ThE GarAge AgAin.

Have you noticed?

It sure seems the garage the water and tractors come up pretty often. In fact it seems like that's what I spend the overwhelming majority of my time trying to get to work right, or get in shape to work at all. I have been finishing up the interior of the garage, and insulating and sealing as much of it as I can. It can be heated with the wood stove, and now that I am repositioning the stove to the rear of the garage, opening the doors won't immediately exhaust all the heat. The interior is getting increasingly brighter as I finish the interior and paint the new walls. I even added a couple wall mount shelves to more efficiently use the available space.

THe Bobcat has new tires now and it makes a difference, not as much as I had hoped, it turns out there isn't as aggressive a tread available as there used to be, so though the tires are wonderful and will now outlive me, the tractor isn't magically able to dig better. Of course it digs better on the new tires, rather than when it is upside down, or on it's side( twice) in the same day. Well, actually, it was on each side once, as it flipped clear over when I first righted it. So I called the neighbor with a "real tractor" to come over and tip it back up, and we chained it to the bucket so it couldn't bounce clear over again, we hoped.

After leaving it sit in the field for the night, and charging the battery, which I removed as soon as I could.... maybe I'd do better to start at the beginning.

So the kids were over for a short visit, the mud hole that is the entrance to the basement is still too narrow and they wanted to ride in a tractor, well, Alex thought it sounded like it could be fun. I'm pretty sure Lily didn't give a "furry mee mee", one way or the other, she says, "don't like it.... no more!" when we hit the "whoopdee.. dos" on the roads around here, while Alex is yelling" wheeee do it again." I suspect there will be future issues along these lines. I gave the kids a ride in the bobcat, and we dug a couple bucket loads of dirt . Didn't really accomplish much but I thought they might have a good time and could tell momma and daddy about their adventures. They lasted a couple trips, and more noise than I thought they might. So, after I let them escape to play in the mud I took a couple scoops of dirt out and left the Bobcat in the trench. After we were done playing in the mud, much of which involved throwing the dirt back into the trenches and watching it splash, we finally all went into the house, well they all went into the house. I helped them get the muddy stuff off, while Chris went to get some pre lunch snacks ready. Turns out, they were inside eating, and I thought I might make good use of the Bobcat being already in the hole, so I went back out and started moving dirt. About the third rotation, (you see there was this annoying hump in the way, that caused the tractor to lurch and dump where it wasn't convenient), So I decided to cut it off, even if it was sorta frozen and hard to remove, it caused the tractor to shift sideways and the tires to spin quite a bit at first, but then I started making headway, though it was thrusting the tractor a number of odd directions. Not really that unusual that the Bobcat gets swiveled around because of what it is trying to do in the mud— but it did matter a little in this particular case. As I backed up to take another run at it, the Bobcat went sideways, Not just slid sideways as usual but actually tipped in a totally new direction for me. I had this sinking feeling as I realized, I have no control over this direction, I have flipped it on it's back and flipped it on it's front I have been able to go from one to the other with relative ease as it is usually related to the material in the bucket being stuck or dumping unexpectedly and flipping the tractor around rather violently, it happens quickly, so there isn't much chance to react but I have recovered in the past, though it generally takes a toll on the ol' neck bones. I've been sort of babying the neck since I had it rebuilt with titanium, (and yes it really was from the fall in the house fire, that Workers Comp and the City of Akron screwed me over about.) But I digress. So as the tractor began it's twenty minute fall to the left, off the rock ledge, that is in the field where we have been moving the dirt to, I realized that I had no helmet, had no options, and needed to just ball up and ride it out. I slammed really hard to the ground on my left side, actually the whole tractor slammed to the left and I was the "bb in the boxcar" that bounced around inside the metal cage. The top of my head has got to have a metal screen pattern as does my left shoulder, my neck... well I didn't break it this time, though it felt tight for a couple days. Anyway I reached up and immediately tuned the engine off, as I knew it would not have oil where it needed it, and wasn't going to be any help in righting itself. The battery was on the down hill side and even though it is loose, I wasn't too concerned about it's situation, the engine oil would be moving into one cylinder and trying to exit via the filler tube, but I knew they were as good as new, as I had just rebuilt the engine about 20 hours ago. The hydraulic tank was on the down hill side so I expected it to leak but the fuel tank was on the uphill side and I hadn't refilled it as I was going to, mostly because the fuel wasn't near where I was with the tractor. So all in all, I was in pretty good shape, considering.

Bent and bruised I made my way to the house to tell Chris I was okay, I could just imagine her looking out the window and seeing the bottom of the bobcat and not seeing me there cussing at it, but I needed to go get the big tractor running to attempt to right it. So I checked in, and proceeded to get the big tractor, which I had used the night before, to rescue a neighbor bogged down in his yard with way too much gravel on his little trailer and truck. But once it was in motion, he left for a twenty mile trip, and I haven't heard of his demise, so I guess he made it. Anyway, the big tractor had a near dead battery and was trying to start, ( a thirty year old diesel) in 40 degree weather, so it wasn't going to happen on a weak battery. I swapped it out for a charged one and found a can of ether and fired it up, a couple chains and some strategic positioning and I righted the bobcat first try!

It was a real close victory, and short lived as it flipped clear over to the other side, (In the 10 Minute video) [WARNING! BIG DOWNLOAD 13 MB] You can see it bounce on the new tires and slap the big tractor on down the hill, (which if it had had a shuttle gear, may have been able to back up and stop the fall}. But alas, it has no shuttle, 1958 option, unavailable on this model. I had no options, and it was now on the side that put the battery hanging loose over the engine and the fuel tank down hill, not a situation I wanted to let go on for long. So I popped the door open and removed the battery and watched the gasoline run out of the top of the tank, and all over the tractor and the hillside. I looked and Chris was at the front porch yelling something so I went up to find what it was, and tell her it was a good idea (she was suggesting I enlist the tree cutters next door for help, "They have that big crane thing.") but wrong team. I called the neighbor and asked for a tractor big enough to lift the bobcat with a bucket. Ronnie came right over and popped it upright in one move, the only exciting part being when he threw his cigarette on the ground and I pointed out the leaking fuel... he made a clear effort to tramp it out very completely. (Think–River Dance) And jumped right up on the tractor. I chained the Bobcat to the bucket, so it couldn't keep rolling like it had for me. And the bucket lifted it right up without a problem. I took the bucket of chains I had and the battery and returned them to the garage, I placed the battery on the charger along with the one from the big tractor and left it for the night. I also thought to block the wheels of the bobcat, as it was pointing down hill, and we all know how it tends to roll away, if not restrained in some manner. I then rejoined the "babysitting operations" of the NadaFarm crew, who, I was later told, had been unable to even consider napping, while all the excitement was going on. Even excited to the point of deciding pants and shoes were optional (in 40 degree weather) in deference to being out on the front porch to watch.

NOT THAT ANYONE REALLY CARES, BUT: The lasting effects seem to be a new click in my left shoulder and a heightened awareness of the grinding in my neck which may in fact be louder.

Actually I was surprised so little was really damaged, after letting it sit over night I put the recharged battery back and it whirred over pretty good. it began with a couple sizable clouds of smoke, the oil level being at the bottom of the safe range but still within it, and the hydraulics made that awful groaning they always make when there is air where it shouldn't be. But everything worked, then it died, and wouldn't even fire, not a little pop, or anything. Going over the situation in my mind, I realized I had probably turned off the gas, I do that occasionally just to seem prudent after rolling a machine and not knowing what is affected it seemed like maybe I had considered it a good idea to limit the fuel "run out" to just what was in the bowl of the carburetor. Some times I do think that way, really! So I assumed I had this time, and when I checked, the fuel was turned off at the tank! So then after a minute of waiting, the engine fired right up blew out some more smoke and started to settle down to it's normal operating status. I drove it down to the garage to "check and top off" all the liquid levels and straighten the edges of things that had gotten bent during the roll over. Now Chris want's to make me a shirt that says"This is how I roll" and has the Bobcat on it's side... I'm not sure that's funny... Yeah, I guess it is. You know, that's what this little site is all about, the crazy shit that happens on a daily basis, that I survive, and hopefully learn from. So new case in point, don't back over rocks on hillsides, and assume it will be okay just because you got new tires. Sure seems I learn a lot, in a day.

Oh, and an update on the Project trailer, (Bob's). Bob called and asked about the situation on his trailer. I (knowing I could easily get it finished) told him stop by and get it the next day, of course that isn't exactly how it went. ( You know, if everything I did went according to plan, or even close, I wouldn't have anything to write about. Another thing I have realized, is it's only funny if it happens to me, and I tell about it. If I get unfunny, like poor old George Carlin in his last couple HBO specials, ((though he was 110% correct in all that he said)) he was no longer funny and died in a couple months, any chance that's not a co-incidence???? See? Suddenly unfunny, gottta be careful.) So the next morning I was going to get it done, and as I started, here he came to pick it up! Okay it was morning for me, I mean before noon, well maybe just a little after noon, but MY morning, none the less. So he patiently waited while I redesigned his trailer and attached the new heavy duty tool box I built for it. Then we loaded his 4 wheeler I couldn't get to run, and sent him on his way. I did get the ramp corrected and the fenders straightened, and scraped and painted a considerable amount of rust. But I did use up more of their day than I had intended to, and a little of cousin Dwight's !

What a mess I have going in the garage right now, not that that's any kind of news, but I am going to need to get some things arranged differently, I have got to move the wood burner, and that means moving two sets of shelves that are fully loaded and one has a 12 foot by 8 foot, foot print. I have moved it before, I mean I moved it down here from Akron, so I know I can do about anything with it, but I would like it to be out of my garage completely, sound radical? Well it is going to move to the basement when it's complete, the basement that is. And the beat goes on.

The next issue is the project list, it got redirected when the commies started all the gun control talk. Not happening around here! They forget, or never really knew, "assault weapons are just semi autos dressed up to look "cool", what a bunch of morons... i recently saw an ad for a rifle that included for only $130.00 each, thirty round clips, Are they nutz? A "30 round clip" actually a "magazine" to be technically correct, is actually a "tin" bullet holder, that is designed, and thus should be priced, to be a throw away item. Seriously! It is a thin metal container with a spring in it that is used and discarded in combat. If the materials actually cost more than $5 dollars to make one, I'll eat it. I can't believe the idiocy that the Morons In Charge are causing. It is true, that O's the most prolific gun salesman in America. Just one more proof that he has no idea what he's doing, musta been out tokin' when they discussed the effects and effectiveness of prohibition in the nineteen twenty's in America, If he even went to high school, but obviously there are no longer any real requirements to be the President of this country. Now I'm fully qualified, in fact probably over qualified, I did actually have a number of jobs where I was paid to perform tasks that had a level of discernable result, and I have a stack of certificates that qualify me for actual jobs requiring a level of performance that can be measured against real world standards. See? Over-qualified. And my records are available for anyone to inspect, the stack is in the garage, and there we have come full circle.

Man, are we happy out here!

 

The Chores, Fresh Air, Green Acres is for ME.