Mule To The Rescue

Once again we spent the day yesterday working outside. Our son Travis helped me pull out the fence posts on the north side of our property and roll up the wire. Using a chain and the bucket on the Kubota tractor, some of them came out very easily, while others really made us work for them. We actually bent up two or three of the thick metal posts trying to get them out. One was in so hard that no matter what we did, the darn thing would not budge! Even so, by the time we were done we had a lot of posts in the bed of the Kawasaki Mule.

The grass and weeds have really grown up along that side of the property, and it being warm enough for snakes to be out, we made sure to make a lot of noise every time we moved to the next post so we wouldn’t have any unpleasant surprises. Just in case we came across a surly copperhead or rattler, I had a .357 magnum revolver loaded with snake shot on my belt.

After we had all the fence posts out, we wanted to put the mid-mount mower attachment on the Kubota so I could attack some of those high weeds. But try as we might, we could not get it set up. Connecting the PTO shaft is always a problem, and since Travis was running short on time, we decided that we would have to attempt that another day.

While we were doing all that, Terry was busy working in the garden. She rolled up one length of the ground fabric and put more metal pins in to hold down what was left. Then she weeded most of a row of plants, using her Garden Weasel to loosen the soil and a handheld garden claw to get the weeds out.

We had not eaten all day so after we dropped Travis off at home Terry and I stopped at Subway in Gordo about 3 o’clock for linner, which is the meal you eat that serves as both lunch and dinner. Then it was back to the house for more work. While Terry went back to what she had been doing in the garden, I decided to use the Husqvarna riding lawnmower to see if it would do any good against the weeds, since we couldn’t get the mower attachment on the Kubota.

I managed to get some of them down, but the perimeter dirt road is rough and not very level, and a couple of times I thought I was going to roll the mower trying to get into the worst of it. No, thanks. I decided that wasn’t going to happen. However I did get quite a bit cleared off behind the barn. Our poor old barn has seen better days, especially on the back end, but I really don’t want to tear it down. On the other hand, I’m not sure it’s worth fixing up, though it does have concrete floors inside and does not leak, making it a good place to store equipment.

Once I was done with that, I decided to keep on mowing, which turned out to be a bad decision. I managed to get the mower stuck in the mud alongside a run off ditch that runs through the property next to the pasture. I had Terry stop what she was doing and try to drive the mower while I pushed it out by hand, but that wasn’t happening.

So it was the Mule to the rescue. Using the Mule’s electric winch, it was easy-peasy to pull her out onto the firm surface of the barn road.

But of course, then I had to answer to her for getting her mower stuck. She drove away in it, giving me a look that said that’s what happens when she lets me play with her toys. She then proceeded to mow the front and side yards. I guess she wanted to play, too.

Both Judy and Roberta returned chapters from my new Tinder Street book that I had sent them to proofread, so today I will be busy making their corrections, and then hopefully I can knock out another chapter or two when I’m finished.

And finally, here’s a chuckle to start your day from the collection of funny signs we see in our travels and that our readers share with us. I need this sign at my place. My legs are still covered with the bites I got from my last encounter with those nasty little critters.

Thought For The Day – The bonds of matrimony are only a good investment when the interest is kept up.