(7/14/22) Did I say previously I've never seen a snake in town? Guess I never looked hard enough. A little black snake about 2 feet long in the side yard. Unless somebody brought it in town and turned it loose, it must have had a mama. (7/15/22) The big hawk flew overhead whistling just now. Maybe it will get the snake. Or maybe the snake will control the ground squirrel population. Or maybe the snake will eat some bird eggs next year. I don't think they can climb the big thick poles wrapped in flashing. At least this one can't. I know they can climb posts made of metal pipe. Something to remember if I set a new post next year.
(7/16/22) Saturday The tractor started. Thank you, Trickle Charger. Took off about 6 pm intending to mow along the road only as far as you can see from the highway, so it doesn't look abandoned out there. Ended up all the way to the cabin. Then on to the dam and did 4 rows on top of it. The mower is only 42" wide, so 2 passes makes only a 6' path. That's enough for the EZGO. Places I mowed last fall were still in good shape. I'm comfortable with the old roads out there, but not the new ones they cut last time. Afraid to get too close to the banks and a couple culverts washing out around the edges. Fence Man did not do a good job on those culverts. You cannot see where the drop offs start with the weeds thick and waist high. The mower is narrower than the back tractor wheels so you can't mow close to a steep bank either above or below the road. Might be a perfect use of that DR trimmer/mower—just to clear to the edge of the banks. Google Maps says the road is 500 feet running along the pond. Weeds are not too heavy to just use string so far. It came with some extra heavy-duty blue string, and it's easy to change string. The problem is getting it out there. It's heavy but not hard to push because it's balanced so well. If I could roll it up a plank to get it in the truck, then transfer it to the EZGO. Theoretically it should fit in the EZGO. I'm afraid to take the truck all the way because of those 2 culverts. Finished about 8pm, almost out of diesel fuel. Just as I was exiting the gate, I hit something with the mower and it started rattling. Afraid to look under it to see if anything is broken. I said (to myself) 2 years ago, if I got that thing working, and anything ever goes wrong with it, that was it. Not going to try to fix it, or get it fixed. Will find out next time.
@Joe Riley: Get over what? .. I'd rather talk about birds than take a nap ... With some imagination, one could picture a DR string trimmer dangling from a boom lift behind a tractor, going through the woods at 2 mph. I just need some long planks in town.
i Then can I borrow it when you are done? We can sit down for that job I was looking at renting a brush cutter with a horizontal rotary blade for cleaning up a long wooden fence line. I will have to hire my handyman cuz he has two legs. Not a very good back, though.
There are all sorts of ideas on the web for 3 pt hitch platforms. They even sell some, if money is no object (but if that were the case, we'd pay someone else to do this stuff, huh?) That boom pole is not a bad idea, if you tie a rope or a chain to the deck of the trimmer and secure it so the thing does not swing like a wrecking ball. Maybe Craigslist has a yard cart that would work.
The part that I am going to do first is 1500ft. I let it go too long and there are a lot of saplings etc. in between trees. Come on down. Bring equipment.
Wrecking ball was the first thing that came to mind. Still the problem of getting it in the truck. So many times I could have used a ramp to put something on a truck, it would have been worth buying something expensive 35 years ago. That's hindsight. There is a thing with some ramps for the goats to jump on out at the barn. The long one on the right side can be moved to the left side and used to walk goats up into the back of the truck. It's in major need of repair now, but the frame is still good. It disassembles into 5 pieces that I used to be able to lift. I'd have to string trim around it in town.
I picked up a used pair of plastic/vinyl ramps. They have raised traction ridges but are still slippery...you cannot get enough traction to pull stuff up them. Perforated aluminum would have been better, but I don't use them often enough to worry about upgrading.