One year ago today: February 5, 2019, the ubiquitous pin-map.
Five years ago today: February 5, 2015, room for pilot ego.
Nine years ago today: February 5, 2011, a navy of offendable pansies.
Random years ago today: February 5, 2016, toxic lawn.
I watched some video about the fate of captured German panzers. They were rolling off the production lines in record numbers by war’s end. Like all European wars, nobody outside of Europe had any business sticking their noses into it, including the USA. German was the last major combatant to go on a wartime economy—something you won’t find in many western history books. Germany never intended to fight a long war, its position meant it had to win any war quickly or lose by attrition. By 1943, the international banking cartels were lending money to anybody who would declare war on Germany. Yet, the Germans damn near won anyway. Even with most of the world ganging up on them, there many instances where a single battle could have changed everything. Dunkirk, El Alamein, the Atlantic, and Kursk come to mind.
There is a lot of hype over how Germany lost because they had no oil. Hmmm, that’s another way of saying Germany continued to build more panzers than it had fuel to run them. And that is one silly way to think. The fuel must have been there. When I read about the large numbers of tanks being captured intact, it tells me it was the fuel distribution system that was more at fault. Why? Because it looks like nearly six hundred Mark IVs were captured intact and another two hundred non-runners in new condition. Some wound up in Spain, I know France used them, the Soviets got huge numbers, and Czechoslovakia was selling them. That’s how they wound up in Syria. I think the French sold them as goodwill or some other reprehensible diplomatic reason for which the Europeans are so famous.
For a tank designed in the 1930s, that speaks wonders for German manufacture. The Mark IV stayed on against everything the Allies threw at it. Although it was outclassed it was able to inflict damage to the end, which can largely be attributed to better soldiering. That’s where I began researching. Was it the end? I noted an upsurge in Israeli orders for British Centurions after the 1958 crisis. Aha. That would have found the Mark IV up against its old American foe, the Sherman tank. The Israelis were using super Shermans, with a 90mm cannon. Don’t quote me. It would appear the Shermans fared no better against the German Pzkv IV than they did during the big one. That’s where the Germans picked them off as fast as they appeared and the Americans sacrificed five tanks to get one kill.
I also laid down the basic blocks for the storage shed around back. That old tree stump is smack in the way. My plan is to make the back wall out of fencing. That way, even if somebody should look through the neighbor’s gigantic yard toward mine, all they would really see is what looks like an ordinary fence. To contribute to the effect, the fence panels I put up last year have sagged and faded. Those go to the back and the front yard gets new pieces, this time properly reinforced. There is a potential problem with a gate in the back right where I could best put the shed. I’ll deal with that later.
Shock wave.
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Later, it needs one tube. The other is pin-holed right near the nozzle, which is more trouble to patch than it is worth. With my gas budget back to half-normal, We talked about the chickens and unless the Doberman can be trained to watch the entire are, it is like a mini-forest back there. I emphasized the best I can do is to take the best precautions. It’s not like there is any big choice here, but we have seen raccoon droppings in the vicinity. These are brazen citified critters in an area where every second house has a rifleman.
ADDENDUM
What am I learning about chickens? Top of that list is that they are messy eaters and are only carefree as pets if you force them to be. Food outdoors must be plentiful because they sure are fussy about what’s in a bowl. And they will knock over their water dish repeatedly. Since they are cooped until Sunday, this means check if they have water several times per day. Moments later, we got us egg number two. They will scrounge and they found all the carrot seeds I planted. After lots of reading, I see that the raised planter beds are the way to go. I don’t have time to build any at this moment, so I’ll plant some regular rows and watch for results. I bought seeds that if planted together now, will mature at two week intervals down the line.
That means beets, carrots, and a second crop of radishes. And, because one part of the yard looks to me like the watermelon patches seen in Disney movies, I’ve got some watermelon seeds. Or is that, I’ve got me some watermelon seeds? The first person who says I’ve reverted to a hick should get a poke in the eye. Everyone should be reminded the latest US laws allow food to be labeled “organic” if it contains up to 32 chemicals on a list. I cannot find the list. The label does not have to contain the quantity of chemical in the product. I don’t like beets much, but something tells me I’m about to.
And I may have spoken too fast. The carrot seeds were either super slow germinating or too deep. But the chickens did not get them all. I was fooled by the disturbed soil. Soon I should have some garden news for you. I’ve got to make up a calendar for the new seeds, since I would not know by looking when to harvest.
