One really needs to be careful for what they wish. The 4-7 hour mowing days were getting to me. It would eat up the majority of my days off just trying to keep up with the grass growth. I had little time for other chores or even to escape for a long ride in the dirt somewhere. So I wished I wouldn't have to mow every day off just for a day or two. Well, since that wish I've not had to mow going on three weeks now. The cutting belt busted and despite a 3 county and internet search, I can't seem to come up with a replacement in a timely manner. Fortuitous one might think, but oh how sweet Lady Karma likes to play with her boys.
The first Tuesday it rained, rained, rained and I lazily enjoyed much of the day off just taking the day off. I'd gone out and ordered the belt and assumed I'd be up and mowing by the following Sunday. So what would it hurt to take one day off and enjoy being off? No belt Sunday rolled into no belt Tuesday again. At least I managed to get a ride in by riding over to Chapel Hill to check on the belt status. After that the day was spent helping the in-laws fix computer woes and running errands with H. This past Tuesday started with H.'s car having a flat tire as she was heading off to work. She took my car leaving me the truck. Not being able to mow and wanting to act like a good husband I decided to take the tire off and in to be plugged. Easier said than done.
Naturally the "five minute job" turned into a 40 minute struggle. We bought the Alero from my grandmother a few years back. It has spent many a winter up in northern Illinois, ergo salt. When I placed the jack onto the car's jack mount all was well and good until the tire was just about off the ground. Then the crumpling of rusty metal could be heard as the jack mount folded under the weight of the car and it all came bouncing back down to the ground.
Naturally it would be too easy a job if I could just slide my hydraulic jack under the car and lift it. Yep, too easy. Being a gravel driveway, there wasn't enough room to slip in under the car, even when I dug a little pit out. So I wrestled with the rusty under carriage and managed to find a small sliver of solid metal to jack the car up just enough to slide the hydraulic jack under. Finally the tire was off, loaded into the back of the truck and I was on my way to town... er the gas station.
Since I needed to run my paycheck to the bank and check TSC and Home Depot for mower belts, all which were near the tire center, I figured I could drop off the tire and run my errands and pick the tire back up on my way out to Bonnie's for dog food. Killing all errands off in one big loop through the outskirts of town. But no, that again would be too easy. The tire wouldn't end up being done until hours later. So I finished my errands and headed home. To kill time waiting on the tire I started cutting some new trail, but little else got finished that day. Meh.
The last two days off have included digging holes and chasing cables. We lowered our plan for internet so naturally it's been dropping signal and service ever since. They claimed I had a bad line, so rather than wait for them to come out, I borrowed some tools and ran a new line to keep our end up. We'll see how long service lasts now. Stupid monopoly.
The digging came Sunday. The power has been out all week at the barn. It's a combination of issues resulting from our new water line and from setting T-posts when we moved in. The service is of course buried under ground and runs in a not-very-intuitive-or-logical-manner across the yard. So I started digging where we thought the issue was and moved my 3'x3'x3' holes until I came across a line or something I could follow. Finally finding the bad areas, it turns out it's legit power line cable and not the sort you can buy parts for at the local hardware store. Double meh.
But all is not lost. I have been able to enjoy early morning and sunset jaunts with the pups. We tested out my new cross gearing and wheelset on the Psychlo-X this morning, played in the pond, then brought the horses and measured wood for an upcoming barn improvement project. All in all not a lot of miles, but plenty of smiles.
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