- Local time
- 6:41 PM
- Joined
- May 14, 2011
- Messages
- 18,034
- Reaction score
- 34,841
- Location
- On the Ridge, TN
First off, many prayers for those in the flight path of Helene the hurricane.
Looks like the real deal - and that b*(@# winds up headed right for us eventually, too - after she's tore hell
out of everyone down in FL and GA first.
Like we need it....we've been absolutely hammered with rain and 'naders for days now anyways.
We actually watched a funnel cloud passing by evening before last and it made ground about a dozen miles
up the ridge from here, a record first ever tornado in September for this half of the state.
Fortunately, nobody was injured as it came down in a sparsely populated area and sort of cruised a part of
the Clinch River before lifting and leaving eventually.
Our ridge, as always (praise to Him) protected us, though.
The 57 stone I re-did the road with this year has held up well, but as steep as it gets in places, it needed a
little repair here and there - which I couldn't do because it won't stop freakin' raining!
Now, here Helene comes - packing high winds, tons more rain, all that jazz.
Terrific....so:
I just spent an hour in the pitch dark clearing and repairing the road (about 6am our time).
Yeah, that's a boneheaded sort of thing, but radar said we had a small window of opportunity, so I took it.
I pretty much went by sound as I graded the road with my "yard box" on it, then saw what I'd done
as I turned around and came back for another pass.
Gravel makes different sounds in the box according to how hard you're "cutting" with it, sounds I'm
well familiar with after 25 years of grading this road.
It reminded me quickly that I could use a back light on the tractor, but I tell you what - you couldn't give me a million bucks
for that little rascal.
It's been a hell of a tractor. Couldn't ask for better. Over two decades of me beating on it....
(This pic was many years ago - I've owned it since new, bought in 2002 IIRC).
Incidentally, I just bought it a new canopy roof a few days ago, a replacement for the old one that had seen too many tree
branches, etc. It's fiberglass, mounted to a framework supported by the ROPS on the tractor.
Pretty stout piece - and made about an hour down the road from here, conveniently.
What was the last straw on the old one?
Well, I decided to come under my back carport sideways to fetch some fuel the other day, like I've done a hundred times
before....
(You can probably see this coming...)
The tractor canopy has always cleared those "side bucks" (X's) by an inch or two in the past when I come under there sideways....
Well, let's now more accurately say "most of the time" on that one.
The last time I tried that though, not even looking up and headed under - the canopy instead hooked on the lowest 2x4 and the ride got
REAL interesting from there.
The tractor reared up on its' back wheels and kept on pulling, me flailing away trying to get at the clutch, then the gear shift.
As the tractor kept digging ruts in the ground and trying to roll over backwards, thankfully I had the finish mower mounted, which
was acting like a wheelie bar - but boy, what a ride.
By the way, my wife happened to be right there on the back porch as witness - and later on, mocker.
I finally figured out to just shut the damn thing off, then ease it back down - but not before the poor canopy had broken a big ol'
chunk right off the front, ruining all my makeshift fiberglass repairs over time in the process.
To be honest, I was not only impressed by the tractor just going on like it's supposed to regardless - but also by the supporting frame
of the canopy, which not only bore the weight of the tractor as it reared back but didn't even sustain any damage!
American-made stuff is still out there - and in this case, tough as always, too.
Much laughing and hissy fits and such soon followed, but in the end - I was ok, tractor was ok, wife calmed down...
and now you know why the tractor's got a brand new canopy.
I reckon you can add to my dumbass resume' the title "tractor bronc buster" too, so there's that.
Looks like the real deal - and that b*(@# winds up headed right for us eventually, too - after she's tore hell
out of everyone down in FL and GA first.
Like we need it....we've been absolutely hammered with rain and 'naders for days now anyways.
We actually watched a funnel cloud passing by evening before last and it made ground about a dozen miles
up the ridge from here, a record first ever tornado in September for this half of the state.
Fortunately, nobody was injured as it came down in a sparsely populated area and sort of cruised a part of
the Clinch River before lifting and leaving eventually.
Our ridge, as always (praise to Him) protected us, though.
The 57 stone I re-did the road with this year has held up well, but as steep as it gets in places, it needed a
little repair here and there - which I couldn't do because it won't stop freakin' raining!
Now, here Helene comes - packing high winds, tons more rain, all that jazz.
Terrific....so:
I just spent an hour in the pitch dark clearing and repairing the road (about 6am our time).
Yeah, that's a boneheaded sort of thing, but radar said we had a small window of opportunity, so I took it.
I pretty much went by sound as I graded the road with my "yard box" on it, then saw what I'd done
as I turned around and came back for another pass.
Gravel makes different sounds in the box according to how hard you're "cutting" with it, sounds I'm
well familiar with after 25 years of grading this road.
It reminded me quickly that I could use a back light on the tractor, but I tell you what - you couldn't give me a million bucks
for that little rascal.
It's been a hell of a tractor. Couldn't ask for better. Over two decades of me beating on it....
(This pic was many years ago - I've owned it since new, bought in 2002 IIRC).
Incidentally, I just bought it a new canopy roof a few days ago, a replacement for the old one that had seen too many tree
branches, etc. It's fiberglass, mounted to a framework supported by the ROPS on the tractor.
Pretty stout piece - and made about an hour down the road from here, conveniently.
What was the last straw on the old one?
Well, I decided to come under my back carport sideways to fetch some fuel the other day, like I've done a hundred times
before....
(You can probably see this coming...)
The tractor canopy has always cleared those "side bucks" (X's) by an inch or two in the past when I come under there sideways....
Well, let's now more accurately say "most of the time" on that one.
The last time I tried that though, not even looking up and headed under - the canopy instead hooked on the lowest 2x4 and the ride got
REAL interesting from there.
The tractor reared up on its' back wheels and kept on pulling, me flailing away trying to get at the clutch, then the gear shift.
As the tractor kept digging ruts in the ground and trying to roll over backwards, thankfully I had the finish mower mounted, which
was acting like a wheelie bar - but boy, what a ride.
By the way, my wife happened to be right there on the back porch as witness - and later on, mocker.
I finally figured out to just shut the damn thing off, then ease it back down - but not before the poor canopy had broken a big ol'
chunk right off the front, ruining all my makeshift fiberglass repairs over time in the process.
To be honest, I was not only impressed by the tractor just going on like it's supposed to regardless - but also by the supporting frame
of the canopy, which not only bore the weight of the tractor as it reared back but didn't even sustain any damage!
American-made stuff is still out there - and in this case, tough as always, too.
Much laughing and hissy fits and such soon followed, but in the end - I was ok, tractor was ok, wife calmed down...
and now you know why the tractor's got a brand new canopy.
I reckon you can add to my dumbass resume' the title "tractor bronc buster" too, so there's that.
