The New Arrival

So today I acquired a new piece of equipment.  Behold the Case 446 garden tractor.  My neighbor had this sitting in his barn for the last many years.  It hasn't run for 7 or 8 years by now, and the last time he did have it running, it tended to die often.  He know I enjoy tinkering and fixing on old things, so he just gave it to me.  Thus, for free, I got this lawnmower, an unpictured snowblade, and an unpictured mowing deck.  And there's more to the story....

We succesfully pulled over the tractor from his barn to my barn using a tow strap.  No problems.  I went back with the old wood wagon to pick up the snow blade.  My neighbor and I lift it up into the wagon without issue.  The fun began when we went to get the mowing deck.

He found it lying under some old hay.  Old hay as in 15 years type of old.  It was pretty well composted and rotten over the mower deck.  We push the hay away and get ready to lift up the heavy mowing deck.  Neighbor on one side, and I on the other.  We lift up and kind of get situated and ready to walk out of the barn when he starts hollering, "Get out!  Run!".  Thinking we may have stirred up some hornets nest, neighbor pushes me out of the barn.  I'm looking behind for some bees or hornets or anything to cause the concern, and he tells me there was a pretty skunk under the mowing deck.  About that time, we start to smell the skunk so we move further away fromt he barn.  After a minute or two, we see that pretty skunk slink around the corner of the barn and into another hole in the barn.  We didn't get sprayed, but it sure got the adrenalin pumping.  I'm sure that skunk didn't like to get that mowing deck dropped on its head either.

Nonetheless, I got two thirds of the equipment he intended to give me.  I'll go back sometime in a few months and see if that skunk has moved it's residence.

What is my intention with this old lawn mower?  I really don't know.  I think I'll at least get it into a running condition.  Perhaps down the road I'll even give it a little paint job.  I have no idea.  I have a problem passing up free lawn mowers, perhaps.

Note:  Please enjoy this picture of my 40-week pregnant wife.  Today is her official due date for Baby #3.  Doesn't she look happy on that old garden tractor?  Perhaps it's just a smile of exasperation.

Weed Whipping - 1930's style

My neighbor has a great way to trim the long grass and weeds along the creek that goes through our properties.  He has a McCormick No. 9 sickle bar mower.  We can trim the creek in the front of the house in about 45 seconds per side.  That sure beats a sweaty hour of weed whipping.

Sure, back in the 1930's, this rig would have been pulled by some horses, but the International 184 is a little smoother.  My neighbor drove, weaved around the many trees, and kept us out of the creek - it was very professional driving.  Keep in mind, the sickle bar is driven by the steel wheels, so the faster you go the faster the sickle bar moves.  We feel it cuts better at a high speed. 

My job riding on the mower is to adjust the height of the sickle bar.  Too high, and you're not cutting anything.  Too low, and you plug up with mud, get loaded up with grass, or break something.  A hand lever coupled to a foot lever allows for movement of the sickle up and down.  If all this wasn't a challenge, staying on the seat certainly was.  The seat I rode on tipped forward somewhat.  So, bouncing over the yard at a decent clip on the edge of the creek while dodging trees and all the while nearly being launched forward out of your seat made for a fun afternoon.  I hope we can do this again soon.

Big Changes

The Girl is losing teeth like crazy. Just 12 days ago, she lost her third tooth. Three days ago, she lost her 4th tooth. Tonight, we yanked out her 5th.

Here is a picture of her before losing tooth number 4 a few nights ago. You can see the top front tooth is pretty crooked.

Tonight, after bunch of wiggling, tooth number 5 was ready for extraction. I found the easiest way to grab on to those little teeth is to use my compound needle nose pliers. Her teeth are so small and so smooth, fingers just can get a grab.  She is very trusting, and prefers the pliers over fingers.

So after all is said and done, her two front teeth on the top are history.

No corn-on-the-cob for her this summer. Oh well. I don't think she will mind too much.

The Weekend

Our Saturday was interesting. A few things to say:

1. In the morning, I made this.... Pecan pancakes with blueberry syrup. One of our favorites.

2. I sharpened blades on the JD lawnmower. When I put the belt back on, I laced it around the outside of a peg instead of the inside. So, when I started it up, things started smoking quickly thereafter. I shut things down, saw the problem, and tried to move the belt to the other side of the peg. I didn't think it would be hot, but it was. The result - I got a nice burn on my finger. It looks pretty gross.

3. I got a wireless router for the new laptop given on Mother's Day. This is very nice.

4. A dust storm blew up in the evening on Saturday. I was out mowing (after burning my finger), and the northwest looked brown. I stopped mowing, and the dust storm blew through. Visibility was greatly reduced, and our eyes hurt. I've never seen anything quite like it before. I didn't get the yard finished.

5. The neighbor offered to let me have his old lawnmower. He doesn't use it anymore, and thought I could have some fun fixing it up. So, for free, I will be getting an old Case 446 lawnmower - complete with unused mowing deck and a well-used snow blade. It ran when he parked it 5 years ago, but he said it has troubles staying running. Some weekend, I'll move it into the barn. No rush. Lots of other projects to work on in the meantime.

That's all for now.......