Mud Season

[GlueGuy]

<font color=blue>Oh, and 10' past the end of the winch cable</font color=blue>

That's about 1/100th as frustrating as being 1" past the end of the winch cable! /w3tcompact/icons/shocked.gif/w3tcompact/icons/laugh.gif

The GlueGuy

 

[cowboydoc]

Yea I know the feeling. Last spring I got stuck in my pickup and my wife had to pull me out with her mountaineer. I have to say that AWD is impressive. She drove down to where I was stuck and still managed to pull me out. I couldn't get anywhere in the pickup 4wd and had the one wheel buried. I still hear it about that one.

 

[jimmoore]

Let me tell you about this riverbottom GUMBO!!It sticks to everything, as you walk along your feet just keep getting bigger and bigger untill your boots come off your feet. It sticks to truck tires and balls up under the fender wells. It Is hard to wash out when its wet and impossible if you let it dry. This is no joke! I have to keep checking the chickens feet because the mud builds up and dries on their feet, forming big hard mud balls that will cause necrosis due to lack of circulation and their toes will fall off in the mud ball.You have to catch them while the mud is still soft and soak their feet in water and wash the mudballs off.

jim

 

[Bird]

Jim, we're not in the river bottoms, but must have almost exactly the same kind of soil. Closest neighbor had been telling me about a problem his cattle are having with mud balls building up between their toes and hardening. It got bad enough on one bull that he ruined a hind foot, so the neighbor took him by the vet yesterday morning, and then straight on to the slaughterhouse./w3tcompact/icons/frown.gif That same neighbor stuck his International tractor Thursday - 2WD tractor with hay spear on the front and with a round bale on it, the front wheels sank and he couldn't get it out. He was afraid to try to pull it out with his Oliver because he didn't want both of them stuck out there, so he waited until Saturday morning, after a couple of days of sunshine before pulling it out with the Oliver.

Bird

 

[jimmoore]

our stuff is a blue colored clay with little tiny gravel in it, call it "buckshot".

jim

 

[Bird]

I guess that would be a bit different, Jim. Ours is just old black land without any rocks or gravel. The engineer who does most of the perk tests for septic systems in this end of county called it "Wilson Clay Loam". I didn't ask him where that name came from. And of course, it's the worst possible stuff for septic systems; it just almost doesn't perk.

Bird

 

[DFB]

Jim,

Around New England some use a clay/gravel mix called "Blue Gravel" to build roads and drives with. Can get real slimey when wet especially in the spring but when its dry it seems as solid as concrete. Mostly used on steep drives where a coarser type of gravel continually washes out. Makes me wonder if it could be the same stuff?

DFB

 

[Caretaker]

Well, when I posted the first message in this thread I'd intended to post a picture with it. Apparently the cyberspace gods were too smart for me that day - couldn't get it to work. /w3tcompact/icons/blush.gif

So here it is again - fortunately it's the road to the driveway. And the worst thing was getting fresh, wet snow on top of it - what a mess! /w3tcompact/icons/shocked.gif I broke two shear pins trying to snowblow mud - owner's manual says hunh-unh, no way, use for snow only. /w3tcompact/icons/laugh.gif

 

[Thomas]

Thats what a I call early sign of spring and the best sighting so far...so there is still hope. /w3tcompact/icons/smile.gif
Couple loads of hard pack w/your FEL should take care of the road problem.
Keep an eye on the low lands w/this warm wet weather coming in for the weekend. /w3tcompact/icons/frown.gif

Thomas..NH /w3tcompact/icons/wink.gif

 

[RobertN]

The red clay in the Sierra foothills is similar. It is sticky, and clogs tires. It's tough, because you want to minimize ruts, but at the same time you want to spin the tires fast enough to clear the lugs.

This red clay is acidic too; if you leave it on your truck overnite, it'll stain your paint too.

RobertN in Shingle Springs Calif