August arrives

Back on the farm again. I spent the day on the tractor. I started with the 284 because the 55-66 had a low battery. I tried to put the brake cylinder on it but the hose does not fit that nipple I need to get a reducer so I can get a tight seal. But I got it running and did a small area before the tractor started to misbehave. It exhibited a variety of quirks before shutting off and refusing to restart. After a bit of lunch, I got it started and drove it up to the barn where it decided to quit and not restart. Not sure what's the matter. I took out the big tractor and brush hogged the pasture around the lake. It was pretty much an all day job. Now I can get the area around the old homeplace done. I should have some time left for painting the shed. The trim work remains to be done. A couple of blades to sharpen should seal the deal for this trip. Will need to purchase more diesel fuel this trip. If I have some time, I want to get some things fixed on the fuel carrier.

My plan to get the homeplace took a lot longer than I'd expected. The folks who are cutting those pastures for hay did not cut a big section of field. That put me on the tractor for a lot longer. With the 284 giving some quirky action, I just did it all with the 55-66. But I didn't have time left for doing anything else. It was after I finished and was back at the house I noticed the loud diesel sound had bothered my right ear. I'm absolutely going to have to use protection hereafter.

I had installed the new brake cylinder only to discover a small leak coming from the screw that covered the hole in the bottom. I'll be sending it back for revision.

The really upsetting moment of the weekend was when Bev came downstairs and told me her Mother threatened her with disinheritance if she voted for Joe Biden. Now I've have had a problem with her continual lack of appreciation for the effort made on her behalf. She never seems satisfied with anything that is done. But this recent development seems particularly mean. I'm wondering if this is dementia. Bev's response was to tell her give it to whomever she wants. Bev said it would be a relief for her not to have to dispose of it. It would be a relief. That has me thinking this morning. She is so very right. We would not have to spend a year of our life unable to do what we wanted, we'd be stuck there disposing of all that crap. We will have enough finances to live well. We don't need it. The only thing left to deal with is continuing to do that work for someone who doesn't appreciate it. I'll do my part for Bev's sake. But I think it will be less.

Old Brush Hogs never die

We spent a few days in Cullman this week. I created a work list which we attacked once we got there on Thursday. I had some appointments this week that kept us from leaving as soon as usual. Two of the biggest jobs I wanted to accomplish were to cut the access hole in the brush hog so we could remove the blades and to reconnect one of the brake cylinders so the 284 would have at least 1 brake. It turned out that the bolt was much bigger than I expected so the 2 inch hole wasn't big enough to allow the socket to reach the nut. Since we had already opened a hole, I had to come up with a plan to enlarge the hole without the help of the pilot hole that you normally drill with the hole saw. It occurred to me that I could use a piece of plywood to cut a 3 inch hole and let that hole control the hole saw. It worked. With a little patience, we cut the 3 inch hole and gained access the the nut. Then we encountered the next problem which wasn't unexpected. The nut had not been removed in a long time if ever. It resisted out best efforts to loosen it. I bought an air hammer ratchet and it didn't have enough power to remove it. After working with it for 2 days, I finally got 1 nut off. We tried to pop the bolt back through but it wasn't moving. I finally ran out of time and left the whole thing soaking in WD-40. Better luck next week.

We did get the weeds sprayed around the buildings at the Galin place. We also trimmed the overhanging limbs there. When we next brush hog, it should be a lot safer.

For safety sake, I had wanted to get at least 1 brake working on the 284. After looking at the owner's manual I bought and watching some general information videos, I went to work. The brake I removed wasn't rebuildable. It was the disposable unit that comes on these tractors. I pulled the tape free that Paw Paw used to keep dirt out of the system. Once clean, I took some rubber glove tips to create a cover for each of the hoses. Once those were taken care of, I added hy-tran to the reservoir, opened the air purge and got David pumping the brake. After a couple of minutes, no bubbles seemed to be coming out and I locked it down. I climbed into the seat, put her in gear, started off, and bingo, we had brakes. It got me thinking we could get one of those that the guy makes that is rebuildable and get both sides working. Maw Maw agrees. By next week we will have the replacement. With some heat and elbow grease I should be able to get those blades off and finally get them sharpened.

The garden is getting past its season. Less work for Maw Maw for the rest of the summer. She says no garden next year. I thought having a garden this year would be therapeutic. It is a lot of work. Perhaps even stressful when she sees so much going to waste.

Hip gets a shot

So Tuesday Dr. Tropeano gave my hip a shot of steroids. They had to put me to sleep to do it. I thought I'd pop up feeling great and ready to over do it. Wrong. That thing hurt like heck. And my throat was irritated and sore. Didn't expect that. It was a very uncomfortable afternoon and evening. With the aid of some Tylenol and some liquid Benadryl to sooth the throat, I got a decent night's rest. That next day the pain was much better. Today is the third day and I'm feeling very mobile. We are about to go up to Cullman to do some work. I'm ready. The hip is feeling good. If only it could be this good from now on.

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Here it is Tuesday. One week later. Hip began to hurt yesterday. 

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Tuesday 8/4: The hip is working better but I am not stressing it a lot.

Getting the 284 into the game...

We arrived Wednesday. I had to replace an ABS sensor on the truck so we got a late start. After lunch I got the extension set and we blew the leaves out of the gutters. We took a ride around the farm and sized up our jobs for this week. The shed had some groundhog holes in it so we released another smoke bomb in there.

Thursday started early with spraying all the weeds around the lake and buildings. Diquat really works fast. The grass in the road that I sprayed with Glyphosate was only slightly yellowing by the time we left, but the Diquat sprayed grass was already dead. The suggested Diquat dilution is 7.5 oz per 10 gallon. The suggested dilution rate for Ranger Pro is 2 oz per gallon or 20 oz per 10 gallon. I got started on the big tractor and David relieved me after an hour due to the heat. I rested a bit then fired up the zero turn to get some cutting done that would be hard for the tractor. We tried to take the blades off but couldn't without a pneumatic air wrench. 

I had an idea that if I could get the mower working on the 284, I could help David by getting the close work under the trees with the shorter tractor. I asked Preston if someone would possible have a used brush hog small enough to use on the small tractor. In his opinion, finding a small brush hog that wasn't used up was unlikely. Bev remembered Sonya had a small one and she agreed to let us borrow it. I drove the 284 up to her house to pick it up. Once there, we could see that it had rested in one place for a very long time. The tail wheel had been taken off to use on another brush hog. David and I hooked it up and carried it back down to the house. Immediately we saw that the drive shaft was completely seized. I had to put Gibbs on it and drift it off with a hammer. Once we had it off, some scrubbing with Gibbs and WD-40 removed the layer rust. A coat of grease and it was slipping easily. It took another minute to grease all the zerks. Then we connected it to the PTO. David found the PTO lever and it was running. Knowing it was working, we took a trip up to Tractor Supply to get another tail wheel. It became clear that taking off the blades to sharpen was going to be trouble. After some research on You Tube, I saw that we could cut a hole to allow a socket wrench access to the bolts. That will be a project for another day.

With David on the 55-66, I got on the 284 and started on the field above the lake. He soon had the back field finished and he took over the field I was in and I headed down to the old house. We got all those fields mowed before supper time. If I can keep that little brush hog going, I can help him a lot.

As usual we refilled the gas cans and filled the small cans and tanks for Maw Maw. She can't lift the 5 gallon cans.

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.

Boys on the farm

Another work session at the farm. Both boys joined in this time. I took a couple of days working on the back yard deck disassembly. David helped some. Earlier this week with the tropical depression, the humidity made work a sweat shop. We got over half the deck removed. Wednesday was my day for Doctors. I saw the dentist and then the ophthalmologist, Eyes and teeth are ok. We drove up Thursday morning and went to work on the shop. Working quickly, we got the orange paint covered with a coat of barn colored paint. Although we got everything a first coat, some touch-up

will have to be done and the trim painted. That took pretty much the first day.

 I was able to set up the Fire Stick on the downstairs tv which allowed a little better media experience. I also had a little time to get the belt put back on the Old John Deere mower. It looked like someone tried to put it back on but got it all wrong. The belt is chewed up so a replacement is in its future. 

We worked down at the Galin place Friday morning. With help from Max, I moved the tree off the house and cut it up for the burn pile. I got David on the Bush-hog to cut the high grass that Sonya hadn't cut down close to the area where they are taking hay.

Preston had removed the old Farmall tractor that belonged to "Big-un" so that opened up some room in the barn. So while David roto-tilled the garden and did some more bush-hogging and Max used the zero turn to mow below the barn on Friday afternoon, I went on a reorganization mission and moved things into a more efficient plan, at least for me. First we took all the trailers and tractors out of the barn.  I needed the 3 point hitch to move the implements, so I used the old 284 tractor despite it not having brakes. Turns out you don't need brakes so much. You just have to keep it in gear. I even moved the old finish mower from under the shop. My next move is to go over it and replace the belts needed to get it operating. If that happens, we will start using it for some of the mowing jobs. Maybe even some plowing.  

Memorial Day Work Days

We are in Cullman today. David and I put in a good afternoon of work to get most of the grass cut. We took MawMaw to the store to get another lawn mower. The old Murray has gone kaput. So she bought a new John Deere. We also got the right color paint. If the rain stays away tomorrow morning, we can paint the front of the shop.

We went out early Tuesday to begin work on the shop but as we were preparing, I noticed the weather radar was getting very close. We just had enough time to get the stuff back in the shed. It started raining and continued thru Wednesday.

Mawmaw bought a new John Deere mower. I put a part on the old John Deere which seemed to fix the belt coming off problem. Her hoe handle had come off so we did a little work to get it fixed again. All the old shotguns got a cleaning. We took the down time to hunt varmints on the farm. Managed to get a few.

Perhaps we will be ready the next time we go up.