HBD Sprkplug! - 04/21/19 11:15 AM
Happy Birthday Tony! Hope it is a good one!
Re: HBD Sprkplug! - 04/21/19 01:02 PM
Happy Birthday Tony!
Re: HBD Sprkplug! - 04/21/19 01:07 PM
Happy birthday and thanks for extending your knowledge!
Re: HBD Sprkplug! - 04/21/19 01:59 PM
HBD spark!
Re: HBD Sprkplug! - 04/21/19 03:15 PM
Ditto
Re: HBD Sprkplug! - 04/21/19 05:02 PM
Happy birthday bro...hope you get a visit from the mothership today! Take some video!
Re: HBD Sprkplug! - 04/21/19 05:49 PM
Happy, Happy.
Re: HBD Sprkplug! - 04/21/19 07:12 PM
happy birthday from deep east Texas!!
Re: HBD Sprkplug! - 04/21/19 09:00 PM
Hope it's a great day for ya.
Re: HBD Sprkplug! - 04/21/19 10:08 PM
Hi guys, thanks for the B-day wishes! I hope this message finds you all well and happy, and I sincerely hope this Easter Sunday is as beautiful wherever you are, as it is here today in my corner of Indiana. I realize that a post from myself doesn't meet the criteria for what is expected of the membership, so I humbly ask for a little latitude in this area, that I might answer a few recurring questions and share an annual update on the Livingston family. If it is not permissible, then I completely understand its removal.
First and foremost, the family is well. We have one son in college, and one is a sophomore in high school. It doesn't seem possible that these are the same two boys who used to drink from the sap buckets, and collect Thomas the Tank Engine toys. In spite of my pitiful efforts, they are both great boys(guys?. Must be their mother's influence.
The job goes well, in the last year of my four year apprenticeship. I reckon I must be doing ok, as my journeyman convinced our supervisor to petition the state for a temporary license for me. I've had my own vehicle, and my own route, since late Jan. All pretty real now.
The HBG, the original HBG experiment that I began a decade ago, is drawing to a close. I never got the two pounder, but just three hours ago I netted a dying specimen that was floundering on the surface. I estimate him to be 7-8 years of age, and in severe decline. I have him in a bucket, pondside, right now. He'll be dead shortly I'm sure. he measures 12.5" in length, but only 1-10 in weight. Would've loved to have seen him in his prime. Phase two of the HBG experiment is well underway, and I remain optimistic, given what I've learned over these years. Early results are very promising.
Maple syrup...yep, still making it. This past season was amazing. We have completed our transition away from buckets, and have committed fully to tubing. We also added a dedicated finishing room to the sugarhouse, as well as a room for the homemade reverse osmosis unit I put together last fall. It proved to be a game changer, enabling us to remove 75% of the water without ever starting a fire. 75% less firewood burned, and 75% reduction in time spent boiling. We made the more syrup this year than we ever have before, and are working on expanding our market. We were thrilled when a local distillery began using our product, and we have plans to greatly expand for next season also. We now produce a vanilla bean maple syrup which turned out huge, and hopefully will have a hot pepper, and a coffee bean added to the lineup next year. Never in a million years did I envision myself going beyond that first year's, one quart of under-density syrup, made over an open fire, outside. Crazy.
I don't wish to upset things, so I'll stop there. I miss you guys, but I still check in regularly to see what's going on. You all take care, till next year, peace.
First and foremost, the family is well. We have one son in college, and one is a sophomore in high school. It doesn't seem possible that these are the same two boys who used to drink from the sap buckets, and collect Thomas the Tank Engine toys. In spite of my pitiful efforts, they are both great boys(guys?. Must be their mother's influence.
The job goes well, in the last year of my four year apprenticeship. I reckon I must be doing ok, as my journeyman convinced our supervisor to petition the state for a temporary license for me. I've had my own vehicle, and my own route, since late Jan. All pretty real now.
The HBG, the original HBG experiment that I began a decade ago, is drawing to a close. I never got the two pounder, but just three hours ago I netted a dying specimen that was floundering on the surface. I estimate him to be 7-8 years of age, and in severe decline. I have him in a bucket, pondside, right now. He'll be dead shortly I'm sure. he measures 12.5" in length, but only 1-10 in weight. Would've loved to have seen him in his prime. Phase two of the HBG experiment is well underway, and I remain optimistic, given what I've learned over these years. Early results are very promising.
Maple syrup...yep, still making it. This past season was amazing. We have completed our transition away from buckets, and have committed fully to tubing. We also added a dedicated finishing room to the sugarhouse, as well as a room for the homemade reverse osmosis unit I put together last fall. It proved to be a game changer, enabling us to remove 75% of the water without ever starting a fire. 75% less firewood burned, and 75% reduction in time spent boiling. We made the more syrup this year than we ever have before, and are working on expanding our market. We were thrilled when a local distillery began using our product, and we have plans to greatly expand for next season also. We now produce a vanilla bean maple syrup which turned out huge, and hopefully will have a hot pepper, and a coffee bean added to the lineup next year. Never in a million years did I envision myself going beyond that first year's, one quart of under-density syrup, made over an open fire, outside. Crazy.
I don't wish to upset things, so I'll stop there. I miss you guys, but I still check in regularly to see what's going on. You all take care, till next year, peace.
Re: HBD Sprkplug! - 04/21/19 11:15 PM
Happy Birthday Tony!
Glad to hear your family is doing well! I have often wondered how your journey to growing a 2 pound BG was going.Enjoy another trip around the sun. Thanks again for the large contributions of lepomis knowledge you have given members through this forum!
Glad to hear your family is doing well! I have often wondered how your journey to growing a 2 pound BG was going.Enjoy another trip around the sun. Thanks again for the large contributions of lepomis knowledge you have given members through this forum!
Re: HBD Sprkplug! - 04/22/19 01:16 AM
HBD Tony. Thanks again for all your contributions on this forum.
Just today I was cleaning a carb on a rototiller and thought of you and your small engine wisdom you meted out at times.
I've also encouraged people to run their small air cooled 4 cycles at higher rpm to keep them cooling. That is also thanks to you!
Thanks, too, for your update about you and your family's doings.
Just today I was cleaning a carb on a rototiller and thought of you and your small engine wisdom you meted out at times.
I've also encouraged people to run their small air cooled 4 cycles at higher rpm to keep them cooling. That is also thanks to you!
Thanks, too, for your update about you and your family's doings.
Re: HBD Sprkplug! - 04/22/19 02:37 AM
Have a great Indiana Birthday - great update about what has been happening with you and your family. Miss you.
Re: HBD Sprkplug! - 04/23/19 04:05 PM
Thanks for the update - post when you can !
Re: HBD Sprkplug! - 04/23/19 08:44 PM
Ditto from me Tony,
You have been most helpful on fish related advise and small engine advice. I was in an elevator on spring break in St. Louis and couldn't help wondering if this was the kind of elevators that you service. I wondered how far you were in your training but figured you had to be close. All I know is that when that thing has to go up and down 14 floors (well 13 since I noticed that this elevator did NOT have a 13th floor) that I hoped you or your comrades kept everything working as it should so we didn't have an unexpected acceleration event on the way down!!
Share pictures of your HBG and let us know how the variables in experiment one and how the variables will be different in version 2 of your experiment?
I also appreciate your help and tips in getting us started with maple syrup. We had a wild and late winter this year and didn't have the energy to try to 'time' the maple syrup run. IT was cold, cold, cold forever by us and we figured the run would be short and unpredictable. Didn't have energy to do all the collecting and boiling either, but it sounds like you have it down to science. Someday I'm going to have to try the 'flavored' maple syrups that you make, they sound incredible (except the spicy ones...)
Thanks for checking in! wishing the best to you and your family.
You have been most helpful on fish related advise and small engine advice. I was in an elevator on spring break in St. Louis and couldn't help wondering if this was the kind of elevators that you service. I wondered how far you were in your training but figured you had to be close. All I know is that when that thing has to go up and down 14 floors (well 13 since I noticed that this elevator did NOT have a 13th floor) that I hoped you or your comrades kept everything working as it should so we didn't have an unexpected acceleration event on the way down!!
Share pictures of your HBG and let us know how the variables in experiment one and how the variables will be different in version 2 of your experiment?
I also appreciate your help and tips in getting us started with maple syrup. We had a wild and late winter this year and didn't have the energy to try to 'time' the maple syrup run. IT was cold, cold, cold forever by us and we figured the run would be short and unpredictable. Didn't have energy to do all the collecting and boiling either, but it sounds like you have it down to science. Someday I'm going to have to try the 'flavored' maple syrups that you make, they sound incredible (except the spicy ones...)
Thanks for checking in! wishing the best to you and your family.