Thanks for your continued support, AB!
April 2, 2007
March 25, 2007
Farmlet Readers Contribute $50, $5 and $40
WOW! SH sent $50, JC sent $5 and KW sent $40. Thanks to all of you!
Glorious Fat Cow in the Evening Light
Esmerelda, our Friesian cow, is growing incredibly large. I’m beginning to wonder if the Ambler’s calf, growing inside her, is going to spring forth fully formed!? We don’t think Esmerelda is due to calve until July, so how much bigger will she get?
I was out the other day, inspecting the boundary fences, and I snapped some images of our glorious (and strident) beast in the evening light.
In photography school, I learned how to use the evening sky as a massive softbox. Just wait for the sun to go below the horizon in the evening and you’ll have several minutes of warm light that flatters most subjects. Glossy car brochure photos are the most common examples of this technique. Let’s see how well it works on a cow the size of a minivan.
I’m ready for my closeup
Will that lens make me look fat?
March 17, 2007
Farmlet Reader Contributes AUD$20
Farmlet reader and repeat contributor, IL, sent AUD$20! Thanks IL!
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March 10, 2007
All Steel Shovel
I used part of this month’s contributions to buy my last shovel: the Made in New Zealand, Atlas Trade, All Steel, Round Nosed Shovel which cost an insane NZ$99 at Mitre10. (This shovel was so expensive that, when I went to pay, the woman at the register couldn’t believe the price.)
I’ve written about broken shovels before, and my search for one I could rely upon. I thought it would be worth noting that this quest is finally over for me.
I’m confident that I’ll give out before this Atlas shovel does, and that’s the way it should be! To choose a tool like this is to be through screwing around. While someone might note that I could have bought 6.6 crappy Warehouse shovels for the price of this single Atlas all steel tool, the peace of mind is worth the extreme price.
Note the weld between the blade and the handle:
Atlas all steel shovel with close-up showing the blade welded to the handle
I’ve been using this shovel and it’s a pleasure to work with. It’s rigid and it feels damn strong.
Thanks to all contributors for making this strategic purchase possible.
For those of you in the U.S., the Fiskars Long Handle Digging Shovel seems like the closest match to the shovel I got, in case you’re interested. “Shaft is welded to the steel blade,” are the seven words that should jump out at you.