Not for the faint at heart!

Last January when we were at Dave and June's farm, we met a guy named Richard who built motorized bikes.  As soon as Dan saw them (and rode a few!), he wanted to build one.   Ever since then, he's been engineering his design in his head.  We've made numerous trips to Lowe's, Harbor Freight, and Northern Tool to buy things he needed.  Things like a motor, wheel, clutch and chain.  By the time we made it up to the farm, he was chomping at the bit to get started.  He hunkered down in the garage he spent so much time in when he was growing up and started tinkering.....

His nephew Timmy scratching his head in disbelief! 

Dan had so many people stop by to chat and see the bike but finally it was ready for it's debut....

Doug making sure Dan is ready to go!

And...he's off....

Both Dan's sister Colleen and I took video but let's just say that I need to take videography lessons!  I will try to get Colleen's video on the blog soon!  Top speed is about 26-28 mph and has a hand throttle and kill button on the handlebar.  (That's why it's not for the faint at heart!)

Finished product

And a close-up...check out the nifty kick stand!

Dan gets plenty of looks while he is riding his "go-bike" and has even had someone stop him and asked if there was a kit to build it.  Someone else asked him if he had a patent on it.  The answer to both questions is "no"!  And, no, I won't be riding the go-bike either.  ;-)  I don't want to visit the emergency room.  

Friday evening we went to Tioga Downs in Nichols, NY to see the Commodores.

It was a gorgeous evening for an outdoor concert.  We went with Dan's Mom, her gentlemen friend, Dan's sister Colleen and her husband Doug and Bill and Sue (friends of Dan's Mom).

The show started with a spectacular light show...

They played for about 90 minutes and sang all of the songs I grew up singing!

Brick House

Night Shift

Sail on

And we also enjoyed a nice sunset!

It was a great evening out.

I've also been out huntin' bear!

Dan's niece Emma and I have been on a mission for a quite a while now!  There are bears in the area and we take off at dusk to go see if we can "find" one.   Several of the neighbors have seen them around (and during the day!) including a mom and her three cubs.  And, when Emma's brother Timmy told us that a black panther had been spotted, we got on our camo and went huntin'!  Our huntin' entails getting in the truck and riding around on the country roads looking in the fields!  No sightings yet but I am still hopeful that I will at least see a bear before we leave PA next month.

Dan has been cutting a path for us down to the river so that we have easy access for the kayak.  It looks like we are going to finally have warm, dry days this week and we both hope that we can get on the river in the next day or two!  He also cut a path up the hill behind the farm so that we can watch the sun set.   It doesn't look that steep (or far!) but we get quite a workout hiking up here!

  
The scenery is absolutely beautiful and it is peaceful.  We bring a blanket and just sit and enjoy the quiet.

  
You can see all the way to the flat where the corn is really starting to take off.

In the garden, the blueberries should be ripe within the next two weeks and the tomatos, cukes, and peppers are doing great.   The raspberries, squash, zucchini, beans and swiss chard need some more time before they are ready.  I made some pesto a few days ago with the basil from the herb garden and used some sage and thyme in a pork dish I made last week.

Yep, life on the farm is indeed good!