The Thumb Leatherneck

The Relaxing Sound of Fuller Creek in Oceana County, MI near its terminus into the Pere Marquette River. This short creek flows through private land and drains from a large cedar swamp. The spring pool, at the headwaters, has brook trout in it and it is a difficult walk to get to. Brown trout, brook, and salmon in the fall can all be viewed in this small cold body of water. Enjoy the sound and relax.

This video is an overview of pumping the Rosenbauer P-23 ARFF apparatus. It goes over bumper turret and handline operations. Always follow the manufacturer's recommended practices before doing pump operations with your apparatus. This is meant only as a brief training aid / overview. This instruction may differ from other Panther configurations.

Cheer, Dance, Tumble CL Spirit Hip Hop Dance Team

Shadow gets his first batch of spring greens of catnip. I'd say he's getting stoned.

A frosty morning westbound CN train heads west into the former GTW Tunnel Yard. It passes by the Port Huron & Detroit Railroad Historical Society's offices. This was filmed from the 2nd floor. Phdrailroad.org

If you are milling / jointing your own board on a jointer / planer one by one, try duct taping the ends of several pieces & running it through a planer for even & equal sides.

My father ditching during the Korean War off Korea / Japan along side CVE-115 USS Bairoko on 17 April, 1951. Esn. J.A. Meinhard pilot, naval photographer unknown. BU# TBM-3S91157 April 18, 1951 His letter home "Dear Folks, The Lord is gracious. Yesterday I got wet when my engine quit, and I had to make a water landing. I was making an approach to land aboard the ship when my engine started sputtering. The engine sounded like it was running out of gas although I was running on an almost full tank. I switched the fuel selector valve to another tank, but the engine continued to sputter and die so I raised the wheels and made ready for a water landing. The landing was soft like flopping on a pillow and water went everywhere. In a matter of seconds I was standing on the wing with water all around, and I couldn’t get my life raft out. I intended to dive off the wing into the water but saw the plane was floating level so I decided to stay until she started to sink. I went back to the cockpit and after working a bit I got my raft out. I inflated the raft, put it on the wing, climbed in, and pushed off. I had a laugh about putting the raft on the wing and then climbing in because it all seemed very funny. The plane stayed afloat for 2 ½ minutes and then sank. Usually they will float from 15 seconds to a minute. The plane sank in about 1 ½ minutes after I pulled away in the raft. I was picked up by the destroyer Bradford in about 10 to 15 minutes after I ditched. I got out with just a scratch on the leg. All my reactions were automatic as to how I was taught in pilot training, and I didn’t panic. During the event of the emergency it seemed like I had all the time in the world – like ages were passing by. The water was warm, wet, and salty. My clothes were soaked with dye marker, but I felt good when I got some hot coffee and took a warm shower. The destroyer people were very nice to me. The Executive Officer game me clean shirt, trousers, shoes, and socks to wear, and I got a nice piping hot turkey dinner. The helicopter came over from the carrier in the afternoon, picked me up, and took me back to the carrier. I was scheduled to fly today but the “Doc” grounded me because of a cold, but I intend to get up tomorrow." © 2021 Meinhard Family Collection / J.A. Meinhard Author

Snow drifting & blowing post 15 February, 2021 storm. Roughly 10 to 12" fell near Blaine, MI.

Fried Chicken dinner cooking in cast iron fry pans.

A westbound mixed freight with lots of auto frames pulls into Tunnel Yard. The new signals for CN 32nd are operational. This is near where the former Tunnel Yard office used to be in Grand Trunk Western days.

Several times now my Ram rolls down the drive in park.

Testing out my new burn barrel with some vent holes cut in it to create a vortex.Old motor oil being burned off to see the effect on a calm night.

A vacant overgrown kill zone in the high plains of Michigan's Thumb for Bambi... But no one has shown up yet. Damn deer always on a different schedule.

A compilation of some video from the 2017 Selfridge Air Show that I photographed.

Huron and Eastern RR switches the Pioneer Sugar Plan in Croswell, MI. This is one of two industries that is served there. The other is a fertilizer storage for local agriculture support which gets covered hoppers offloaded on a relatively new spur. The trackage here is former Pere Marquette / Chesapeake and Ohio... part of D.B. Harrington's Port Huron and Northwestern Railroad of the 1800s. The line went from Port Austin to Port Huron, but south of Croswell to Port Huron was abandoned in the 1970 time frame. Bad Axe to Croswell makes up the main line now. The original banjo music was the very first time playing that melody. As often I record a lot of my music as the creative juices flows. If I like them I will refine and play them again.

A CN manifest train with lotscofcauto frames slides west from the St. Clair Tunnel in Port Huron. Viewed from the PH&D RR Historical Society offices.

An east bound train holds at 32nd interlocking plant in Tunnel Yard, Port Huron, Mi waiting to go to Sarnia, Ontario.

Michigan Whitetails and other critters from my trail cam. Of course by the beginning of the Oct. 1 archery season they went nocturnal and hardly any showed up in daylight hours. Still on the hunt.

Flying through a canon in the Syria map in DCS World. https://www.digitalcombatsimulator.com/en/