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Rainy work session

Another rainy week to try and get something done on the farm. I managed to get my grass mown and some of the rotten wood burned up here at home. We were headed up to Cullman on Wednesday morning but I discovered a lost filling. Wound up spending the afternoon at Dr. Henry's getting a crown. With the rain, we hoped there would be breaks so we could get something done. No such luck. 

Our projects for this trip included: more rodent control, rabbit control, repair the mail box, service the 55-66, replace the bell post, clear the gutters, and exercise the generators.

With the aid of some smoke bombs, David and I filled the holes and released the smoke. After 24 hours, there were no signs of activity. We may have found the answer to those pesky rodents. I sure hope so. They've been a difficult problem to gain control.

Bunnies are eating up the tender young plants. We may have to resort to a rabbit proof fence. There is no method to keep they away. There are just too many.

The mail box that had been bashed so hard by idiots back in March had finally fallen apart. I had put some work into reattaching the box to the base but the upright had finally broken away. After a trip to Lowes, we installed a new mail box post with new numbers has been installed. While there, we picked up a new post for the bell PawPaw got at the auction. During the process of removing the bell from the pole, the holder tipped and I lost my grip. The bell, which was only sitting in the yoke fell and landed directly on a rock knocking off 5 pieces of the edge. I went ahead with the pole replacement. I hate to return work that is less than perfect. My first thought was how can we weld or braze the pieces back together. I don't know anything about welding cast iron or any kind of metal actually. But I remembered JB Weld. I picked up a package at the NAPA store. You mix the two ingredients and use a toothpick to apply it to the borders of the break. Then carefully, I placed all the pieces together like a jigsaw puzzle.  In a moment of inattention, I tried to move the bell and it fell apart. With immediate attention, I returned the pieces to their places. After a few minutes I could see where each seam appeared to be bonding. Now the whole thing has to cure. When we left, the bell was assembled in the back room with instructions not to move it for a few days.

Service of the 55-66 was more of a challenge than we expected. There are 3 fluid filters on it that are all the same size as the oil filter. Paw paw had a collections of filters in the shed. But there weren't any oil filters and had to go get some. Then during the change process, I pulled off the hydraulic fluid filter first, then had to put it back and replace the fluid. The oil pan held just under 2 gallons, not the 4 gallons I was told it used. David found the Manual for the tractor, but nowhere does it given fluid capacities. You have to accept the evidence of your catch bucket. After changing the filter and replacing the oil, I acted on the hunch I had about the many gallons of pre-mixed antifreeze I saw in the barn. The 55-66 was low on coolant. I'll have to  check the levels every time we use it in the future.

Exercising the generators went smoothly. It only took a few pulls, and some starting fluid, to get the smaller generator going. The Honda generator started quickly with a key. I need to label the panel and make a guide for starting it when needed.

Finally, all the rain was making it flood off the front porch, spilling out of the gutter I held the ladder for David and he cleared the down spout on the western side.  The other side was very high and we couldn't get a confident placement for the ladder. I have an idea for a long tube I could connect to a shop vacuum to suck the leaves out of the gutter.

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