CLICK TO ENLARGE ANY OF THESE PICTURES TO FULL SIZE.Southwest of Dekalb IL is a hamlet called Elva. There's not much there. Maybe a dozen houses. Like many small towns in ND. BUT
I like elevators. Look at this one. Brick. I have in my life never seen one just like this. It's amazing. But, it's in disuse. Falling apart. What a crime. If I were a rich man I would preserve it. It's worth preserving.
In an earlier post, I think on the Prophet side, I mentioned a spruce tree that blew down last summer. It's 64 years old. Here's a picture of the fallen root end. The trunk.
That's my cousin Wally standing next to it. It's as big around as he is. Or me.
Who knew a spruce tree could get so large. This was planted as a seedling. Yet when the wind came it just ripped out of the ground. Look at the root.
Last this is a male catkin from a native cottonwood tree I saw in Illinois where we are cutting live cuttings.
Look at the color, the size, the depth. These are beautiful, the whole tree was covered with them. I took a picture at a distance but it lost something in the frame. I know this isn't enough of a reason to plant cottonwood, but it's not a bad one. Did you know that they are now an endangered native species in the Dakotas? Too many Males, not enough Females. Plant native only.
1 comment:
The elevator is unique. It appears the bricks are bound by steel hoops. From the photograph, the elevator appears to be in fair condition. The roof may need a replacement. The wood walls of the upper head structure definitely need replacement. The masonry appears to be in good shape. The hoops may have corrosion, otherwise not much to go wrong there. If the steel hoops are thick enough, the outer layer of rust becomes a layer of protection for the steel within. I would guess the leg system would need a few parts and maybe a drive that is likely missing. Not uncommon for the older legs to have been driven by a one cylinder stationary engine. I bet the pit needs a cleaning. The construction is similar to the singular brick masonry silos seen on some farmsteads. Although with the brick masonry silos, I haven't ever seen before the exterior steel hoops which are common on the concrete masonry silos that can still be ordered today. With a little bit of elbow grease, this elevator could again become economical grain storage. It will still be around when all the galvanizing goes on the steel bins. In 50 years, there will be many steel bins with no remaining galvanizing and much rust, some new galvanized steel bins (if allowed by the enviro-mentals), and interesting old relics that are eternal like this one. Nice photograph.
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