Rusty's Vintage Valentine

Many of you will remember Rusty from the many years he sat patiently in our yard waiting for his turn to be restored.  Click HERE to see posts I've done on his journey.

You'll remember that last fall he got moved over next to the shop, but he waited there for several months.

Then a couple of weeks ago he got moved inside the shop.  He's in the process of being torn apart now.  The inside of the cab has been cleaned out, and the seat removed.  

Underneath the seat, Marty found the Valentine pin below.  He brought it over to the house, but wisely chose to only show it to me instead of saying he had a Valentine for me.

I know there is probably an interesting story behind the pin.  Rusty is a 1951 Ford F1, which was a work truck.  The fact that the pin was underneath the seat leads me to believe that whoever the Valentine was presented to rejected it, and deservedly so.  What do you think is the story behind the pin?

The strange sentiment on the pin led me to do a little research.  The first valentines were sent in the 1400s and were handmade.  Manufactured ones first showed up in the 1900s.  When I googled vintage valentines, I found some very strange images, a few of which I've copied below.  I don't think I'll look at valentines in the same way ever again! 

  

Rusty Goes For a Ride

 You may remember Rusty, who has sat in a corner of our yard for many years, waiting his turn for a bit of TLC.  

I've taken many photos of Rusty buried in the snow.

 I even played around a bit and printed up a shot for framing and hanging on the wall.

 Well, last week Rusty got to go for a little ride across the yard.

Right now he's sitting next to the shop, and in a few weeks he will likely be pulled inside the shop to start getting some of that TLC he's waited so long for.

I do believe I detect a happy grin on his face!

A New Set of Wheels

A few weeks ago Marty acquired a used dump truck from a friend.  It was slated to be taken to the dump because it wasn't running right, but he did a few repairs and installed a new battery, and voila, almost as good as new.  It certainly made a little girl happy!

  

Of course, as with any used vehicle, it required a little bit of tinkering, and the new driver needed a bit of instruction.

I think she liked her first driving lesson!

Is It Breakup Time Yet?

Many of you will remember the old rusty pickup in our yard.  The next two photos were taken April 17th, and you can see the snow is melting quite nicely.

Of course, those two photos were taken last year on April 17th!  The two below are what it looks like this year on April 17th......

We've got a ways to go before we see any grass, but the forecast is for daytime temps well above freezing by this weekend, warming up to the 40s (F).  Perhaps we'll have breakup this year after all!  

When It's Springtime In Alaska.....

March 30, 2013

Happy Easter!

Cruisin'

Sunday the sun was shining and we had an errand to run at Lowes, so we decided to take advantage of the sunny day and take the T-Bird on the last cruise for the year.  Click on the collages for a better view.

After we got what we needed at Lowes, we were after some frozen custard, but unfortunately the stand was closed.  So we drove down Farmer's Loop road, and stopped and took a few photos of the old barn that sits along the side of the road.  I've posted about it before HERE.

Then we drove up in the hills near where we used to live for a view down over the valley and the town.

We headed for home, stopping at the Muskox Farm on the way.  It's not easy to get photos of the muskox because of the series of fences surrounding the muskox, but an animal this size does require sturdy fencing to keep it in.  The white shadow lines running through the photos are the wires of the fencing.  Click HERE to read previous posts.

Our next stop was at the UA Experimental Farm to see the reindeer.  Click HERE and HERE and HERE for previous posts.

Down the hill from the farm are fields belonging to the University.  There have been a lot of Sandhill Cranes feeding in the field over the last few weeks, but they have gone south now.  There were also some Canada Geese in the fields.  The collage below also has some Gray Jays that we saw up at the Muskox Farm.

Then we were back home, and the T-Bird will soon be put in the back of Marty's shop with a cover over it until next spring. It's definitely not a cool weather car!

Old Rusty Waits Patiently

One of the vehicles waiting to go in the new shop is a 1951 Ford pickup. I wrote about old Rusty in a couple of earlier posts and you can check those out by clicking on Heavy Load and Emerging From the Snow. You can see another photo of Rusty by going to the bottom of my posts and you can enlarge these photos by clicking on them. Rusty has been watching the shop construction in anticipation, sure that his day was about to come. At an auction earlier this summer, Marty bought some pieces and parts to use in the restoration and some of those got put in the woods behind the shop.

Some of the parts were put in the bed of Rusty. You could almost hear him humming to himself.

Sitting next to him is another of the old cars waiting on a little TLC. Vicky is a 1956 Crown Victoria with a glass top. She needs some engine work and some new pieces of chrome and a few other repairs.

The cars are all set to be put in the shop for the winter. It looks like Vicky is going to get the pride of place as the project car for the winter. This means another winter sitting out in the snow for Rusty.

Vicky has a big toothy grin. When I took this shot I thought I heard giggles from Vicky and a heavy sigh from Rusty.

Emerging from the Snow

After a long winter, the old '51 Ford is emerging from its snow cover. I posted a photo in March titled "Heavy Load" and you can see that and a few other photos in the sidebar.The sun once again brings warmth and light and a promise of a new beginning. No one knows for sure what roads this pickup has traveled over the years or what sights it has seen. My husband hauled it home 5 or 6 years ago, and has been planning its makeover into a hot rod--a much different life than the working vehicle it surely was 50 years ago.It sits close to its brother that has been restored to beauty and has already been providing transportation this spring. Rusty doesn't mind, though, because he knows he is destined to become a one-of-a-kind pickup that will outshine Big Blue.

Both trucks are keeping watch on the new shop construction where they will spend next winter, Rusty in the mechanics shop, and Big Blue in the storage area with three other classic Fords. The shop building will also have a carpenter shop. It combines space for both of my husband's loves, old cars and carpentry. Even though there is still snow on the ground and mud all around the shop area, he is beginning the framing process. Last summer the slab went in, so now he is pushing ahead with construction at the earliest possible time.

Heavy Load

Buried in snow and sitting in the corner of our yard is this old '51 Ford pickup. Looking like it has been abandoned for years, Marty's project truck sits waiting for the new shop construction to be finished. Well, actually, I guess it has been living the life of a derelict for many years, but next winter it should be sitting inside the shop and the process begun to give it a new lease on life. Marty has been making plans for this restoration for several years now, and is looking forward to gettting started.