Fire Truck pictures below

For those new to this site, you will find pictures of two different Fire trucks Ben S. and I checked out. You can access the posts either of two ways... Option 1. Scroll down to the post titled "Fire Truck #1" to see the first pictures. Option 2. On the left hand column, click on "Fire Truck #1" for the first set of pictures.

If township members have any questions or comments, click on the comment icon to post them. All pictures are downloadable by clicking on the picture, then when the picture comes up, save to your computer.

More of FT #2

This unit is only 2wd, however. Has 16ply tires. Central command control. Unit came from a Colorado city.

Fire Truck #2

This unit has a 3208 Cat, 250 hp engine, with 643 Allison transmission. Has very good pickup speed, can cruise 70+ mph. It has good handling and can seat three in the cab and at least three behind the cab. Has good pump capacity and a new 1,000 gallon fiberglass tank.

Front Mounted pump for our current pumper

This unit is similar to the pump we would be replacing if we decided to continue with the repairs. Cost of this unit is around $25,000, plus repairs needed to rebuild the drive shaft and the radiator.

Still more of FT #1

These are the last group taken of this unit.

More of Fire Truck #1

Tires are in very good condition. Equipment maintenance appears to be performed and everything in good working order. Truck has 4x4 drive with high and low gear settings. Again, click on comments icon to post comments. Only drawback from my perspective might be the lack of power to get to higher speeds quickly, but our test drive ran up around 65+ mph.

Fire Truck #1

Click on the
picture to download. The fire chief has the spec sheet on this unit. He can either post the specs on the reply option or email the specs to me to scan and upload in another post. More pictures to follow.

I look, therefore I am....taking pictures

These photos were taken back in August in Baltimore, MD. My window from the 11th story of the Rennaisance Harbor Hotel provided a great view of the harbor. The ship in the photo is the USS Constellation. To the left and out of view are a submarine and a Coast Guard vessel.

One night, after a grueling day of meetings, a couple friends and I strolled around the harbor boardwalk, which is located out of view, going in either direction in front of the Constellation. A percussion group played for an hour. I could have listened to them all night if they were in the mood to play that long.

The bad and the ugly

Needless to say, I will not plant this hybrid next year. It was a one time venture to determine if it was a reasonable replacement of an old time favorite. Will continue the quest next year with other potential candidates.

The Good

These photos show what is possible when rainfall arrives ten days earlier than the photos in the previous posts.

.60 of an inch is all it took to stave off disaster.

The beans were double cropped into wheat stubble after harvest.

These photos show the impact severe moisture stress during the boot stage has on the head condition and ability to produce grain. Looking at the center photo, 85G01 is on the left side of the screen. 8505 is on the right side.


The left photo is a field of 85G01. It should be completely headed out. Moisture conditions are similar to the field near the shed in the background where 8505 and 85G01 are planted side by side. It indicates 85G01 has a distinct lack of drought tolerance, much less than 8505.

Moisture-wise, rainfall was spotty from planting until last week. We finally received adequate moisture to stop the crop from detereorating further.

The hit and miss of Mother Nature's rainfall

Forgive me, Mother Nature, I'm not at all impressed with your behavior of late. Your rain clouds promise relief from the heat, and yet, they failed to deliver when and where it is most needed.

Before the 18th of August, this field received less than 2 inches of rainfall since it was planted in early June. Note the curled, upright leaves that indicates the plant is in exteme stress due to lack of moisture. An inch of rain a week earlier would have made an entirely different picture.

2006 wheat harvest

Earlier in the spring, this field looked like it was about to die. Very thin stand, not much growth. Then we received nearly five inches of rain in April. Mid fifties yield resulted. 2137 variety.

2006 harvest

Finishing up a field making 56 bushels per acre.

2006 Harvest photos

Believe it or not, harvest is over. Normal harvest time would be just going into high gear about now. Here are a few photos I was able to take while rushing around getting planting done amid the early harvest. Enjoy.