No, I keep the mower in the basement and I just back the tractor to the basement garage door to load/unload. It is possible that I left the trailer hitch (drawbar/ball) on the back of the tractor and lowered the mower too far. I've done this before (by accident) on the big cutter but it didn't cause damage.
I'm pretty sure it was a pine tree root.
I grind my stumps down so probably not but it's possible rain water erosion could expose one on a hillside. I still think tree roots. I have hit those before.
I would bet money this happened. No way that shaft bent from torque. It got hung up on something. As someone else said, if you did hit something and locked up so hard that the shaft had to give, it would have twisted it. Not bent it like that. The only way that can happen is from sideways force on the middle of the driveshaft. The first thing I thought when I saw it is that there isn't enough clearance on the mower deck, and lifting it caused the deck to run in to the shaft and bend it. Hitting the trailer hitch or drawbar makes a lot of sense.
Yes, my property is hilly, fairly steep in some areas. Good point.
I agree and the more I think about it the more I think this could have happened. Being that it was 5-6 months ago and in my 60's my memory is not as good as when I was young. The strange thing is I can remember events from decades ago much better now but short term memory not so much.
You can figure it out by putting the shaft back on the machine, and then put the drawbar or hitch on, and see if the bend lines up. It might line up with the edge of the mower. Either way, should be able to figure it out by looking at where the bend is in relation to something that can apply force to it.
I'll do that. I need to measure the drive shaft min/max extension distance anyway to makes sure I get the right new drive shaft.