The Life of a Custom Mowing & Clearing Contractor

[Rustyiron]

We’ve had our share of rain lately. Haven’t been able to do the amount of mowing I had hoped. I squeezed in a customer yesterday and it poured twice while mowing, but briefly.
Just getting underway and it started to pour.

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The tall grass below my cut line is reeds canary grass. Makes nice hay if cut early. I have hayed this field in the past, but its’ getting cut this time. Not enough time or dry weather to make hay.
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Once rain shower was about 15 minutes, the other about 5-10 minutes. Makes a mess, but it takes a long period of rain to dampen tall grass, so it still makes an acceptable cut after a short rain.

I never liked to be seen working in the rain, but once you drive several miles with the equipment and start mowing, you want to try to finish.

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Sometimes even after you’ve mowed a customers property for years, you discover things you’ve never seen there. Here’s a fence post with an insulator .....

That's a tire killer right there!

 

[Hay Dude]

That's a tire killer right there!

Yep. I’m overdue for one, too. I havent had tire damage or failure in a long time.

 

[LouNY]

Yep. I’m overdue for one, too. I havent had tire damage or failure in a long time.

After saying that, I hope your good fortune continues.

 

[Hay Dude]

After saying that, I hope your good fortune continues.

I think it might.
The worst is new fields. Never know what you’re going to get.
Now that I have had the same customers for over 10 years, I pretty much have “found” everything.
Still have to watch for new dumpers.

 

[LouNY]

I've been fortunate here at my place, a few flats in mowers and cars and trucks, only a couple of tractor tires needing work.
On the farm it seems to go in spurts, we'll go years with no issues and get hit 3-4 times or more in one year.

 

[Hay Dude]

I've been fortunate here at my place, a few flats in mowers and cars and trucks, only a couple of tractor tires needing work.
On the farm it seems to go in spurts, we'll go years with no issues and get hit 3-4 times or more in one year.

Same here.
Feels like I will do 6 batteries in one year, then tires in another year…

 

[Rustyiron]

Yep. I’m overdue for one, too. I havent had tire damage or failure in a long time.

Shhhh!

 

[Hay Dude]

Back from a pretty long vacation in Montana.
Man I need more sleep.
Loading bales

Over to the Ram and the Kaufman GN

Swinging the tractor in to try to get perpendicular with the trailer.

And onto the trailer

Looks like I’m ready to roll. These bales averaged 1,700lbs a piece.

 

[Hay Dude]

Onto a little maintenance. I just changed these fuel filters. No room to get your hand in there to push down on the manual pump. I had to use the John Deere pry bar to pump it.
Just another “easy” day.
I might as well just use diesel fuel as cologne. lol

 

[Coffee drinker]

Looks like your having fun "sitting in your den"

 

[Hay Dude]

Looks like your having fun "sitting in your den"

Its easier than mowing my lawn!

 

[Rustyiron]

What part of MT did you visit?

 

[Hay Dude]

Glacier.

We hiked to Grinell Glacier and Glacier Lake. Both were black diamond hikes.

 

[dodge man]

We went to Glacier in September last year. Did you have to make a reservation to get in? One of my favorite pictures from our trip.

 

[Rustyiron]

Beautiful, I was out there in the winter and could only get to the lodge? at Glacier lake. We did drive all the way around Flathead Lake and that's a pretty ride. What am I saying, it's all pretty out there.

 

[Hay Dude]

We went to Glacier in September last year. Did you have to make a reservation to get in? One of my favorite pictures from our trip.
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Yes. I was in that exact same spot.

The hikes were hard. Especially this one below to Grinell Glacier. This was a black diamond hike.

We got caught in a windy rain squall. We had come pretty close to hypothermia.


Glacier Lake was nicer weather. I went for a plunge. So cold it felt like it burned my skin.

 

[LHF2019]

Montana is beautiful. The Montana I remember though looked nothing like the pictures above LOL. Medicine Lake, Big Sandy, Havre, Great Falls only areas I've been to.

 

[Hay Dude]

Saw quite a few moose, including this big Bull.

 

[tradosaurus]

Yes. I was in that exact same spot.

The hikes were hard. Especially this one below to Grinell Glacier. This was a black diamond hike.

I've learned long ago that any trail (ski, hike, or bike) that has black diamond in the title is a "no go" for me.

 

[EddieWalker]

Moose are the best. They are the one animals that I really enjoy seeing then any other!!!