We gott’a have hero’s in life, and he is one of those for me. Always able, always there and always ready with advise when and if it’s asked for. That same brother who sends me his son Walker, to grace my home and saddle shop for months on end, like his father, he also is a remarkable fellow. But enough of the reasons behind going out on a limb with this project, lets talk about the reason somebody would engrave a hand plane in this first place.

It all started as somewhat of a joke on my part but has since backfired in a most resounding way. It was meant to be something akin to the “Last Spike” when the railroad crossed America and arrived on the west coast. You see my brother and his wife had a house fire some 5 years ago that done a huge amount of damage to the original house. For several months the raging debate was, do we rebuild the original, or demolish and commence anew. Well, my brother in his typical fashion decided to just do it himself…….you know, the entire rebuild from the original. And in his typical fashion said the heck with an overpaid Architect etc, he will just design it the way he and his wife would like it to be. It is often said that projects just seem to grow, soon enough they take on a life of their own. This one certainly has done all of that and more. What started as a fairly simple re-model, has grown into a house of better than twice its original size. The white limestone rock that faces the exterior was hauled from Texas, while the Long Leaf wide plank living room floor was drayed in from east Texas. The entire kitchen is done in gorgeous Mesquite, also from Texas, just stunning. The open beam ceiling done in huge Douglas Fir timbers brought in from British Columbia. Proper timber frame construction with knee joints, motise and tenons, scarf's, the entire job has been hand pegged.........not a bolt on the outfit. The ceiling of all the open beam areas was done in Hickory brought in from Tennessee. Rock was used extensively inside the house as well as outside, the floors are all done in Spanish Saltillo tile’s………and my brother done it all. Oh, yes his kids have all helped, it would be unfair to say he done it entirely himself……..but he done it. And in doing so has proved quite a few folks to be wrong yet one more time.

So this hand plane is a momento to my brother, my brother's Last Spike! The house that strated as a burned shell some five years ago, is now nearly done…………..and just in time too as it will bear witness to my brother's first and oldest daughters wedding which will be held in the house my brother Neil built!

So what is it about the hand plane that makes it different for me apart for the reason behind the engraving of it for my brother? Well, as many of you know I am not a steel engraver………no really, I find it very intimidating and painstakingly slow to execute. Thanks, but I will stick with the silver instead.

With this job I wanted to do something that would challenge me, it may be easy for you, but a challenge for me. I single pointed almost all the design, then I removed back ground and made a stipple tool to work the backgrounds down. After all that I had to re-cut most of the edges to get them to appear to be standing up like I wanted. Once I had that stage done I could go in and do the shade cuts to give it some life and expression. From there it was a simple matter of adding a little flat black paint over the surface and then wipe it with the palm to remove the excess.

For me, that was a wrap and I could then find a way to get the item to my brother up in Canada. For most of you reading this Blog, you only now get to see the final finished item. I hope you enjoy the work………and I assure you, I will never venture into the gun engraving arena.

Be well and be Blessed……….better yet, be a Blessing
Jeremiah

According to one of the more intellectual types who attended not only last years event, but also was in attendance for this years gather. We grew by 300%. So with that, we should all be impressed, we managed to grow by exactly half of what the US debt has grown. Not too bad at all for a second year event.
We had a great time, the weather was very cow-operative, the global warming has not kicked in yet this spring in California and we were Blessed with some wonderful 80 degree sunshine. The gather started at 8am sharp, and officially got underway by 9:15 when the last of the late comers arrived. In typical cowboy fashion, we got started at 8am sharp with a pot of coffee, and drank till we thought we had them all.

A view inside the saddle tree shop at Jeremiah's

The first arrival for the morning hailed all the way from “Illinoise”, and walked in to catch Jeremiah busy in the kitchen attempting to get a scone cooked for the impending onrush of visitors. Not the best way to catch Jeremiah maybe, but the truth is the truth, and if I don’t say it………..well, it will all come out later as a dirty rumor.
Folks slowly rolled in, with our guest speakers arriving last. Guess they didn’t take the SHARP thing as being a SHARP thing. Next year we will commence at 8am BLUNT just for my Aussie friends. The coffee and scone seemed to go over pretty well , giving us all a chance to break the ice and get to know each other.
We started the day with a 10 cent tour of the shops. By the way for those who arrived to this blog late, The conflab was held at Jeremiah’s place up Warthan Canyon in central California, Coalinga is the closest small town. Anyways, we done the shop tours, all of them. I joke with folks that we have something in every “chicken coop on the place”, and they seldom believe me till they drive in the yard and see for them selves. We spent the most time, with obvious reason out in the tree shop, talking and discussing tools, makes, and those most pertinent for a small one man shop. I done my best to convince those in attendance that they would be better off in finding a good tree maker to work with and stick with saddle making. Not sure that was the right thing to say…………enough so, that I think we will be adding a day to this event next year. But we will make the details about that extra day known a little later on.

Dennis Lane in the foreground taking a reading of the horses back, while David Morris watches.

From the tree shop, we moved on out to the barn, where we had a few bales of hay set up on Jeremiah’s new stack of tree shop timber. This gave us all the sensation of being in an auditorium. And still others got that sneezing sensation from the hay.
Down too the actual matters of importance. The morning address was started off by Dennis Lane of Quirindi, NSW, Australia. Dennis and his partner, also from Australia is David Morris. Together, these fellows make up the team that invented the “Equine Back Measuring System” that we are discussing in a major way at this Conflab. Dennis talked till about 10:30, at which time he took a breath. We spent our time discussing the value and the application of the fitting cards. The value is that anyone can own the cards, use the cards to measure and for that matter re-measure their horses. All the information can then be shared with a saddle maker and of course a tree maker later on. The only hitch it seems, is that the saddle maker and tree maker need to become aware of the card fit and how it is used. The application, well that is easy if see the cards. They quite simply transmit real data as far as a 3D shape of the horses back, and those readings are taken in key places that all saddle trees touch on the horses back. It really is that simple.
Dennis and David mounted a tag team saddle tree tutorial act, until we broke for a noon meal. Their time was spent explaining to those in attendance the most important places and junctures to look for in equine conformation when using the horse fitting cards.
LUNCH, always my favorite part of any seminar. That and the NAP that follows. My wife, Colleen, as well as my daughter Nevada had made some Chili and Dutch Oven biscuits while we talked at length out in the barn. I could smell the Dutch Oven at work, and was tempted several times to quit the seminar and head in zombie fashion towards that aroma………it’s a good thing I have will power. I do believe that Colleen was the real hit of the gather……….well, maybe her biscuits. But they were appreciated that I do know.

David Morris, cofounder of the Equine Back Measureing System, takes center stage while Dennis stands back for a moment.

When the small talk subsided, and yawns broke out, it was decided we had best get back to the barn, to the discussion, and to that of saddle tree fit. David and Dennis took the floor once again, and tried to make clear all the points that they had been discussing before we broke for noon lunch. As a point of fact, it was a Socratic gathering of folks who intend to achieve a change, the Equine Back Measuring System offers us an avenue of change in that it opens the door to discussion and sharing of our horses back profiles. The two Aussie D’s. done there level best to assure us that this was not a one world government take over plot, but simply a means of talking in real 3D terms about the horses that we are asked to fit. NO tree maker has to change a thing that he is currently doing, he simply needs first become accustomed to the terms and meanings of the Equine Cards, then cross reference his current saddle tree parameters to see which horses are fit by which correlating card profiles. With that simple task done, he can converse with any saddle maker or customer in real #d terms about his/her horse and what it takes to create a fit.
The relaxed atmosphere of the gathering, gave birth too lively debate and discussion centered on the subject of cooking………..no, sorry. We discussed mostly saddle trees, and the varied means of measuring horses. Over the last few years there have been several noble attempts made to enable us to measure the horse, each falls short of fulfilling what the industry is looking for. With a thorough explanation from David & Dennis, in regards to the Equine Back Measuring System, we all came away with a better understanding and a renewed confidence that we finally had a tool in our arsenal that could be incorporated very easily.

Lunch break under the huge Oak that graces the front yard at Jeremiah's

Around 3pm, it was time for Jeremiah to close the discussions down. There were a few items to be discussed and they were left to Jeremiah to bring to the floor. Now to be sure, what I have been doing for the last 5 plus years, in the measuring of horses backs and gathering information has been good for my conformational understanding of the horse. Like the Aussies, I believe the real, or the best benefit is to come in the long term. The benefit over time is the catalog of horse information that will come from this measuring of the equine form, the many ages, breeds, and conditions that will be encountered can some day be housed in everyone’s computer to be drawn upon like a dictionary of fit. Then there is the subject of conformation and who it is that is ultimately responsible for that conformation or the lack of it. What responsibility do we tree makers have in addressing really bad conformation flaws, and can they indeed be corrected by what we do in the saddle tree. Then there is that subject called conditioning, and the role we play in the equine conditioning program, which is nil, yet it plays a huge role in both fit and function of the final saddle that we are asked to build. Jeremiah walked folks thru the process that he uses in the measuring, but readily admits that his method has flaws in that it cannot be sent to a customer and expect to get reliable information. Jeremiahs goal in measuring is to attain angles from the horses back in those areas that the saddle tree makes constant contact. I like my method says Jeremiah, but I will be the first to admit that I will be switching over to the Equine Back Measuring System, because it is so easily understood and used by my customers.

Jeremiah takes a moment to speak about the methods and the reasons behind the measuering he does.

We closed down the discussion in the barn by 5pm, and moved back to the yard and the coffee pot from which the day had started. We sat till nearly 9pm, talking, discussing and at time relegated to a lively debate on merits and methods of one system or another. In the end it was decided, that fun was had by all who took the time to attend. That those who did attend actually all left a little smarter than when they arrived. And after a thorough check of all the out buildings at 10pm, it was also decided that indeed all who attended had actually left.

Here is a group shot of those who attended the Saddle makers & Tree makers gathering for 2008. Be sure to keep an ear to the ground in order to hear the details of what is to come next year.

The following day after the Conflab, was spent in discussion. We discussed what can be and should be done with the next year gather. We already know that more horses are going to be used. We also talked about adding a day, so that more time could be spent in the actual tree shop and make some of the major areas of the saddle tree better understood, areas such as gullet width, gullet height, and just what is a square tree anyways? If you have ideas, and thoughts about this subject by all means let us know. You will notice that the ability to post a comment here has been shut down, due to all those damned rubber underwear salesmen that spam the *@#%$& out of us. So now because of them, you will have to send the email to me directly .
Hey good night, be well and be Blessed
Jeremiah

Jeremiah, caught in the act of doing what some say he does best!

DATE- June 5th of 2008, as the date for an official Treemaker & Saddle Fitting Day. It will be held here on the ranch. We will have both David Morris and Dennis Lane in attendance for the "Lane Card Fitting System" demonstration.

COST- we have priced this one day clinic at $65.00 per person for the day. You are welcome to bring up to 2 horses for a fitting if you would like. Keep in mind this is a ranch, not a boarding facility. So the ammenitites are just as you would expect on a ranch, and not what you would expect from a boarding facility.

LANE-FITTING CARDS in thier first test version will be available for purchase at the clinic should you be interested. I did talk to Dennis about this facet of the presentation, and he and David assured me that this would be the case..........they approximated the price of a cared pack at $50.00 but depending on several factors that could change a little. So we need to be a little flexible with this option till they get the manufacturing figured out.

WHAT WILL WE DO- The day will be spent listening to David&Dennis reason thier way thru why the card fit system will work better for all of us, no matter which end of the business spectrum you find yourself on. We will be placing the cards on my horses as demos, unless you bring your horse for us. We will also be taking photo's of the horses for cataloging efforts.........and if the horse owner is real pretty................well we will photograph her as well.

LUNCH- like I said, best you bring something, a sack lunch and a few cold drinks. It is about a 20 minute drive down the mountain into Coalinga from here, so running to town for lunch may not be the best option. We will have something going here on the ranch as well, so I doubt any of us will loose to large a percentage of gross body fat for the day.

DIRECTIONS- Here are a few directions to help you find us. The ranch is known locally as the Vandyke Ranch, that is if you get lost and are asking a local for help. The proper address is 47069 Crump Lane, HC1, Box 34 Coalinga, California. The last time I checked the Google map thing had a hard time finding us, but the ranch is situated on Highway 198, we are west of the town of Coalinga 16 miles, which is from Perko's Cafe in town to my mailbox or lane. If by chance you are coming in from my west, you will be coming on Highway 101 iether north or south, and looking for the Highway 198 off ramp. The off ramp is located about 7 miles south of KingCity. Now from that off-ramp to my house is 36 miles, I know, becasue I ride it all the time on my bike.

LOST- call the house 559-935-2172 or my wifes cell 559-355-7948

We do look forward to seeing all of you. Tell your friends, and invite them along. We are not specifying that you be a saddlemaker or tree maker, but want as many of them as we can get so we can place the idea for the cards and maybe the actual cards in your hands in order that we can have the greatest impact. ONe more thing, if you do plan on attending, please let us know ahead of time.

All the best and God Bless from, Jeremiah Watt

There is an old adage that says: man does not live by bread alone!

Now in my own never be humble opinion, this is totally bogus statement, and I am really close to being living proof……..someday you can ask my young friend Jordie. Jeremiah indeed loves his bread. And of all the things I really love to cook, its bread and biscuits. My bread and biscuits will cure marital troubles, and make a wife go GA-GA over an otherwise useless husband. So men pay close attention, I shall reveal here the secrets to an incredible married life.
#1- Keep your britches on and maybe if it gets warm, ya can roll up your sleeves. Remember to wear an ample Flour Sack about your “waste” to keep your Levi’s from showing any FLOUR to your roping buddies.
#2- Remember men, Bread is so simple WOMEN can make it.

Okay, we got the real serious stuff out of the way, and the wives are mad enough now to split my head with a clever……. We can get on with the actual fun of making bread and biscuits my way. Forget all those darned measuring spoons, cups and tablespoons. I am a cook looking for a firm European Crust and as few dishes to do as is possible. Success is measured by dishes to be done after wards, and true success is a BOWL and SPOON. Remember keep the bowl as small as possible, it takes a long time to lick out a large bowl.

BISCUITS FIRST,
2 Cups of Bread Flour
2 Teaspoons of Baking Powder
½ Teaspoon of Baking Soda
1 Teaspoon of Sugar
¾ Teaspoon Salt
Mix the above dry ingredients together well
Then grate in an 8oz stick of almost frozen butter, use a coarse grater. Grate a little then mix it in, then grate some more and mix that in, until the 8oz stick is coarsely mixed in. Remember that we do not stand around mixing this stuff for any length of time……….there’s always the NFR, Nascar and a football game to be watched and mixing takes time.
Lastly we can add a cup of cold butter milk, none of it, then grab the rotten stuff at the back of the fridge if you happen to be a Bachelor……….still none, then add 1 tablespoon of Lemon juice to the cup of fresh milk. Allow that to stand for 15 minutes and then add to the mixture above. If you do this right the concoction will appear to be to wet and runny……..that is just perfect. Now absolutely do not listen to yer mother-in-law and her instructions about adding more flour and kneading this stuff. She would be flat wrong with this recipe. Have a hot oven, already up to 475.
Spoon the wet dough out onto a Ford 150 hubcap or a cooking sheet will work I suppose. About 1 scooping tablespoon is fine. Place them with about ¾ inch between the wet dough balls and slide in the oven to cook for approx 15 minutes till the tops are golden brown. Now with all the love in the world, set yer wife down and feed her and her mother one each of these golden crusty gems, if they get up and leave these babies……….well, be thankful I guess. She can always be replaced with a good bird-dog!

Cranberry Prostate Loaf- lets face it. Most men think prostate is that act of lying flat on your belly on the ground..........till they hit 50, then the whole world tells them about the other meaning for the same word. Well good health tells us Cranberries are good for ol'Prostate,here is a loaf loaded with the goodness to keep ya healthy. 1 full cup of dried Cranberries, and 3/4 cup of south Texas Walnuts barely chopped, and the trick is a 1/4 cup Olive oil which gives you a Artisan style Rustic loaf.

BREAD COMES NEXT-
If by chance you like that bread that sticks to the roof of your mouth, having a crust like a dish rag ………this may not be your style of bread. This is a sour dough type bread with a real hearty crust not for the denture challenged folks out there. So beware. A good sized #14 Dutch Oven is the real secret here, along with a bottle of beer.

3 Cups Bread Flour
¼ Teaspoon of Dry Active Yeast………if the born on date goes back to the sixties toss it.
1 ½ Teaspoons Table Salt
Mix these dry ingredients well……..yes, round and round, over and over that’s mixing
Now for liquids, we add ¾ cup plus 2 tablespoons of room temp water
Then add ¼ cup mild flavored Lager Bear……..oops Beer
Lastly add 1 full tablespoon of white Vinegar
Mix the liquids well, and pour over the dry ingredients.
If you do it all about correct, you will have what appears to be a very loosely mixed, somewhat floured fuzzy ball of dough. It is just barely mixed, and definatly not KNEADED like a textbook dough would be.
Next step, place the mixing bowl and contents in a warm but not hot place, and just cover it so it stays warm and LEAVE IT ALONE FOR 12-18 HOURS. YES, leave it alone, no peeking, no prodding just time and the wonderful gift of atmospheric autolyzation taking place.
After the set upon time, you can roll the now risen dough ball out on a floured board and very quickly and somewhat lazily KNEAD the bread………..do not strain your self in the kneading process, just a good 12-15 strokes is all. Remember, save your strength, you may have to open another Beer later.
Place the dough ball on a sheet of cooking parchment paper so that it can be lifted and placed in into a hot dutch over before it is then placed in the VERY HOT OVEN. SO, sitting the dough on parchment, the bread is covered once again, and returned to that warm spot to rise for maybe 1.5 to 2 hours.
About 15 minutes before it is time to set the bread in an oven, turn the oven up to 500 degrees and place the Dutch oven inside so it gets darned good and hot. Then lift the loaf of risen dough by the corners of the parchment and settle it down into the very hot dutch oven. Put the lid on the Dutch Oven, and close the oven for 15 minutes. Once that 15 minutes of cooking time is over, we can turn the oven down to 375 and cook for another 18 – 20 minutes.
When this bread is cooked thru, you can lift the loaf and tap on the bottom, you should hear a deep hollow, empty sound………thud,thud,thud....very similar to the hollow sound you here when you rap on a teenagers head these days. The bread will have a dense heavy crust, with a mildly yeasty taste. The shape of the risen loaf will be rather squat with a golden brown top, the inside texture will be earthy smelling and have a open airy structure, it stores well and is good hot or cold. Combine it withe some hearty cheeses like Gruyere of Taler, Pazzosa and maybe a little Cabernet in a tin coffee cup...........this is truly cowboy " Horse de Hoofers"

It’s high time you got courageous, you’ve made a few loaves and had success. Now is the time to let the creator that has been locked inside of you all these many years, now is the time to let him loose. Try adding some nuts, maybe some dried fruit, try cutting it with Muesli, roll it in Oats, or sprinkle it with flour. Son, there’s a whole nother world inside that oven………..but only the bravest will ever see it, let alone taste it. Cooking is supposed to be fun, and recipe rules are ment to be broken.

Yes we are all tongue in cheek here, and you ladies don’t bother sending me hate mail about my chauvinistic comments, I will make it fair in due time……….I will be sure to pick on women next week……….. okay?

Rustic Raisin Bread, it will bring over a nieghbor quicker than a new bottle of Rye. Just add 1 full cup of CALIFORNIA raisins, and if you like a little sweet try a 1/3 cup of Sorghum. For those of you who are Sorghum Intolerant, you can try a 1/3 cup of Demar Brown Sugar. Cinnamon is entirely optional, so just dont add it.

I have done both of these recipes in Dutch Ovens using briquettes and/or coals from Oak. The results were the same no matter if I used coals or an inside oven. Delicious.
Bon Appetite, Good night and God Bless

If you have ever saved and scrimped in order to add a new piece of equipment to your workshop then you can realize my apprehension at letting my green machine go. What am I talking about, give me a moment and I will explain.

About 15 years ago, my wife and I decided that we would buy a multi-spindle carving machine. This is the sort of thing that replicates parts in wood, and is used in a bunch of different industrial applications, for our needs it would be applied in the production of our saddle trees. And so the research began, I remind you this was prior to much being available on the web, so letters had to be written, and brochures found and books read about the whole subject of carving machines.

Then JW headed to the Carolina’s for a little over a week, after all the center of furniture carving in USA is in the North Carolina area. While touring that area, JW took in the IWF Show in Atlanta, which is the largest wood working equipment Show in the USA. While there I of course stopped and asked every stupid question possible to any one who would listen and who had equipment to sell. Then I toured every production carving shop that would allow me through the doors, and again I asked a barrage of questions.

When I arrived home, the resulting information was put into play and we began to search for an Italian made carving machine, for these were the most highly thought of machines out on the production lines. We found an 8 place machine, made by Las Scolpatrice of Bove Cunea,Italy. For 28K it was a beauty and very intimidating to be sure. When it arrived we had to remove the roof from the tree shop so that a crane truck could lower it down into the building. The set-up went easy enough, but the power requirements proved to be a challenge. After many attempts at the infamous homemade 3 phase converter we finally settled on a factory product that produced 3 equal legs of power……….and our machine ran smoothly. Prior to the addition of true power supply, we could not even get the machine to attempt to start.

For many years we used this machine, it worked and produced faithfully for us. But the realization of it being to big finally came into play for our shop. The machine was capable of producing 8 bars per hour for us, but the problem was still that of customization and its constant demand for minor changes in tree dimensions etc. So, it was decided to sell the big green machine and replace it with something smaller and a little more fitting to our capacity and need for easy changes.

The green machine was sold to the good folks at Timberline Saddle Tree. It will be replaced soon with something but we are not just to sure what the replacement will be. But whatever it is, we will let you know right here. We will also share with you what it was that made us choose the machine we did, but for now I have to settle with a hole in my shop where a very nice piece of equipment used to sit.

Good Night and God Bless

Let me assure you that no matter what you may think about your inability to calculate a proper price for your handmade item…………you are not alone. Psst, the boat is quite full……….make sure you grab a life jacket while you can.

Secondly, I should as a matter of honesty, tell you that I am but a messenger here and not the Mastermind behind the calculations we will discuss. The concept for this blog article is based in a pricing formula that I received from a friend in Canada. I have a good friend up there by the name of Dave Elliott, he is maybe the leading Bit and Spur Maker in Canada. Dave is a talented craftsman, who knows how to make the best use of his time, taking advantage of every time saving opportunity that comes his way without ever compromising his desire for quality workmanship. For those of you who are aspiring students, I suggest you take time to look Dave’s work up. For those of you who are building collections, then by all means your time will be well spent in finding Dave and Louise Elliott up in Granum, Alberta.Canada at 403-687-3000.

Now, lets get to the third part of this literary revelation, that being the realization of a need for an article such as this, one that revolves around product pricing and being smart about it. I recently attended the GRS -Gathering of the Grand Masters held in Emporia, Kansas back in October of 07. May I first make a strong recommendation to all my faithful friends out there, that YOU also would do well to attend this weekend engravers seminar. I had such a great time, and so much was learned and shared by those who attended. But, more to the point however, was the meeting held for those who attended, over coffee and doughnuts in the GRS Training Center Meeting Room. Not some pretentious affair, just a loose knit group of folks who engrave at differing abilities on items as diverse as knives, guns, coins and cowboy gear. The meeting took in a wide range of topics for some two and a half hours, but the three most heavily discussed where #1-Pricing, #2-Photography, and lastly was a web presence of some form. Yes, even the most masterful of the engravers struggle with proper pricing. Just sitting in on this meeting and hearing the points of concern from men and women who share a desire to be paid for their hard work, and too know that they are in no different business shape than my saddle making friends or my Bit & Spur making friends. In truth, it was this realization that was the impetus for writing this blog article. I hope you enjoy it, and if it happens to somehow offend you………..well, I will apologise now for that but encourage you to read on and see if you can find some truth I the words shared here.

Lets be blunt here since we’re all somewhat friends, can we take the whole phrase of “FAIR PRICE” and toss it out the window onto the scrap pile of real backwards thinking. Since when has the local auto repair shop asked around to see what local cowboy wages are ?? Since when have you walked in to buy the hard pressed ranch wife a new Fridge, and had the Big Box Store salesman say………..”now lets see if we can’t find a FAIR PRICE for you since you work on a ranch at the end of a gravel road with a generator and carry the water to the house from an outside well…………surely to goodness there must be a special fair price somewhere in this book”??? Ah ha…………didn’t ’think so!

Fair Price has to give way to PROPER PRICE, by that I mean a price that allows shop profitability to you as a craftsmen, meaning something you can put in the Bank, enough to pay the bills for power and silver etc, and maybe even print a small catalog or flyer, buy an ad in the Western Horseman etc. Move forward at being in business. Another point about our pricing is that many of us end up placing items in local stores on consignment, or maybe in Galleries, but our pricing is structured so that the entire drop in product price comes directly out of our pocket. Maybe it would be better if we thought ahead and priced our items so that we had the room to negotiate and still leave ample room for profit to you, what do you think?
So, let’s walk thru this process. I first have to tell you that you DO NOT NEED to be an accountant to make this work, however it does help if the IQ is a little higher than a fence post. If you flat hate to keep track of any thing in your shop, including the materials, the time and the amount of rain or when you turned your Bulls out…………..well buddy, we will Pray for you.
THE BASICS REQUIRED ARE-
TIME- you have to have a somewhat accurate assessment of time. Not a guess as you have in the past. It would be better if you took the time to get a little more structured assessment of time. I am a bit of a fanatic about this portion and do it by the minute and second…………….yes, yes, a bit anal but I have employees and want to know as close as possible where my shop time is spent.
MATERIALS- this is maybe the simplest to track since a bill for silver is fairly easy to calculate and track in a per square inch format. Don’t forget you also have steel and welding supplies etc. There is a portion of the phone bill, maybe a little for shop heat etc. There is no need to make the accounting of this portion to demanding.
LABOUR RATE- what are you worth per hour. This may be the very hardest part of this entire calculation but oh so necessary to move forward. Please stop and think, the bricklayer or plumber do not come and ask you what they should charge for their time. I will end it there, because I could be accused of leading you to making an assessment in regards to labour charges.

LETS PUT THIS TOO WORK FOR US, Once you decide on this Labour rate you must Multiply you hourly rate by .6 twice or two times. For example: If you are worth $40.00/hour then ($40.00 x .6= $24 x .6 =$14.40.
Next step, use this labour rate in the following equation:
Materials $______
Hours x Adjusted Labour Rate $______
Total ________
Total divide by .6= $______ this gives you a wholesale price
(.6 gives you a 40% margin)

Total divide by .6= $______this gives you a retail price.

Here is an example:
Materials Cost $ 20.00
Hours 15 x $14.40 $216.00
Total = $236.00

Total of $236.00 divided by .6 =$393.33 this gives you a wholesale price
Total of $393.33 divided by .6 again =$655.55 this gives you retail price.

Of course the final judgment is also to look at the existing market and compare your price with what the market can bear as well. If your final price comes in a long ways over what you think the current market price is there are a few places you can begin to look. For instance your assessment of actual time may be a long ways from accurate. Lets assume that your portrayal of construction time is accurate, here is where it may become rather offensive to some of you. It may well be that you are doing things in a rather archaic manner, not taking advantage of time saving steps that are available to all but the most remote ranches in USA today. Lastly if your impression of current market price is based in what others who are also underpaid may be getting for the same type of work in your area………..then may I suggest a general meeting at the local coffee shop and the immediate formation of the Texas Concho Constructors Cartel or TCCC as it will be known. And lets hope that your first chapter President does not stutter, or it just mmm-may never ggg-get off-fff the ground!
This may not be the manner in which Google or Microsoft develope the pricing of product, but it beats the heck out of a coin toss or stab in the dark pricing. And remember that bringing the lowest of our prices up does more for our industry than forcing the highest priced work down. There are after all, a limited number of seats at any SOUP KITCHEN.

Again my thanks go out to Dave Elliott. I have bragged about Dave and his work as a Bit & Spur maker as well as an accomplished silversmith……………but there is an attribute to Dave’s character that is even more endearing to me. Dave is the best darned “Pie Smith” that you have ever met. My wife’s pies stopped our dog from begging at the supper table………….Dave’s could be the cure to world peace they are just that good. They are the only pies that I would put on a par with the pies I ate at Frannies on my bike ride.
Hey good night and God Bless you all, I hope you read and enjoy it.

I had the chance to visit with many of you while in attendance of the WRCA Finals over in Amarillo Texas back in November 07. My family the wife Colleen and both kids, ran a booth for JWP and WBS over in one building, while I worked as a demonstrator for the GRS Company of Emporia, Kansas over in another building.
I was assisted in this engraving endeavor by the affable and able Aaron McMicheal who works in sales with GRS. I have never sat in front of folks and demonstrated engraving, not that it was any sort of a problem, but you do get a different feeling when sitting and engraving like I was. I got that “Panda in a Zoo” feeling.

It was a great Show all in all, the ranch cowboys were as you would suppose, the star attraction. We had the opportunity to take in one night of the Rodeo events, and there were sure enough some very talented cowboys present.
Apart from the Rodeo itself, there were a multitude of cowboy gear vendors and gear makers. They came out of the Gramma grass covered plains, and out of the pinion pine hills of the south to show their handmade wares. There was a treasure chest full of silver mounted bits and spurs, and a couple of wagon loads of handmade saddles, with enough braided rawhide around to tie the whole load down if you should need it. If anyone couldn’t find something they liked in Amarillo at the WRCA Finals, then they needed glasses or a thicker wallet.
As for myself, I had a great time. I engraved 2 pair of sterling silver bit cheeks while at the Show, along with two different bracelets. So for me it was entirely productive. I not only got some work done, but I also had time to meet and greet many of you. We had the chance to let folks sit down and try their hand at engraving, and in turn some may also be interested in attending one of my engraving classes coming up this year in Emporia. My classes are to be held in April 21st-25th, and September 15th-19th. If you happen to be interested then by all means call GRS at 800-835-3519.

But maybe the neatest of all, was meeting those fine polite children that ranch families seem to still be able to raise. I was very impressed by the interest and intellect of the youngsters I met over in Amarillo. My hat is off to all of you who have taken time to instill the values and aspirations of America in yet one more generation of American kids.
Good Night and God Bless

DAY2- began about the same time, the day would prove to be clear and sunny, even thought the morning sky was heavy with cloud from the storm of the day before. We unlocked the gate to Ponil Creek at almost the same time, the headlights were turned off and we rolled quietly along the then gramma grass covered flats of Vermejo. Interspersed amongst the gramma grass and abundant ground cover type Cactus were large groups of Antelope and Buffalo, which placidly grazed as we drove past. The Buffalo seemed impervious to the cold wind that tore at their long brown hair, they looked to be as content as if they were grazing in the Bahama’s.
“Right there” said Gene, as a large finger pointed to our right out on a distant flat. We could all see three cows walking up out of the bed of Ponil creek and up onto the immense gramma grass flats which make its closest topographical neighbour. The Elk, some mile or so distant to us, walked in what appeared to be a parallel path to our own, what made it even worse, was they knew of our presence as soon as they arrived out on the flats. It was Gene’s suggestion, that he and Pine try to put the sneak on this group. Out in front of our location some 200 yards was an old ditch which had been dug decades before and for who knows what form of irrigation project. With the ditch as cover, they felt they would be able to move along and intercept the Elk on their present route. My job, since I was not shooting, was to stay with the truck and move along if it looked like the Elk panicked and decided to run off before we could intercept them.

The sneak, was long and slow, taking some 45 minutes to get to within maybe 200 yards of the Elk. Now, from my position back at the truck, looking thru a pair of binoculars, I kept wondering why Pine did not shoot. I would later find out that neither Gene nor Pine could ever get a clear sighting of the Elk, due to some heavy weed cover that blocked their view. The Elk, finally realized that something was afoot, they decided to run for a little more protective cover.
With Pine and Gene back in the truck, I heard all about how close they actually were, but how poorly they could see the Elk. We had a little coffee and a little of the sausage that Gene had cooked that morning and talked over plan B. The sun was breaking out in large scale, the day warmed to maybe 25 degrees and the wind began to abate, all while plan B came to life and we drove towards Cedar Hills. The hills lay to our north, and were a well known hang out for Elk during the winter months along Ponil, we no sooner but got to the foot of the hills and we jumped about 50 Elk which promptly broke into two groups and took flight in opposing directions. The herd of Elk that we chose to follow headed almost due north towards the snow capped Gallina’s mountains that form a barrier between the last of the big 14,000 foot mountains and the continuation of the continental divide as it menders south in its diminished capacity.

Our Elk as we came to call them, made their way to a small creek bed whose course wandered aimlessly amongst the almost imperceptible topographical changes to this plains area of Vermejo Ranch. Our only hope it seemed was to get down into this shallow dry creek bed, and use both bank and Willow, when present, affording us scant coverage to close the distance between ourselves and our prey. For almost 2 hours we trailed along behind the multiple foot prints of the Elk we had spotted earlier, each opportunity we found, we would scan the horizon for the cows we had set our hopes on. At one point in our approach, we arose from the coverage of the creek bed with stealth, only to be facing 3 nice bull Elk not more than 50 yards and totally unaware of our presence. What a site, what an awesome experience for a young man to be so close., and yet held back from that which he desired to do. To be able too do no more than admire the hand of creation……………….someday, came a low murmur…….someday.

Finally the dry creek bed came to its feeble end, as if all Gods creation were poured down into a humble rabbit hole at the base of a squat salt cedar our here on the plains amongst Cactus and Gramma grass. A bright blue expanse of sky and sunshine rienged over the 1500 yards between us and the cows we had been following now for some 2 hours. While a snipers “Gilly Suit” may have offered us the camouflage we would needed, nothing short of a Kevlar crawl matte would protect us from the constant presence of Cactus spine which paved the flat geography between us and the cows. Not to mention that the cows had our scent to their noses, they knew we were present and had chose to laydown with that advantage in their faces.
We slowly, and somewhat disinterestedly made our way back to the truck, all thoughts were on how we should or could close the gap to the cows without giving up our location. The scent carrying wind, and the flat terrain all seemed to be working against our best intentions and attempts. We had a coffee break, and ate a little sausage to give us time to gather our thoughts and compare our plans. Finally, it was the local knowledge of our friend and guide that won out over Pines idea of an aerial bombardment of sometype.

Gene placed the truck some 1000 yards due north of the now laying Elk herd, and with the heads of the Elk completely hidden from our view by a 20 inch swale in the ground, we commenced our surreptitious approach. Bent at the waist, and carrying our gun and pack, we made our way ever so slow and quiet, each few hundred yards we would check on the only evidence afford us of the Elk’s presence, that being the twitching tips of their ears when we raised to our knees to view them. And again we would crouch low and move in their direction……………our panting breath disappeared into the warm afternoon air not too belie our approach. That dreaded time arrived, when the low ground swale would no longer mask the approach of a man’s intent and we would have to resort too a belly crawl amongst the cactus if we would close that last 500 hundred yards to a vantage point from which we could get a shot. Inch by inch we made our way, with each squirm of our bodies we could see more and more of the exposed Elk, soon the time would come to mount the gun and take our shot………300 yards gave way to 250 which gave way too 200, and now the Elk are agitated and on their feet.

They cannot tell what we are, but they do seem to understand it is not a good presence.
Under Gene’s quiet tutelage, Pine slowly pushes a small back pack up and under the fore-stock of the custom built 308 caliber gun, it’s sleek silver barrel projects forward like a muscular arm which reaches out for one of those cow Elk. Pine’s breathing slows audibly, his youthful bright eyes focus on the nervous Elk, his hat brim set low to block out anything that would run interference and commit confusion with the shot. Take your time came Gene’s voice, and very slowly squeeze the trigger on the last cow in the group, its some 225 yards out Pine, when she turns broadside slowly squeeze while holding about 8 inches up under her front leg. I have shot thousands of rounds out of guns, and done so for better than 40 years now. Maybe it was my location to the right of Pine by some four feet, maybe it was the cool air which we were hunting in, I am not sure. But I distinctly heard the entire searing flight path of that shot thru the chill air, and then the resonant “THUNK” of a confirmed hit.

The Elk staggered, made a few more missteps but did not go down as we had hoped and expected. Instead she simply walked straight away from our location, and she did so being drawn by the remaining cows which had run some 200 yards distant from her. Slowly one step at a time, she walked as if along a tight rope, strait away from our sequestered location. “Lets just wait a minute”, came Gene’s reassuring voice, “She will soon present herself for a second shot, so Pine get mounted behind your gun, and be ready for that moment when she turns”. Gene then blew a low plaintive call from his mewing cow Elk call. Our subjects ears wiggled back and forth, she knew we had called but gave no profile shot of herself………….now some 400 yards distant from our location, and Gene gave Pine the go ahead shot from directly behind, place it just below her tail scut and right between her hams………………..a second shot broke the sound barrier on that crisp clear day in New Mexico. Only this time, our Elk took a heavy fall and lay with her head only partly raised. We waited, and Prayed that she would be at her end there in the dry Gramma grass of the infamous Maxwell Land Grant. A mew, then another from the herd of elk out in front of her, and she was soon on her feet and once again walking directly away from us, being drawn as if by magnet towards her kin and her Cedar Hill refuge. Now 500 feet pass us by, then 600 and on out to 700 yards distant from us……….We need to put a kill shot into her Pine came Gene’s reassuring voice, she is close but still has the strength to run if we give her a reason to do so. That last shot came at just over 700 yards, and was finally the clean heart stopping shot required to bring this wonderful hunt to an end.

We Prayed a Prayer of thankfulness, we rejoiced in the friendship we all had the chance to share, and we watched as the rest of the Elk seemed to stay just distant enough to be safe, yet close enough to take in all that happened. Call it anthropomorphism, call it curiosity, I am not real sure, but I do know that they took in every movement we made in our preparing of the cow to be transported home.
So came the end of a great first hunt. The elk was hung, and allowed to freeze solid and then we packed and headed to sunny California. To Gene and Nancy, we are forever thankful for their friendship and generosity. And, to the Lord for his creation and Blessings in all our lives. Pine’s birthday came to pass, it was a great 16th.

Good night and God Bless
Jeremiah

NOTE- I should make it known that my friend Gene is what is called a Master Marksman, regularily shooting in 1000 yard competitions around the USA. The gun that my boy shot, was entirely handmade by Gene Klein, it is a 308 caliber mounted with a Leupold Scope. Gene builds these rifles as a custom item from his shop. You can contact Gene & Nancy Klein at 505-483-2922

If you read back a ways on the blog and look for “ Tree Makers Conflab”, you will note that I posted about a small conflab between myself and two Ausssies who are interested in finding a way to fit horses. Well, this is a continuation of the same theme and with the same two fella’s.

I just got the call from David Morris and cohort Dennis Lane, both of whom are from Australia. They are making a return trip to the USA, doing a Tree/Horse Fit seminar in Sheridan Wyoming, and a second will be held here at Jeremiah’s house. The seminar to be held here in California will be sometime from June 4-June8th of 08.

It will be a simple affair, we intend to have as many saddle makers as is possible and fewer customers. Our reason is simple, for the Lane System to have a practical application it needs to start with those of us building and buying saddle trees. And then I believe we will end up with a natural trickle down scenario taking place all of it headed towards the horse owner who in time will also be invited to participate in the process. The seminar will take 1 full day, you can bring a sack lunch, but I am sure Mom will have enough food around to keep you from falling over dead before we are done. Besides that, I have a superb new dutch oven biscuit recipe to subject your in’nerds too!

There will be some small charge in order to offset the cost of “Dog Paddling” to and from Australia. Dennis & David will be bringing packets of the second generation Lane Fit Cards that will be for sale at the seminar. We invite you to bring up too 2 horses with you as specimens to fit
HERES THE INVITE:
TIME – JUNE 4-8TH TO BE DEFINED A LITTLE LATER
COST- NOT MUCH BUT IT WILL BE SOMETHING
HOW LONG- JUST A ONE DAY AFFAIR
STARTS AT 9AM WITH A NOON BREAK AND BACK TO IT TILL 4PM
CAN I BRING A HORSE- YES, BUT TWO IS MAX
WHAT HAPPENS IF I BRING 3…….JEREMIAH IS BAR-B-QUE’ING
WHO IS ATTENDING- WE WANT SADDLE MAKERS, EQUINE VETS, TREE MAKERS, RETAILS SALES STAFF FROM WESTERN STORES.
IF I AM NONE OF THEM CAN I COME…………….WeeeeeLL, I GUESS
HOW TO I SIGN UP……….CALL JEREMIAH 559-935-2172

I am joking here a little bit, but I am serious about the intent to work with Dennis & David on seeing a change made in the entire process of fitting horses. I would like to invite those of you who are interested to give me a call, get signed up and see for your self what is taking place and how it can aid you in fitting and solving saddle fit problems.

We will see you in June at my house, Jeremiah

Near to the last of our time to wander the streets of London, still several things to yet see and so little time. So let’s get going, we got the coffee hot2go at ………….yes Burger King. Not a lot of things open real early in England it seems, but these American franchises open early as they do back home.

We heade to the St James Palace, which is where the Palace Horse Guard are stationed. These guys are real sharp looking, and for me have the most charm or character, what, with all the long horse hair on the helmet and the drawn saber………it’s a given.

Being a history buff, the next stop was the Cabinet War Room, where Winston Churchill settled himself under the streets of London so he could more adeptly run the Great War. This is quite a statement of the cramped quarters and difficulties under which Churchill and his crew had to work. It was one of the better stops of the entire trip, but then I do love history and others do not.

West Minister Abbey, is a must stop for all who hit the streets of London, not as impressive as some of the other Abbeys we had seen in other cities of the UK. But still, given the importance of what has taken place at this Abbey over the years, it has a substantial place in English history.

Next stop on this rather whirl wind day tour was the House of Parliament, set on the river bank which I will assume is a real difficult place to protect during times such as we live in. None the less, they are huge and impressive. Nobody in that place rides horses, so need less to say we didn’t know anyone important sitting inside that may invite us in for a look around and visit.

On from there to the Imperial War Museum which was as stated a Museum dedicated to the art and events of War, all of them. It was a 3 or 4 floor Museum, and it has so many very interesting displays. Amongst them was a display on the Spy’s of the world, and that was very cool and had so many very cool items and talk-through audio tours. Then on up to the Holocaust portion of the Museum. We had already done the tours in Germany and Poland, which was and is a highly recommended tour, but this addition to the history of the Jewish Holocaust was incredible.

Now we had need to hit a few streets of Antique dealers, and on that route we once again headed past the St.James Palace………………oh my God, oh……….oh, my God I can’t believe it…………………it’s like so absolutely incredible…………..of my dear God…………I clamped a hand over Darren’s mouth to silence him. There’s no telling what folks walking past may have thought, he was carrying on like a cheerleader, thank goodness he didn’t have any Pom-Poms. So what you ask was the hulla-ballou…………well, the “stiffasapokerredhatfuzzyhattedguards” were on duty. Darren was just over the top aboput it all………..and we had no medication to give him.

We placed the folks beside the very willing Guard, not a motion was made by him……….till we stood Darren next to him. Then the Guard, after seeing Darren’s antics just yards away from him and just moments ago……………the Guard, got that Oh My God look in his face. He took it all in stride and was cool about it………..I did notice he had a pleasant smile on his face when Nevada moved in for her picture………oh, well there are years yet for me to worry about.

With the pictures taken, and still a few hours of light left. We headed for Grey Street and the Mews to take in a couple of Antique Shops and Numismatics Shops. Pine and Darren both collect coins, and have some pretty nice coins gathered already. Each place we go, each country we visit Pine buys some coins for both he and his friend Darren. Pine also still had hopes that he may find a Dirk or something antique and of the edged weapon type. In the end, we found several coins and a few doillies ( how the heck do you spell that), a couple items like Tea Cups etc………etc……….etc……..etc……….and we are done with buying. Its time to head for the Hostel and re-pack to we can fit it all into/onto the plane and get home. Two extra suitcases are needed and have to be bought before the store hours bring the chance for that to an end.

We packed and repacked, we had to get the kids to fold and refold their clothes so that all the items purchased in order to fit into the holds of the plane. Supper was very simple, and a few drinks passed around the room as we packed………..and Mom, she always seems to be able to come up with a few treats like a special Chocolate item, a new piece of sweet fruit etc.

Thanks goodness for a light switch, and the dark so we can go to bed……….
Good Night and God Bless

Okay, so I stretched the truth a tad. But hey, its exactly what they used to do at the Tower and we seen not only the Axe but also the block that they used to do it all on.

We started the day early with a brisk walk and a cup of Coffee to help us on our way. By the time the Tower opened we were standing at the front gates waiting to get in at the front of a short line. Now the Tower is the home to the Beefeater Guard Regiment and it houses the Royal Arms Collection……………….er, used to. But more about that later.

My young charge Darren, was rather upset that the Black hat Guard crew were nowhere to be found, and we had talked him into getting his pic standing next to a Beefeater since they are “way cool” in teen talk. Finally it was decided and the Guards seemed amiable enough to allow us to sidle up and get a pic for the folks back home.

The bad news arrived while we are talking to the Guards and Mom is reading some info on the Tower history. It seems that the powers of London decided to move all or most of the Arms to Leeds and open a new Museum just for the UK Armoury…………..and we drove right thru Leeds and new nothing of it. Pray for me Pastor Mike as I said a few things I shouldn’t have…………no, God did no reprimand me but my wife sure did. We as it all turned out there was still a fair representation of Armour within the Tower Museum and it was an open Museum for picture taking which always makes it nice.

It was a beautiful day in London, with high puffy clouds and brilliant sunshine poking thru the holes. We had done the Tower tour and are off to one of the oldest Live Theatres in London the Globe Shakespeare. My darling bride when asked what was here main objective in traveling to London, had committed us to seeing a live performance of Shakespeare……………..absolutely anything by William would be fine. SO we had a fun time at this open roofed Theatre built in a circular fashion and having been in steady use since Shakespeare’s time……….so……….about 1975????

The play was Othello, and it was just great…………and I am not a live theatre sort’a guy. Gimme guns and action any day, unless its Hobbits slashing Orc’s, or Crowe in the Hippodrome……………but live theatre………..and all that “wither thou” and “hark” stuff!! Jeremiah had a fine plate of crow too eat and my friend Darren made sure I ate all of it……………..it reminded me of the Liver , which I also very much enjoyed.

The play, with an intermission took about 3 hours and a little walking was in order to round up the spots that had gone flat sitting on those hard wooden benches. So we took a stroll across the Thames River and up the far bank from the Theatre. We headed for the floating HMS BELFAST Museum, which is a decommissioned battle ship from the mighty English fleet. This was a little different version in that they had wax type characters set up in various places amid the ship. And the characters were set to look as if they were doing their normal daily duty, be it a Dentist or Diesel Mechanic, a Cook or his helpers. Plenty of big iron to look at, and a lot of little gun barrels poking out anyplace there wasn’t room for a big piece of pipe.

With that done, we continued along the river side and walked thru an Art Exhibit by some renowned artist in which he has set up 10 foot tall guitars each modeled after some famous band or maybe an individual artist. I noticed the greats like who else but the Beetles……….and a little ways on we seen the Monkee’s, we seen one for B B King and another for Dave Stamey…………then there was Les Paul and a tribute to Nashville. The long road ahead to the Hostel was now infront of us and back across the bridge and we would wind our way back to our headquarters in Picadilly Circus.

Since it was most likely our last night to eat out in London, we decided to eat some of what had become our favorite food stops………….and have some “Pub Grub”. Nevada and Darren had some braised Fish and veggies. Pine got brave and had the Crayfish along with a plate of fried potato slices and melted cheese poured over, mixed in with it was bits of Ham or Gammon as they like to call it. Mom had a Yorkshire which was ladled full of mashed Tatties and Onion gravy, topped with a local make of pork sausage and veggies. I had a Ham/Leek and Stilton cheese Pastie, along with a little mash and gravy tooped with a few veggies. It all went down real fine, sitting outside on such a wonderful night with such good kids. How could you not feel Blessed. We had a last shot of some great Ginger Ale, which they make very well in the UK, and it proves to be very hard to find here. Closest thing we find here is Vernor’s………….which is close but still not that same sharp Ginger Ale taste.

Its now time for a stiff black coffee, and some dessert. It as unanimous………it was to be our last chance to try sticky Pudding once again, so three of them had the proverbial English fave…………….and Mom and I split an Apple Crisp. What a great night as we walked slowly back through the city and compared notes and thoughts on what had made the trip good and bad. While walking, we passed the Church of the Knights Templar, as it turned out it was closed, but would have been very cool to walk through. We seen the original location or Twining’s Earl Grey Teas. The kids still had a few items to shop for, so a little street shopping was in order to finish out the day. The city grew dark, the night life seemed to rise with the setting of the sun, the streets came to life with a new crowd once again. We sat in front of a fountain in a Square, the light on the adjacent building was just beautiful, we could look down the street and see the Tower Big Ben. Youth on skateboards whizzed by, vendors barked out details of items for sale while Lamborghini’s roared and bellowed in the streets like cats out on the savannah. It was past eleven when we made that long walk back up those 8 flights of stairs to our bed and our Hostel.

Good Night and God Bless

Our mission is in sight, now to find a place to stand and see it all

A trip to London would surely be a failure if you didn’t take time to see the changing of the guard at Buckingham Palace. So we started the day with a brisk walk from the hostel down to Buckingham. We stopped by a local market and bought a little food to pack in the backpack that I carried with us today. Nothing special really, just a few croissants, a little cheese and some fruit, some candy bars and cookies……………gott’a have those Hobo Creames by McVitties………………the kids loved them.

The Gaurds in Blue give way to the Royal Red Coats

Buckingham is quite the Palace, the grounds are immaculate and when we arrived the guards on duty wore the standard Blue Tunic version, not the bright Scarlet that I think we all have become accustomed to. One of Darren’s main goals for the trip was to have his pic taken next to one of those “BearfurHattedscarletcoatedstiffasapoker” guards that we see in the movies in front of that tiny guard shack thingy!!!!

Our first bad news for the day was that the Bear Skin hated guards follow the Queen up to Scotland when she goes north…………………so none here today…….SORRY!
We took in the changing and the small ceremony that is held in conjunction with it. Not trying to be a bit biased, but my kids have seen the changing of the guard at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier in Washington DC and by comparison ours is much more precise and drill like. The English version on the other hand is more of a performance with some precision drill work and the band that accompanies the changing. We expected them to burst forth with some patriotic marching tunes like John Phillip Souza or something like it……………….but no, they burst forth with a medley of well known musical scores ie: James Bond, Pink Panther and Star Wars.

We arrived with a little time to spare before the changing was too take place and we were all glad that we did, or we would have had no room nor chance to see the actual changing take place. We as a result of having a spot next to the Buckingham fence did pay a price in the way of a very thoroughly tight squeezing for our being early as the undulating crowd pushed and swayed against us and the fence.

Next we took in the Royal Apartment Tour, which Mom wisely bought for us while we held our spot against the fence at Buckingham. The Apartment tour was quite fun and very informative, we took in all of the open to public sections of the Buckingham Palace rooms. Sorry no camera’s, and a pile of docents keeping an eye of the tourista’s……..so no seek peaks from JW and his concealed camera. We moved on and took in the Royal Mews and Stables. This was a better place for me, since it involved most things equestrian and had a ton of neat looking harness hardware and other such furniture. Cameras are allowed so I took a ton of carriage and what not pics. We also found the Royal Horse Guards and managed to find time to get a pic with them on the way thru.

From the Mews we headed for the Queens Royal Gallery, now here is a place I could spend some more time. It houses one of the largest collections of early drawings by the likes of DaVinci, Raphael etc. The sketches for the most part are of works that were being carried out in Italy during the very earliest years of these artists lives. And today you could go to the many Cathedrals etc that they worked on and see the finished piece, be it a Fresco on the roof or a pillar treatment in the Cathedral. For me it would be really cool to take the time to go and see the finished pieces. In all there are some 900 items of art within the Queens Gallery, and they were all magnificent. Not sure whose work I like better, DaVinci or Raphael but I think DaVinci……….he was so darned inventive, as can be seen in his many mechanical idea sketches housed here.

Next stop was JW’s main objective for my time in London……….The Victoria & Albert Museum. WOW, and Poochy Maggie what a place. If I could have been selfish about it all, I know for a fact I could have spent my whole 4 days time in London right here at this one Museum……………but then I had more than me to appeal too. As it was we only had about 2.5 hours to walk and take pics to my hearts content. It is unfortunate that you cant really walk and shooot pics at the same time so I covered 1 floor partially by my self, and I sent my crew scouting for other items they felt I should take a very quick peak at before we are kicked out.

We stayed till the last possible moment and took our leave. Decided to walk home to the Hostel, the night was a great one for walking………..and it wasn’t more than 200-300 blocks so no problem. Now may be the best time to tell you folks who like the fast style cars, that London is your kind’a twon. I am not kiddin, when I say that you can easily see a Lamborghini at every intersection. And if it isn’t a Lambo……..well it will be a Ferrari or Spyker, maybe a TGV. Did someone mention Porsche, well sorry the sixteen year olds get their learners in them and then maybe discard them for the big guns. It is amazing how many of these sort of cars you see prowling the streets once the sun goes down and the night cruisers come out. Every once in a while you will hear one of those street beasts getting turned full throttle and you should hear it bark and bellow between those closed in building walls………Poochy Maggie, that is a very cool sound.

Needless to say with the setting of the sun also comes the night creatures and that whole obscene scene. Through it all we seen too much at times, but nobody got hurt and the kids are all fairly mature so a little exposure was good in the end for maturity’s sake. We done the micro wave dinners and headed to the Hostel to eat and play cards………and yes type on the blog.

The gal who shared our room at the Hostel is from China, and she is in London for 3 months to take an intensive English Immersion class, upon completion she will return home and work in the political and business translation business. Very nice gal, quiet as a mouse,we hardly heard this gal at all while we were in the room. She was out by 6am or sooner and in bed by 9pm…………gott’a appreciate that sort of commitment for sure.

Poochy Maggie, I and the crew are plenty tired its about 12:05am

Good Night and God Bless

The slaying of the Dragon, a panel about 8 foot by 20 foot

This is a big day for us, as we are finally going to be heading into downtown London and turning in the rental car. Just the fact that we are not under the obligation of protecting the car means I can sleep with a little ease.

Long time since this moate seen any water or warfare, filled with lanscaping today. Windsor

Just a sample of items in Windsor, items made in Turkey

One of the Armour Halls at Windsor

Up a little earlier than usual and on the road by 8am, my conversation with the wacko from Santa Barbara the night before had left a nasty taste in my mouth which made eating a Blessing. Glad this chick wasn’t riding with me, I would have to drop her in the desert if she was. Hell bent on saving the world, eradicating livestock, hugging all trees and just generally telling everyone she could about how bad America is. That in itself is a surefire way to light my fuse, then to top it off she passed herself off as an artist, what a sham…………hey, lets change topics because I am getting mad all over again.

The gardens of Hampton Court

Windsor Castle

The roof of the Chapel in Windsor

We hit the Windsor Castle first thing as it opened, this was a real magnificent Castle, and also one of the castles that the Queen visits regularly. It was a no photo tour so what we have is what we have, my best 007 sneak shots possible. For myself, the most impressive rooms are the Chapel and the Tomb Room which houses the sarcophagus of King George. The Tomb room, is just beyond belief, a huge roof housing only the ornately decorated cover of King Georges Coffin, it must have a 30 foot ceiling and is all stone vaulting, lots of Gilding and art. Its really something to see.

Windsor Castle from the rear gate where we climbed over!

That will be the last time I tell him he's a handsome kid..........

HAmpton Court had the coolest patterns of brick work on the chimney's

The Windsor had a reasonable collection of Arms and armour, but it was a no camera tour, and very little of it is shown the booklet which they sold at the front counter. This is a fact that we have learned about these castle, and there curators. It would appear to me that the armour is a visual piece and an interest but not of the same value nor level of importance as the Tapestries and China, or maybe the Fresco’s and the Library etc. I like all these things, but the armour the most…………..darn, I just wish they would see it my way.

Griffons and Gargoyles abound at Hampton

MOre chimneys

Gardens at Windsor

Next stop is Hampton Court Palace, which is just great. Not real old, built around 1770. It is a Castle that still has a family living in it within one wing while the rest has been turned into a living history type exhibition. It has a fair example of a period Kitchen facility, as well as an great Ale & Wine house. The gardens out behind were the best we had seen for a time, and Hampton Court also houses the Guinness World Record for the largest single Grapevine with no grafting. The vine was planted 1781, it now reaches some 60 feet in length and a height of 30 feet. Today the vine is contained within a special glass house that is climatically controlled, but this only happened some 30 years ago. There is a patch of ground that is kept tended and tilled, the size of approx 1 acre, this is where the actual root draws its nourishment from.

I am not sure just how many chimneys there are on Hampton Court, but suffice it to say a bunch. Every chimney was done in a different pattern, and quite often the chimneys were arranged in groups of four, so it made for a striking effect to be sure.

The entire Chapel at Windsor was just spectacular.

It was time that we made our way to London’s Heathrow Airport and found the rental car return, which was really not very hard to do at all. I have read that this is either the largest or the busiest Airport in the world, but to be honest, I think LA and Atlanta are both and more than Heathrow. Anyways I got one “att’a boy” for my driving as a first time right-hand side driver in the entire UK. I did have to pay for a new left front wheel since I had a deep scuff from hitting a curb…………glad I bought that extra Insurance. We are done with the car…………… now, as we stand/kneel/sit/grunt/yes cuss/and pace, out in the rental car parking lot struggling with packing all of our purchases into the suitcases that we came with it looked like the Hill Billies moving to LA all over again.

We made it to the Rapid Train which will take us closer to London central. Once we get down a little closer, we will then get on a standard subway and go deeper into the city and with any luck we will come up from underground like a darned Gopher and peek out the subway hole and be looking at “Picadilly Circus” which is to be our home for the next 4 days as we explore London in each of her cardinal directions from that Hostel. I’ve been on quite a few subways, and still have no great love for them. I feel a quite a bit like a sardine and it’s always very hot on these rides. Breaking out on top was a good feeling with the cool night air wafting over us, the dank smells of the subway fade behind us as we step out into the busy life of the streets above.

Outside the front gates of Windsor, where the security guard finally let us go!!

The worlds largest single root system Grapevine, Poochy Maggie this was a beast

Its fairly late when we finally made to the Hostel, about 9:30 pm. We got into the room, all together with one other young lady from China who was in London to learn to speak English as return home to work as a translator. It’s a steep walk up to the 4th floor and our room. The elevator was tiny, and after that first night we always walked up rather than wait on that beast. So late, so tired, so hungry as well ! We hit the streets and took in the nightlife around Picadilly area, which is abundant and fast moving. This was sort of a thunderous affair, as there are so many Ferrari’s, Lamborghini’s, Astin Martins, Spykers and TGV’s and Porches which they learn to drive in. They would wind these thunderous beasts up and just rip pavement for a block or so and it would reverberate off the walls of the close by buildings. I am telling you the truth, at any of the numerous traffic circles we passed, you could easily spot up to a dozen of these sorts of cars.

Into the TUBE and hunting for a train to London

Somehow we take a left hand turn down a side street and run into China town. There are ducks and chickens hanging in the windows, and stooped little ladies working the kitchens etc, all of them are small, and all of them just look rather steamy inside…………so we just take a pick and make our way in. We spot one that is setup more like a DimSum Buffet…………….no not quite like a Kings Table Buffet over here with mountains of mashed tatters and roast beef swimming in gravy. It turned out to be very good, just the TIRED worked against us. By the time we ate and got back to the Hostel it was close to 12pm and the next day will be a long one so we best get some rest.

The night life of Picadilly welcomes us as we step out from the Underground

Good Night and God Bless

This is one of those "Thank God for feathers" moments, cause these gals didn't have much but feathers....................I know, I had to wait better than 40 minutes to get this shot just for you

Over the years I have had the chance to teach and share what I know, okay okay, I will admit it may not be much. The teaching and sharing have given me one very discernable Blessing. That is FRIENDS, wouldn't consider trading one good friend for a new Belt Grinder, and certainly wouldn't swap even one for a thick stack of cash. I like to think that most of us within the cowboy culture would fell the same, maybe that is why the cowboy culture is so rich in character..................and when we have a gather we show up in pickup's not Maserati's.

I recieved a very nice email tonight from a fellow in Texas. Maybe it was just an opertune time to recieve the email, funny how God knows when you need to hear some good news.

-Amongst Friends
it started along time ago, bout 30 years
at a shop on a ranch, cause a town wasn't near
wanted a new bit, but the price was outa sight
so he worked, hammered and filed, till late at night

that was the first one, and now thousands more
God gave him a gift, and that first one opened the door
with a love for God first, and his family always
in this perspective, he followed the way

on to saddles, videos and tools
tig welder now, and his bonny doon
band saw and grinder, a mill and lathe
building a legend, ain't that the cowboy way

just one bit, got the whole thing rolling
but by going ahead, he made quite a showing
from the ranch to arena, the work is put to the test
striving always, to do his personal best

to further the art, and what it means
helping other artists to follow their dreams
good luck cowboy, may your days be blessed
out there in california, which is way out west

tommy d
livingston, texas
august 29. 2007
4:30 pm

England had long suffered militarily at the hand of King Louis XIV of France . Too the man who would prove to be the King of Frances victor goes a just reward you could say. That person came in the character of a young man 1st Duke of Marlborough, an academic scholar and a brilliant battle strategist. It should come as no surprise that the young Duke actually worked for King Louis, before he became his conqueror. Now King Louis did not in the end loose the rule nor occupation of his country, but he did give over the supremacy of the high seas to British Fleets, and he no longer held that position of power with his continental land troops.

Wrought Iron gate within Belnheim, thru the gate to the Victory Obelisk

Front door is what we call it in a trailer house, but these folks call it a Grand Entry way.........I dun'o seems like a lot of letters used up for the same thing.NOT MY PHOTO

Heres the outside of the Grand Entry way

As a gesture of gratitude to the 1st Duke of Marlborough, the King of England made a special gift of a Castle on an Estate. Not just any castle mind you, but the Castle Blenheim which is a very grand statement of architecture for sure. There is a little unknown history that comes with this whole story, and it plays a role in one of my own favorite hero’s, and that person is Sir Winston Churchill, who is of the Marlborough family line. Mr. Churchill was born in Blenheim, and also wed at Blenheim.

This is a sitting room............but dang you'd be afraid to sit here after a branding. NOT MY PHOTO

My crew at the front gates of Blenheim

Just take a look at that Library, what a magnificent collection of books it contained..............and ther wasn't even one Hank the Cowdog. NOT MY PHOTO

It was time though for us to move on and get to All Souls College in Oxford before it closed, it was a stop of major importance to the young scholars in the back of the road rocket in which we rode. Both seem to hold this Oxford in some sort of high regard when it comes to education, far for me to say if it is or is not a bastion of education. The campus was shut down for the most part, no more tourist walk through, mostly due to a tightened level of security etc. SO we did manage to get permission for a security guard to step into one alcove by the front gate a snap a quick picture for our “posterior’s” sake.

From Whale jaws to T-rex skeletons, boy howdy they had it all at teh Natural History Muse

Gardens and fountains at Blenheim. NOT MY PHOTO

JW loves butterflies, not sure why, just fascinated with the colors and patterns. This was a tiny portion of a huge cool exhibit. We didn't have a lot of time so we had to flutter through.

Next stop the Pit River Museum of Natural History, and what “muse” this was, boy howdy I would have loved to have my older brother Bill with me on this one. He and I both love the Natural History type Museums, and this one was a dandy. A total of 4 floors, if I remember right, but only the 1st and 2nd have collection open to the public. The third floor is under renovation at this time, and is due to open in 2009 I believe. This was a collection of natural history items with a little Ethnology thrown in for fun. We had about 2 hours to make the tour and then onto another Muse.

More Gardens at "the back of the house", mind the lawnmower says the fella. WOW-NOT MY PHOTO

Yes, the security and the janitor were all a little concerned as I lay on my back and took this upward view of T-Rex...........even the little kids asked me "aure ewe allll right Sir".

Folks these are the wildest set of jaws I have ever seen, and as much as JW loves all things dead and hairy I am determined to have me a set of these...................DANG, I hate getting old, can you tell me who they belong too??

A new twist on Dead Critter Walking, over 90 feet of skeletons come marching past in zombie like fashion

This time around we are at the Ashmolean Museum, which holds the record as the first Museum to charge a fee, but also the oldest collection put forward as a Museum,…….so in Rio Linda, you would call it the first Museum.

A row of pillars that surround the second floor mezzanine, the light was just to cool to pass up

The Pit River MUseum from the second floor

Some very intricate wire work showing here on the handle of a Pistol

The Asmolean, as it appears, with cases too numerous to count. Each filled to the brim with artifacts from every continent, and from every culture............except COWBOYS

No, this is not the KETTLE section form the ZZ Top tour band. It is a kettle section from a Shinto Shrine in Japan............close though because Japan and Texas are on the same planet which is something that beautiful young girl in South Carolina may not know.

This was a spectacular stroll, in amongst the Renoir’s and Matisse, amongst the cases housing “Straddle-various” Violins and Viola’s. The collection of musical instruments would cause the socks to roll up and down for a guy like Scott Brown or Julian Tubb, who both used to be fine saddle makers but now have turned their talents to Luthery. This was a collection of everything cultural and many things natural, but its interest was that of Arts and Culture. I loved it, but I could tell the kids were getting a little burned out on things older than Brittany.

Walking the foot paths to All Souls "Collage"

NOw this will make yer sticker peck up. A sound hole in a Lute, it has a total of 7 layers of delicate wood fret work counting down inot the center, and a spiral stem sticking up from the bottom that is 9 layers. It was behind glass and a tough shot, I hope you can see it well enough

An Ivory and Rosewood Octagonal box...............wowzer Grommit this was a nice piece.

Without doubt the crooked-est house I have ever seen. I bet that the third floor leaned over by more than 3 feet........its amazing it is still standing after all this time. Built in 1295 and in constant use as a bar, with Disco Dancing on the third floor.

We walked quite a bit, as the kids blew off steam and done a little shopping in various stores along the busy streets. We seen some strange signs downtown, warning of Humped Pelicans???? Not sure just what it was all about, but we kept a wary eye out. It was getting on, so we found our VERY funky Hostel for the night and took refuge, by luck there was a grocery stop close by and we bought something to cook instead of dining out. Just simple stuff, some Pasta and Bali Sauce, a little corn and peas and yes I musn’t forget we had a package of cold pancakes and jam for dessert. Pancakes in a package are a very common item over here, easier to find than pancake mix matter of fact.

My crew JUST inside the gates of All Souls College

A very busy street in Oxford, say, isn't it almost time for Tea??

Good Night and God Bless