Construction on Fort Macon began in 1826 in response to the War of 1812 and other European conflicts. It was built as part of the Second System of US Fortifications. The Fort’s main claim to fame was the Civil War battle fought on April 25, 1862. Union forces commanded Maj. Gen. Ambrose E. Burnside had been working through eastern North Carolina. Brig. Gen. John G. Park, under Burnside’s command, was ordered to capture the Fort from the Confederacy. Union forces laid siege to the fort using four gun boats, floating batteries, and new rifled cannons. The fort took 560 hits. Confederate Col. White surrendered the fort the next morning. The fort remained under Union control for the rest of the war.
Shades State Park, Waveland, Indiana
Shade State Park in west central Indiana is simply beautiful. Its often overlooked as many Hoosiers choose Turkey Run, a nearby state park, but Shades has a lot to offer. Its usually less crowded the views as still amazing. There is plenty of hiking between canyons and cliffs.
Splitting Kindling
Its fun revving up the saw and felling a tree. Its relaxing to rhythmically swing a maul. Its delightful to hear the wood crack and pop as it splits. The neatly stacked rows of seasoning wood are a proud accomplishment. Kindling is the one wood heat chore no one seems to like. Its time consuming. … Read more
Linux Uptime
Linux rarely needs a reboot. With more recent kernels, it doesn’t really need to reboot at all. Since I’ve been studying for my CompTIA A+ exam, I’ve left a lot of material open and handy. I lost track of how long my desktop had been running so I ran a simple terminal command “uptime” to … Read more
Drolet HT-2000 Update
Since I’ve used this stove a few times, I just wanted to show how you could load the wood in a North-South orientation. This wasn’t even full but it still burned all night and kept the house warm. Lighting the stove has been very easy with a little kindling on top of the wood. It … Read more
Husqvarna 460 Rancher Chain Saw
When your 450 isn’t big enough, get the 460. Its the biggest non commercial saw that Husqvarna sells. I’m still really happy with my 450 but I added the 460 to the fleet when the 450 needed repairs. The 450 was quite literally pouring oil out the bottom. The 460 has a few advantages though. … Read more
Drolet HT-2000 Extra Large Wood Stove
Drolet HT-2000 Since our old Blaze King bit the dust, we replaced it with the Drolet HT-2000. It was a special order from Menards for $1099. Wait and watch carefully, you can grab it with the 11% rebate. Its free shipping to the store. Otherwise, you’re looking at a couple hundred in shipping fees to … Read more
Husqvarna 450 Rancher
I have been cutting with the 450 Rancher for a couple years now. This winter I started cutting significantly more as I’m cutting firewood to heat with. I’m generally happy with the saw with a couple caveats. The saw does start easily. Follow the guidelines on the saw and it will start in a couple … Read more