with the kids and the collie!
Those who live nearby should know you can walk your dogs there and they have dog days so check out the website. 🙂
Henry Ford at Fairlane created a refuge for wild animals having many brought in from threatened areas. One of his specialties were bird. Five Hundred bird houses were built and he loved watching them……
In 1912 and 1913 Ford threw his weight and money in to help pass the Migratory Bird act. It still serves as protection for the Geese and Ducks and others whom you see flying south in the fall and north in the spring.
So, what is the point of this post? Well part of it is that I like the Fords and love animals and that they had a collie. But, the other is that saving animals, helping them and loving them is not relegated to just average folks or working folks or what have you. It is a spectrum of people from the poorest to the richest who work for the betterment of animals. W don’t get political here on Collies of the Meadow but in today’s world I think it is important for all of us to remember animal care is not just the realm of self-proclaimed protectors or activists who seem to pour scorn upon the wealthy. It is for ALL of us to do. People like the Fords could pour in money and pull favors from connections while people like you and I help where we can and take in what we can and try to care for animals around us through everyday activities that include kindness and love.
Together we all can make a difference…. I dont care if you are rich or poor….. just do what you can like build a birdhouse, feed the birds in the winter, take in a stray cat or dog, give money to no-kill shelters, even $10 helps! Donate your time…… whatever….. it all helps. So what about the tractor? Well, I love them but planting corn in the part of the world I live in has helped the deer, migrating birds and squirrels as well as raccoons and others eat all winter so they dont starve like they used too. Yes, despite protests of some there is a place of modern technology in helping to feed the animals.
For me, I love animals. We take in all we can, feed all we can, find homes for the unhomed we know of and give them all love. Animals from the wild seem to know we love them and many come to our home to spend their final days till they pass away such as the woodchuck who showed up one day and whom I picked up (which horrified everyone for they thought it would bite me) and wrapped in a blanket and put under the big Maple with food and water. He never ate or drank but stayed till he passed in peace. We have had injured birds come, injured bats and squirrels and while all of them were beyond saving they all were cared for till they died feeling cared for.
One doesnt have to do great things for animals.. just be kind and loving…. for even the most wild animal has to have love….. just love them….. it will change your life.
We collies thought we would put up a few Christmas suggestions.
For Terhune fans, any of his books. We will post a list of them soon!
For Collie Lovers we suggest from the Terhune Memorial Society anything by the person who knows more about Terhune than anyone in our opinion;
Kristina Marshall. We have her FOREVER FRIENDS and it is a thrilling and wonderful book about all the collies that lived at Sunnybank with the bloodlines coming out of Sunnybank! This is a must have and just type in Terhune Memorial Society on Google to get more information or type in the book with Kristina Marshall’s name. 🙂 She also has several other book and all of them are GREAT!!!!
For Automobile Lovers;
A great read about the history of Henry Ford, his family through to the early 90’s, the Ford Company and the cars a excellent book is ;
FORD, THE MEN AND THE MACHINE by Robert Lacey
For the best biography about Henry Ford we have read and can recommend volume one of the three volume set by Nevins. Volume one covers Henry Ford, his family life, Ford Motor Company, the cars and his other activities up to 1915. It is fascinating to see the beginnings of the Ford Company and how they did all they could do to keep it going until it finally exploded into the beginning of the huge company it is now. This book is: FORD, THE TIMES, THE MAN, THE COMPANY
For Movie Lovers we recommend;
THE QUIET MAN with John Wayne and Maureen O’ Hara
HIS GIRL FRIDAY with Rosalind Russell and Cary Grant
For the men;
Any Three Stooges Films
For the Women;
Any movie with Katharine Hepburn
Hopefully this will help……
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I Ginger think the ultimate Christmas present is printing out this picture of me lifesize and putting it on your wall………
Yeah but dad told her he would get over 30 mpg taking it to work! Mom told him it couldnt be done…. Way to go dad! You told her…
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Thats right….. unlike lead foot mom, the old guy took me to work and got 31 mpg!!! Now mom is trying to bribe Ginger to let the air out of my tires…..
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What mom? I dont know nothing about no stinking salt in your coffee…. hehehehe By the way…. does the number 31 mean anything to you? Muwahahahahahahahahhahahahah By the way dad gave me a bigger bribe than you did… *evil grin*
Harry Merritt walked through the door of Allis Chalmers with one thought on his mind.. how to take this company that built fine tractors away from 10 years of losses and to turn it into a tractor building powerhouse. One of his first acts was to take apart a tractor and go over it piece by piece and find ways to make it cost less while increasing quality. The tractor price fell from 1895 to 1295 and was better than before. Then he decided the Allis Chalmers needed a new color and while riding through the mountains of CA on a train he looked out over a huge valley full of poppy flowers. He had his men get some of these and told the paint department he wanted this copied for the paint on the tractor. The famous Persian Orange color was born!
Then came one of the first row crop tractors in America.. the UC which was followed closely by one of the greatest models ever build the WC/WD/WD 45 series which evolved over 25 years. Rubber tires then became offered first on AC tractors and then the tires filled with hydrochrloide. Thsi salty brine added lots of weight and gave the Allis Chalmers greater traction.
But, Harry Merritt was not done… he fullfilled Henry Ford’s dream of a low priced small all around tractor that cost under $500. The model B was born and Allis Chalmers rode the wave to become the third largest tractor builder in America! I own a Model B and it is one fantastic tractor!
Harry Merritt kept looking for that last ingredient that would put Allis Chalmers over the top. Unfortunately he had it in his hands and dismissed it. The idea was the three point hitch that used hydraulics to lift and turn implements and were simple to hook them up. A device that changed the tractor world was in his hands when Harry Ferguson offered it to Harry Merritt. Merritt turned down the idea and Henry Ford latched onto it and the rest is history.
Allis Chalmers rose to become a tractor powerhouse and built many fine tractors. But, the heyday of the 30’s, 40’s and 50’s passed and they slid down the rankings a few notches. The irony of it all is that the man who made Allis Chalmers a power house is the same man who also led them to their slow decline by not recognizing the the very item that would’ve led AC to the top for having the Model B with the three point hitch would’ve had even Farmall chasing AC for years.
But, even with that Harry Merritt is still recognized as a genius who led a tractor company who was going to be shut down to become the third largest in America. No small achievement at all…..
-the model B I own…
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-hmmmph… none of that means nothing I am a genius who didn;t miss the boat.. I discovered a little collie liquid down the gas tank makes that B scream like a demon…. just have to make sure the old guy never sees me jumping it over the other tractors…. muwahahahaah
Every once in a while I post about our favorite things…. As you all know I am a big fan of old iron by Henry.. Ford that is. Now my family was a GM family and most of it is to this day, but the Ford fan club is growing with my daughter owning a Ford now too. I was even more is awe when I went by the Ford HQ in Dearborn…. talk about big!!! Woo hoo!!! But, lets look at my favorite iron by Henry Ford….
Of the Ford brand, there is so much to be favorites… the Model T, the 1957 Fords, the Mustang… oh the list goes on. But my favorite Ford is…
-the fabulous 1932 Ford. What is so special about this old car? Well, it had a flathead V-8 om it and it would scoot. If you ever see one of these it will turn your head for it is a handsome looking car that when it goes by has that throaty V-8 sound that will stun you for you will not expect it in a car like this. While Chevy had its stovebolt 6 with low end power and torque these old Ford had speed! The 32 Ford followed the Model A and the Model T and was Henry Ford’s last big move to save Ford Motor Company. It succeeded beyond anyone’s wildest dreams and the engine was built until 1953. While a 32 Ford looks like a car from another era it had a engine that would not be passed until the 50’s.. now that is revolutionary. They were so popular that many of them became hot rods and that is what the song “Little Deuce Coupe” is about.. a 1932 Ford….. My number one favorite of Ford division of Ford Motor Company,…..
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-This is a film of one.. the sound isn’t great but when he takes off with it you get to hear a bit of what they sound like… my favorite color too… black….
Then there was Mercury. This was Edsel’s baby and what a car Mercs were. From the tear drops, to the Cougars to all their fabulous cars in between I have my favorite….. I am torn for I love the Lead Sleds of 49 which were Jimmy Dean’s favorite and the 56 Mercs….. But the ’56 Mercs ooze power……
-Well, its the 1956 Mercury…. red and black two tone of course…. here I am next to one… 🙂 Below is a film of one… its a ugly color but you get to see the inside and outside of it and hear it run…… 🙂
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Then there is Lincoln… well you all know the 46-48 Lincoln Continental is my favorite.. in White or Black… oh yeah, now this is class…. with a V-12 this car oozed power and yet looked classy…. this was Edsel’s baby also…. and Edsel Ford to me was a genius…. here is a picture and here is a film of one in action…. my favorite all-time car….
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Sort of like riding in one isn’t it.. what a car!
Honorable Mentions….. loved the ’63 Fords…..
and of course my second favorite Ford.. the 1957….
-I Ginger would look great in a ’46 Lincoln….. the old guy on the other hand would look good ina ’46 Ford tractor being dragged behind the plow… muwahahahaha er… did I say that? snicker….
All of you know how much I love Fords….. well, my daughter went out and bought a new car…. and I was thrilled to see she bought a …… drumroll please….. a FORD!!!!!! A 2012 Ford Fiesta…. now I am watching with interest for this is one of the new Fords…. getting rave reviews. So, I am watching with great interest for I want to see how well it runs for her.
I took it for a ride and loved it. Quieter andsmoother than any Ford I can remember….the six speed transmission was interesting as the car took off with plenty of power but never worked since she shifted before the rpm’s went up…. For a smaller car it has plenty of room with a huge trunk. A true A+++ in my book so far…. most of all I am glad she bought a Ford for I love them. Also, she came home telling me its interesting how Ford wants to not only sell her a car now, but for the rest of her life……… unlike the main competitor which tried to steer her to a more expensive car.. didn’t care what she wanted and just wanted to find ways to upcharge her and was only concerned with the now sale regardless of her feelings or consequences……. that is why in my opinion Ford will be number one again. They have a great business philosophy.. hopefully they stay with it…. as for my daughter I felt she got one heck of a deal on that car… the price she got it for was amazing…. think I’ll have her negotiate my next car buy…
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-Great, we will call it Collie Tranportation Unit #3… hehehe
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In the last picture… see the black Ford Fusion in the background? That is my favorite new Ford model…. 🙂 Hopefully someday….
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Collies Of The Meadow 