The Grass Is Greener

[Harv]

Well, it was only 3 weeks since my last trip to the property, but oh what a difference 3 weeks can make! /w3tcompact/icons/shocked.gif

Last time up I tip-toed gingerly across the still soft "muddy stretch" of my tractor path and hiked out to check on all 3 of the culverts I installed last year. The weeds had started, but I figured a couple more weeks and I'd start driving the path, which would keep them down just by virtue of being driven on.

But when I returned this time, I couldn't find the path at all! The dang weeds were 3 and 4 feet tall and thicker than crabgrass! /w3tcompact/icons/tongue.gif The good news was that I finally had reason to break out my as yet untried rotary mower. Now, I'd like to think we all went through a little bit of hell the first time we tried to hook up a PTO-driven attachment, and I was certainly no exception. It all seems so easy after you've done it once!

Bottom line -- tall grass has no chance against a 60" rotary cutter. In fact, once I repaired culvert #3, I went out in search of more challenging growth. Shrubs and 24" saplings turned to sawdust as fast as I could mow them, but the most satisfying of all was the blackberry vines that were trying to come back from my last engagement with them. What a wonderful tool. /w3tcompact/icons/smile.gif

I only chickened out when I couldn't find my partially caved-in culvert. Afraid to get the tractor wheels too close to the crumbling part, I whipped out the DR Trimmer/Mower and gave the culvert a good military-style haircut. I guess the trimmer/mower will always serve its purpose. /w3tcompact/icons/wink.gif

Pictures attached.

 

[paccorti]

Harv,

Yes, there are few things as fun as driving around your own machinery. Even rotary cutting is fun! With all the rain, I think I could mow my grass every three days now.

Pete

 

[Harv]

Know what you mean, Peter!

After all the physical labor of repairing that silly culvert of mine, I found driving around with the rotary cutter almost therapeutic. Was expecting more noise, but the simple grass-like weeds I was cutting hardly made a sound. Now I wish I had cleared more land of rocks and debris so's I could just keep on mowing.

 

[RobS]

Even my wife now understands the therapeutic value of the tractor. We mowed our big field the other day. I started early in the morning and had about three hours in by the time she and the kids made it out. She took over while "me and the boys" planted a garden. Another two hours later it was all done and her smile was almost as wide as mine /w3tcompact/icons/smile.gif

 

[GlueGuy]

Ahh yes, the joys of a real mother mower! Part of the reason I refer to Lucy's alter ego as Mow-Zilla.

All of my neighbors get seriously jealous when I bring out Mow-Zilla. Even though she's only 48" wide, she beats all their mowers by an easy 24". That, and you don't even have to walk.

I'm still trying to "catch up" with all the posts. Ten days makes for a lot of news on TBN....

The GlueGuy

 

[scruffy]

GlueGuy, I was out of pocket for 6 weeks or better, had 9000 or more posts to wade through. Believe me, it took forever!

 

[RobertN]

Harv,
Nice hat you wearing while on the Bota!


RobertN in Shingle Springs Calif

 

[Harv]

<font color=blue>Nice hat you wearing while on the Bota!</font color=blue>

Nice of you to notice, Robert! /w3tcompact/icons/wink.gif

That's my STIHL "Helmet System", which I had on mostly for the hearing protection. Turns out that the stuff I was cutting made very little noise. I also wound up using the face screen much of the time 'cuz it seemed like small stuff was flying every which way. /w3tcompact/icons/crazy.gif

 

[alan40]

Know what you mean about the mowing. I started out with a lawn that took about 2 hours with my little 16 horse Wheelhorse. Then expanded to about 6 hours later on. Mowed fields look really nice and a good way to show off your tractor and cutter. Now with the NH1720 and rotary cutter I'm up to about 8 hours of cutting not counting the yard. Sure looks nice and get alot of nice comments except from the guy I was letting use if for free. Your right about the noise seems quiet untill you hit something then it scares the **** out of you.
I think now in all reality I have achieved my goal and have started to plant Spruces around the woodlot!!!!/w3tcompact/icons/smile.gif
Take care, Al

 

[JATO_RaT]

Harv, I'm trying to get an idea of where your at. I remember you living near the bay area, but your property has more of a Sierra foothills look, kinda like my area. Rat...

 

[Harv]

Rat -

It's only hard to pin me down 'cuz I'm leading a double life! /w3tcompact/icons/smile.gif

Most of the time I'm a mild-mannered computer geek in the San Francisco East Bay Area (Walnut Creek, to be exact). But a couple of weekends a month, I'm a power-crazed Kubota man maintaining the 42 acres where my mom is living, 10 miles outside of Sutter Creek, off of highway 49. Actual address up there is Volcano, if you're into small town name trivia. Couple of miles from Daffodil Hill.

As the crow flies, we're practically neighbors. /w3tcompact/icons/wink.gif

 

[FarmerBob]

Gee Harv... the names y'all got in California are almost as good as the ones we got here in Arkansas. Places like... Romance, Big Flat, Bald Knob, Ash Flat, Cotton Plant, Delight, Evening Shade, Pencil Bluff, Rose Bud, Gravel Ridge, and I could go on and on. But... my favorite is <font color=purple>Toad Suck</font color=purple> /w3tcompact/icons/laugh.gif... 'n that's the gospel truth! It's actually only about 25 miles from where I live. They even have an annual festival and attract a lot of visitors.

FarmerBob

 

[JATO_RaT]

Harv been there on my bike. Rode the loop from Jackson down to Volcano and then back. Thats why looking at the pictures it looked familiar I suppose. Great golf course out there called Castle Oaks in Ione for folks into golf. A good friend of mine lives near Mt Akum and another good friends mother has a vineyard near the Montevina vineyards. Another friend of mine lives in Pleasanton. Lots of family in the Bay area and then of course, Robert lives in Shingle Springs just due south of me. Rat...

 

[Jag]

FB, what about RedStar, Ozone, Pickels Gap, Possum Trot, Oil Trough, Blue Eye, Pitts, Cash, Greasy Corner, Y City, Vinity Corner, Hogeye and of course Ida and Mount Ida (Charlie Weaver's home).

 

[FarmerBob]

<sigh>... ain't we lucky Jag? /w3tcompact/icons/tongue.gif... we gotta live in the most colorful-named state in the union. And lets don't forget... Marked Tree, Moko, Marble Falls, Zinc, Yellville, Weiner, Widener, Old Joe, Ozone, Strawberry, Sweet Home, Smackover, Dogpatch, and Soddy Daisy. /w3tcompact/icons/smile.gif

I can't imagine me leaving out Pickles Gap. I've got a good friend who used to live there and now lives on a farm in Enola. He's the one got me started in raising Llewellin Setter bird dogs.

FarmerBob

 

[DFB]

You guys got some good ones for sure./w3tcompact/icons/laugh.gif All we got up here in ME are names like China, Denmark, Norway, Poland and Sweden. Of course there are other places too like Hay Shed, High Pasture, Grass Corner,
Pine Corner, Trout Brook, Muskrat Hollow, Owls Head, Moose Head, and Caribou./w3tcompact/icons/smile.gif

DFB

 

[FarmerBob]

/w3tcompact/icons/laugh.gif... well DFB... we got some of those names too... like England, Egypt, Greenland, Jerusalem, Jericho, Jordan, and ********* /w3tcompact/icons/smile.gif.

FarmerBob

 

[DFB]

Thanks for reminding me. We've got an Egypt too. No ********* or Jordan, though there is a Promised Land.
Got a Moscow and Paris./w3tcompact/icons/laugh.gif

Also there's both a Dog Town and Dogtown. /w3tcompact/icons/cool.gif.

DFB

 

[FarmerBob]

It would be interesting to know how the names came to be. Some of them are probably easy to figure out, but places like Toad Suck, Soddy Daisy, and Dog Town must have some pretty interesting stories behind them /w3tcompact/icons/wink.gif.

FarmerBob

 

[JonLeonard]

Anybody ever heard of "Big Ugly, West Virginia"? It was mentioned on the Tonight Show when an article was published in the newpaper about a woman from there killing her husband. The article was titled "Big Ugly Woman Kills Husband"