RedNeckGeek
Super Member
- Joined
- Jan 1, 2011
- Messages
- 8,753
- Location
- Butte County & Orcutt, California
- Tractor
- Kubota M62, Kubota L3240D HST (SOLD!), Kubota RTV900
Good Morning!!!! 56F @ 7:15AM. Some clouds this morning will give way to generally sunny skies for the afternoon. High 81F. Winds S at 5 to 10 mph. No rain in the 10-day, and it looks like temps will be pushing close to 100F by the end of the period.
I still remember the long lines for the polio vaccine when I was a kid, and how happy everyone seemed to be about taking it. It's really a shame that the whole CoVid-19 thing has been so full of politics and deceit, and that people are suspicious and afraid as a result.
I wish I'd gotten a heads up on how long it would take the Social Security folks to issue the Medicare number. The brochures I read were clear about when the window opened and closed, making it seem like there would be no harm in putting off applying. Unfortunately there was no mention of when my current insurance would end, and looking back I should have asked about that much sooner than I did. But it is what it is. I spoke to a buddy last night that went through a similar situation last year when he signed up, and he ended up getting insurance through a COBRA provision. It was his original insurance, but he had to pay all of the premium. So that's what I'll focus on next week.
The fence charger showed up in the mail Friday, so yesterday morning I pounded in a half dozen T-stakes and wired up a four strand fence. I'd never done anything like that, and it turned out to be pretty easy. The charger has a little solar panel on it, and while mounting it to one of the posts, I could hear a clicking noise inside it. It stopped with I pushed the on/off button, making me think that just the power from the sun is enough to run it during the daytime. That should leave plenty of juice to charge the battery. I picked up a fence tester at HD, but the flash from it is so weak I can barely see it. And that was when I connected it directly across the output terminals of the charger. So I'll get a three dollar refund, and go shopping for something better. A young doe was watching me as I worked, snorting her displeasure at fencing off one of her favorite sleeping spots. We'll see how long it takes her and her pals to figure out there's just enough room to jump the fence and not hit the panels. The game begins...
Got the oak stump out, but had to dig down another couple feet to do it. Tried to lift it out with the backhoe and thumb, but the hoe wasn't strong enough. Ended up dragging it out with a chain on the bucket, then later learned I could lift it with the FEL. That puts the weight of the stump at something less than just shy of two tons, and I could tell by the way the front end squatted and the rear end picked up that I wouldn't want to go very far with that thing in the bucket.
After that I headed up the hill and made a start on the terrace. I backed the tractor all the way up there to avoid having to turn around on the hill. The area around the stump was at about a ten degree slope, and I could feel the tractor getting tippy there. I've seen twenty-two degrees at the terrace, so I was being extra careful. I set the tractor at about a forty-five degree angle on the slope, and did notice the uphill stabilizer lifting if I extended the hoe too far when swinging to the downhill side. That's probably due to the stabilizer arms being a bit too short; they barely extend beyond the rear wheel track. I got down a couple feet in about a 4'x8' area, enough to figure out getting a level bottom isn't as easy as a good operator makes it look. I dumped the spoils on the down side of the cut, but need a better plan unless I want to keep moving the same dirt over again as the size of the terrace grows down hill. By then it was dinner time anyway, but that's about all I have planned for today. That, and putting the 24" bucket back on the backhoe, which should be pretty easy if I can remember how the quick attach works.
Hope everyone enjoys the rest of their weekend.
I still remember the long lines for the polio vaccine when I was a kid, and how happy everyone seemed to be about taking it. It's really a shame that the whole CoVid-19 thing has been so full of politics and deceit, and that people are suspicious and afraid as a result.
I wish I'd gotten a heads up on how long it would take the Social Security folks to issue the Medicare number. The brochures I read were clear about when the window opened and closed, making it seem like there would be no harm in putting off applying. Unfortunately there was no mention of when my current insurance would end, and looking back I should have asked about that much sooner than I did. But it is what it is. I spoke to a buddy last night that went through a similar situation last year when he signed up, and he ended up getting insurance through a COBRA provision. It was his original insurance, but he had to pay all of the premium. So that's what I'll focus on next week.
The fence charger showed up in the mail Friday, so yesterday morning I pounded in a half dozen T-stakes and wired up a four strand fence. I'd never done anything like that, and it turned out to be pretty easy. The charger has a little solar panel on it, and while mounting it to one of the posts, I could hear a clicking noise inside it. It stopped with I pushed the on/off button, making me think that just the power from the sun is enough to run it during the daytime. That should leave plenty of juice to charge the battery. I picked up a fence tester at HD, but the flash from it is so weak I can barely see it. And that was when I connected it directly across the output terminals of the charger. So I'll get a three dollar refund, and go shopping for something better. A young doe was watching me as I worked, snorting her displeasure at fencing off one of her favorite sleeping spots. We'll see how long it takes her and her pals to figure out there's just enough room to jump the fence and not hit the panels. The game begins...
Got the oak stump out, but had to dig down another couple feet to do it. Tried to lift it out with the backhoe and thumb, but the hoe wasn't strong enough. Ended up dragging it out with a chain on the bucket, then later learned I could lift it with the FEL. That puts the weight of the stump at something less than just shy of two tons, and I could tell by the way the front end squatted and the rear end picked up that I wouldn't want to go very far with that thing in the bucket.
After that I headed up the hill and made a start on the terrace. I backed the tractor all the way up there to avoid having to turn around on the hill. The area around the stump was at about a ten degree slope, and I could feel the tractor getting tippy there. I've seen twenty-two degrees at the terrace, so I was being extra careful. I set the tractor at about a forty-five degree angle on the slope, and did notice the uphill stabilizer lifting if I extended the hoe too far when swinging to the downhill side. That's probably due to the stabilizer arms being a bit too short; they barely extend beyond the rear wheel track. I got down a couple feet in about a 4'x8' area, enough to figure out getting a level bottom isn't as easy as a good operator makes it look. I dumped the spoils on the down side of the cut, but need a better plan unless I want to keep moving the same dirt over again as the size of the terrace grows down hill. By then it was dinner time anyway, but that's about all I have planned for today. That, and putting the 24" bucket back on the backhoe, which should be pretty easy if I can remember how the quick attach works.
Hope everyone enjoys the rest of their weekend.
