As usual I have something weird going on around here, Everytime I try to clean out my garage something major breaks and I have to stop and fix it, creating a larger mess, and causing me to have to "just pack the junk back in" because it is going to rain, snow, or hail broken mowers down on me. I even have a couple ideas for better ways to get some important things done around here, but i can't get to doing it, because there is always some new crisis.

I know I promised a little bit about climate change, but it became it's own entity, complete rant! So it has it's own page, this is the fun stuff here and I'm trying hard to keep it that way.

I have discovered the best way to have a garden, for me, so far anyway. hands on loving the plants and tender loving care of hauling water, which I determined were pretty overrated (and "effort" heavy) for a guy with a bad back and limited range of motion. So the plastic, and "on a timer" soaker hoses are great! I have found soaker hoses to be pretty wimpy though they really don't like much movement or any pulling or pinching or well any movement at all

 

 

 

 

seems to break them...So I'm going to get a couple good repair kits and try to get as much life out of them as I can. I also need to put the fencing back around the plants I guess, having been almost as busy "swim lessoning" creatures as I was weeding. The vultures are well fed anyway. Though the vultures aren't getting all of the swimming failures, I think the coyotes have a pretty good trail worn to the west pasture. The scraping and howling I've been hearing the last couple days is pretty intense at times, but I keep a rifle close, just in case anybody gets silly. Now comparing the picture above to the next picture should give you some idea how well this is working, which has caused a small "stir" here at NadaFarm, After it looked like this was working I was accused of taking over Chris's supplies to make my garden effort free and misappropriating items that had been purchased for her operations but never put into use due to .... well, I don't know. Now I would argue the facts of this accusation, but I can't, in fact the plastic was purchased a couple years ago at a great price at Tractor Supply, end of the season, giant roll, about 20% of the original price. And I thought it was clear not black, but it was purchased for a green house for Chris. So it wouldn't do what she wanted it for, but it was for her. Then she decided it would work for her gardens up at the house but I pooh pooh ed that idea, and got away with it, I didn't have any

 

 

intention of using it for my garden at the time. I don't care about a few weeds, but having seen this result. I hope to never have to do it differently! And the soaker hoses were definitely her's... BUt having drug water from the spring house to the garden for the last couple years I decided a timer and soaker hoses might just work easier, if not better. And the result is both, EASIER and BETTER this isn't the latest picture, well it is the latest PICTURE, but not what the garden currently looks like, things are growing insanely, and I think she might just be right about the plans she had for her garden, which I .... OKAY I SWIPED HER STUFF AND MADE MY GARDEN BETTER! There I admitted it, in writing for all the world to see, or at least the 15 people who read this drivel. So now I have to figure out how to make a similar system for her operations at the house and get my dignity back. But actually, I mean really, I mean Seriously? She benefits from all the gardens as much as I do. So, My Garden, Her Garden, it's all the same we both like what we grow and we both eat it and enjoy sharing it, so my guilt is not really that deep... at all.. in fact, no guilt. I just had to perform an experiment to see what works, and how well, and if it is going to be worth it, and now we both know. Of course, she'll claim she knew all along, now that I have proven it. But I'm not worried, except for how much canning I may have to do. But that's a good worry and no real problem except that I'm such a lazy person. Well, moving right along...

I've been rebuilding lawn mowers for the last few years for a friend, who is kinda tough on them, now his main issue is he gets them cheap, usually, and they need a little TLC to get them mowing again, but he has a rough terrain area and they don't last long. Surface roots, and tree stumps, and the "forever and a day" of rocks! Rocks being everywhere you think about moving or digging or walking or tripping or, well... mowing sure finds them effectively as well. He recently had a bad run of luck with nearly all his mowers in need of immediate attention, and only a couple hand mowers running. He is considering getting a new mower with a warrantee, and a couple new attachments for his farm tractor. I mention this because it has lead me to a new understanding of the rigors of simply keeping the grass cut. Miss one week and it changes the game, miss a month and it seems you're starting all over again. I had a mess going on and let the grass just grow, in a couple fields, and when i went to clear them, I found a mess of new rocks had surfaced, I mean how can a rock the size of the bed of my pickup just suddenly surface where I mowed last year? Well they do, so some of the problems my friend, let's just call him "Bob" for simplicity's sake,has been having with mowers isn't all his fault, in fact the neighbor,with the dairy farm, hits as many rocks and stumps as the rest of us but his equipment is a little bigger, it's a 20 foot wide bat wing monster, pulled behind a 150 HP tractor and he still beats the hell out of it. And his guys are just as thrilled about pounding out the dents and replacing broken parts as any of us are.

But I think I have a better perspective on lawn mowing than most, and surely more than the majority of engineers building the junk chunk chink mowers Bob brings me to fix. So I'm going to share my insights. LUCKY YOU!

You need the widest mower you can maneuver around your yard efficiently. What determines that size? Well, if you have a gate you have to go through, that might set your max, or if you have an area that has a limited access, due to structures, stairways, or you don't have room to store it indoors.Of course no one would ever store a lawn mower (filled with Gasoline) in a basement because of the number of fires that has caused in the past.

NOW you might ask how that happens? Well, the fumes from the fuel lie low on the floor, and the pilot light on the water heater, dryer, furnace, ignite them. They may flash harmlessly for years. Every once in a while a fire sweeps over the floor from the gas tank to the pilot light, and it burns itself out, you may notice it, you think, but not realize what you just saw. Then one time, it hits a pile of fluff from the dryer, foof, it burns and goes out a week later you see what looks like a dead mouse, and as you gird your loins to carefully clean it up, it disintegrates to dust as you attempt to touch it, relived you sweep it up and move along. Then one night, after a particularly big day of mowing, you park the mower in it's spot in the basement. Having just refueled it, because it died on the last 50 feet of the last stripe of 8 inch tall grass. You toss your sweat soaked clothes in a pile at the base of the washer and the socks you splashed just a little as you refueled the mower in the approaching gloom. And you head off to a well deserved shower. As you finally drop into bed and fall almost instantly to sleep. The party starts in the basement, the fumes travel the floor to the pilot light which ignites them and they flash over a small pile of dryer lint which rolls burning into the pile of wet clothes and the gasoline soaked sock. This time the fire keeps burning just a little longer, no longer just a flash, but now a small flame, the gas tank burps again. This time the fire gets back to the mower, the tank starts burning.... Did you know when you sleep, your nose doesn't work? That's why smoke alarms are so important, if at this point you have one, and you keep good batteries in it, and it's properly placed, you may get out of this little scenario alive, even save the majority of the house. If not, well.... Of course you would never keep fuel in your home, in fact it is never closer than the garage with a minimum 8" step to keep the fumes from entering the house, right? Well to keep this from getting "preachy" just don't do dumb stuff, OKAY?

 

You want to store it in a clean dry place, after you wash it, after every time you use it. A 60 inch deck would be a great minimum, the deck should be in front, you can see better and thus trim closer. Zero turn? Maybe, but not necessarily, but rear steering is a better choice. Hydrostatic drive with instant reverse, or what is sometimes referred to as "shuttle". The blades, and there should be at least three, should be belt driven, just so they can stop when the going gets ridiculous. But no other belts, well maybe an accessories belt for the fan and alternator. Anything that can be changed should be accessible without removing bolts screws or even wing nuts , they get lost. DZUS fasteners or maybe the rubber latches, are best. And it should mow going backwards! Now I know there are reasons not to let idiots mow in reverse, but I'm not an idiot and I don't want some jackass engineer deciding that for me. The deck height should actually allow the deck to be set at 6 inches, and not just say so on the scale on the machine. ( higher would be better, so it's easier to get the blades off for sharpening, and to remove the garbage bag that the neighbor flung full of his dogs little treasures in your back yard because he's an AAAAA.... oops maybe you don't live in town...) And I should be able to raise and lower it without a hernia operation. Fuel, oil, and water levels should be readily discernable without lifting a seat and , OH YEAH, the machine should run without the driver in the seat it should mow with the driver able to stand up, and it should be able to be lashed down to a trailer with a minimum of hassle. Sorry, those are things that make me crazy! The air cleaner should be removable with one hand, and "knocked out" and replaced in less than a minutes time, and last for two mowing seasons. All fuses and connections , of which there should be a very limited number, should be in a water tight box accessible by opening one dzus fastener. And there should be lights in front and rear and a normal car size battery. With posts and screw connections so it's easy to charge. For maximum fuel efficiency it should be diesel, for maximum self maintenance, it should be a normally aspirated gas engine. It should have tow hooks on both ends and the capacity to pull and power an additional attachment, either a pto shaft or hydraulic hook ups, for a lawn sweeper or bagger system.

All that said, it should be obvious, I'm designing a mower, and it will have all these traits, and as i'm doing it in my spare time it will be finished in 2534, the summer of, but probably late fall, I mean really, who can call it that close? If you don't want to wait, google "front mount mowers" and see what you like, I guarantee you won't like the price, but consider, if you mow every summer week here in Ohio, and it takes you two or three hours each time. So assuming 6 or 7 months, times 4 is twenty four or twenty eight times, that's about 100 hours seat time or two and a half, to three working weeks, per year and you are going to do it for about 30 years. You are considering an investment for two business years of seat time. Now there will be costs, filters, belts, blades, liquids, maybe even a tire or two along the way. but you will also be getting them for the two dozen cheap ass MTDs that you buy and destroy along the way if you choose that route. You'll see what I'm up to in reality, on the next farm page, it's not the ultimate that I'm suggesting here, but it beats the snot out of the little ones I have been fixing around here. Now I haven't said anything about weedeaters and push mowers, you will probably need one of each of those too. for the close up trimming and behind the hedges, the weedeater should be easy to change the string on and if you can, go four cycle so there's no gas to mix, unless you have other things to keep mixed gas for there's no reason to have a 2 cycle engine just for the weedeater. And the push mower should be a bagger, really. First you weed eat and blow tall spindly crud all over, then you trim around the same areas with the bagger and remove all that, and then the big mower sweeps through the area, and you're done. I have a self operating push mower, that follows my weedeater around, (Chris does it, tee hee ) then I jump ( yeah right) on the big mower and in about three hours I'm done. Way down from the eight hours it was taking.

Now, about winterizing, all your little engines need to be drained of fuel, even the emergency generator, unless it is self starting. Always keep fresh gas in cans, or those useless plastic containers, [( but expect the spout to break or fail the second year, chinese crap! ) And when you buy the replacement spout take the can with you , I'll bet it won't seal...] Anyway, drain the tank, start the engine and let it run out of fuel , you can spray wd40 into the carb after removing the air filter, and keep it running a couple squirts, just to be sure. When it's empty, seal it up, wouldn't hurt to put a trash bag over it, after it cools of course. If you are at the end of the year and there's just a little two cycle gas mix left. THROW IT OUT! I have had 4 engines this year alone that had a bad mix of fuel due to adding to, or trying to save, a little fuel from last year. Dump it and start fresh. buy the "low smoke" oil in the pre measured bottle, and mix it fresh each time, and you won't have near the problems with your little engines. Or get rid of the two cycle toys, and buy a nice 4 stroke to replace it. Keep the old two stroke though, they make nice engines for model airplanes, build a big one, to confuse the government drones..... I have to actually plug the exhausts and make sure the intakes are behind a good filter or the chipmunks fill everything with corn or some kind of a little hard seed. Some times it's dangerous to start things in the spring. Did I mention cleaning under the deck on everything? Remove the plug wire, just so it can't start, and hose and scrape everything out from under the deck, if you feel so inclined, and plan on keeping this mower working for a few years now is a good time to clean it good and paint the underside with a good primer and then a high gloss finish, so the grass can't build up as easily. Of course to make it easiest, drain the oil as well as the fuel, and watch on the old mowers some had the oil filled air cleaner, (REALLY, If you have one of these, then you don't need me to tell you how to do any of this.) The trick will be in the spring, when you refill the oil, the gas tank and reconnect the plug wire, pull the plugs out of the exhaust and intake, and pump the primer. It should start after a couple pulls. A couple idiosyncrasies, modern engines won't run properly {some not at all} with the air cleaner off, The blades need to be on and tight as well, as they are the "flywheel" and after the three essentials (clean AIR, fresh FUEL, strong SPARK) I check the safeties, they are about half the problem with things I get to fix. Well, so much for little engine pontification. Have a great mowing season, and I'll post my progress when I start on my perfect machine.

Man, are we happy out here! ( I just realized this has been missing from the last few pages, and it was entirely unintentional! So I will be going back and adding it, probably in the first month of winter.)

 

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