Stupid Things I Have Done

[Jstpssng]

Typical MO, no wind at all UNTIL you get a good burn going....

That's why when I get a permit it says to burn after 5:00. That works MOST of the time..

 

[MoKelly]

That's why when I get a permit it says to burn after 5:00. That works MOST of the time..

No permits where I live.

So, keep my secret so no one in govn. gets any bright ideas!!

 

[MAX-24-Dean]

Back when vacuum brakes were used, I kept pulling the trailer brake handle from the front seat of my dads truck. He was 6 tiers of hay bales up on the truck as the whole truck and trailer started moving down a gentle incline. Steeper incline followed that. Don't know how it happen so fast, but the next thing I knew I was laying on the ground as I heard him crank the engine over and start so he could get some vacuum to apply the brakes.
I was 5 years old at the time and he made walk 4 miles home.

Reading the will after he passed, he made special mention of me. One of my brothers still jokes to me about the story. Of course its all laughs now, but I learned about the wrath of dad and his sense of humor in the years to come. He could tell that story 5 different ways that all made me ashamed when I was growing up, but still be able to laugh about it with him. At least I think I was laughing.

I never road in that truck again even though it was on the farm for a couple of years after this. It was off limits to me in no uncertain terms.
I thought if the wrath of dad is such, I don't ever want to be involved in the Wrath of God. 5 year old minds are very impressionable, and I never forgot about playing with the controls on any equipment unless I was being trained to operate it.

 

[MoKelly]

Not as dangerous - but just as traumatic (at least to me) - was when I was 5 or 6.

My Dad stopped at a gas station and went inside. I stayed in the car. I was fooling around in the Driver’s seat playing like I was driving and somehow set the parking brake.

My Dad comes back, starts the car and begins to drive away. Well, we weren’t moving so well.

I remember him saying “what the ****” and stopping the car. Looking around. Finally he realizes the parking brake is engaged.

He takes off the brake, looks at me and only says “don’t tell Mom what I said”. To this day I think of this and wonder if he knew I was the culprit!!

 

[steve tym]

When I was maybe 4, my mother, older brother and younger sister were in the car ready to go to the store. Younger sister needs a clean diaper, so mother and sister go in the house leaving my brother and I in the car.
I jump in the drivers seat and manager to get the car out of park. My brother goes out the window. I go down the slope of the driveway, across the street, between the neighbors house and tree (that my mother says she could negotiate without hitting one or the other) and end up dangling (teeter tottering)over the edge of a retaining wall. Wrecker comes and drags the car back up onto the lawn. No damage - to anything. See, even at 4 I was a great driver.

 

[MoKelly]

When I was maybe 4, my mother, older brother and younger sister were in the car ready to go to the store. Younger sister needs a clean diaper, so mother and sister go in the house leaving my brother and I in the car.
I jump in the drivers seat and manager to get the car out of park. My brother goes out the window. I go down the slope of the driveway, across the street, between the neighbors house and tree (that my mother says she could negotiate without hitting one or the other) and end up dangling (teeter tottering)over the edge of a retaining wall. Wrecker comes and drags the car back up onto the lawn. No damage - to anything. See, even at 4 I was a great driver.

Glad to know your brother was there for you!!!

 

[WinterDeere]

That's why when I get a permit it says to burn after 5:00. That works MOST of the time..

We can open burn here, no permit required. But our ordinance specifies no burning after sunset, other than camp fires, and no starting a brush burn pile less than something like 30 - 60 minutes before sunset. In other words, if they're going to have to send a fire crew out into a field, they don't want to do it in the dark!

 

[JethroB]

We can open burn here, no permit required. But our ordinance specifies no burning after sunset, other than camp fires, and no starting a brush burn pile less than something like 30 - 60 minutes before sunset. In other words, if they're going to have to send a fire crew out into a field, they don't want to do it in the dark!

My biggest fear burning the pile or woods is having to call the state forestry service if it gets away from me. Their weapon of choice is equivalent to a D5 (?) dozer with a plow towed behind that makes a 3-4 foot wide ditch with foot high berms on either side. One heck of a mess. Great to have them available though. Examples:

 

[sixdogs]

Not as dangerous - but just as traumatic (at least to me) - was when I was 5 or 6.

My Dad stopped at a gas station and went inside. I stayed in the car. I was fooling around in the Driver’s seat playing like I was driving and somehow set the parking brake.

My Dad comes back, starts the car and begins to drive away. Well, we weren’t moving so well.

I remember him saying “what the ****” and stopping the car. Looking around. Finally he realizes the parking brake is engaged.

He takes off the brake, looks at me and only says “don’t tell Mom what I said”. To this day I think of this and wonder if he knew I was the culprit!!

I released the parking brake when I was 4 or so and rolled our 50's Ford down the driveway and into the street, blocking traffic. Police came and I don't remember after that but everyone was calm about it. "Just don't do that again."

 

[ultrarunner]

Believing everything would be ok when warned to watch my back… pretty dumb I know.

 

[BnRidge]

Rigging up the hay fork as a zip line in the big barn. I look at that rig now 50yrs later and wonder. I was in the emergency room 5 times that summer for stupid stuff. Block and tackles are interesting, you can pull yourself up so high. Baling twine and fence wire - every trade has it's way of fastening.

 

[WinterDeere]

I released the parking brake when I was 4 or so and rolled our 50's Ford down the driveway and into the street, blocking traffic. Police came and I don't remember after that but everyone was calm about it. "Just don't do that again."

When I was about age 12 or 14, my older sister's boyfriend used to always leave his keys in his car, a 302 cid powered Maverick. He used to always joke with me, that I could take it for a spin, if I wanted.

So, one day mom is looking out the kitchen window, while my sister and her boyfriend are sitting at the kitchen table. Mom says, "hey Vince, it looks like someone stole your car, and is driving it down the street!" He says, "don't worry, it's just your son."

Next thing I know, I see mom chasing me down the street, barefoot and yelling. I was smart enough to stop, and let her catch up.

 

[Fuddyduddy1952]

When I was about age 12 or 14, my older sister's boyfriend used to always leave his keys in his car, a 302 cid powered Maverick. He used to always joke with me, that I could take it for a spin, if I wanted.

So, one day mom is looking out the kitchen window, while my sister and her boyfriend are sitting at the kitchen table. Mom says, "hey Vince, it looks like someone stole your car, and is driving it down the street!" He says, "don't worry, it's just your son."

Next thing I know, I see mom chasing me down the street, barefoot and yelling. I was smart enough to stop, and let her catch up.

I would have tossed out tacks and gone 10-15 mph.
Probably why my behind is like shoe leather

 

[ponytug]

My biggest fear burning the pile or woods is having to call the state forestry service if it gets away from me. There weapon of choice is equivalent to a D5 (?) dozer with a plow towed behind that makes a 3-4 foot wide ditch with foot high berms on either side. One heck of a mess. Great to have them available though. Examples:
View attachment 854430View attachment 854431

What's Paul Hogan's line?

They (CalFire) tend to use D-9s around here, nine feet wide or so on a single pass using rippers as the soil is usually too hard to plow.… In 2020, CalFire was hauling a convoy of three D9s up our rather narrow road to launch a defensive line against a big fire, and the D9 trailer (over height and over width) couldn't make a tight hairpin turn on a 15% grade, having already made a turn nearly as tight lower down. The semidriver backed the trailer down to the first hairpin and around the hairpin to unload one of the D9s. The D9 came up the road and flattened the inside of the curve. The dozer backed down, reloaded and then off they went. "Can do attitude"!

They held the fire line about a mile away from us, which was scary close given the size of the fire and the height of the flames. Locally that 2020 fire burned nearly 400,000 acres, 222 buildings, and almost burned the second largest refracting telescope in the US.

The amazing thing is that our fire crews come back and do the restoration work afterwards. They kindly left the "improved corner" in the improved state.

Great folks.

We don't ever burn anything here other than propane in the stove. I think that the fire risk is just too high. I don't mow dry grass either.

All the best,

Peter

 

[Zerk]

When will I be old enough to remember to put the garage door all the way up when taking tractor or sxs out?

 

[MoKelly]

When will I be old enough to remember to put the garage door all the way up when taking tractor or sxs out?

Or, conversely for me, lower the roll bar before backing into the garage!!!

 

[Fuddyduddy1952]

First time I did that with my brand new Deere as I pulled into garage suddenly I was looking at the opener! I could pop light cover off cleaning out a few bugs. I eased it back and still amazed how strong the building & rops were to go undamaged except for two perfect dents in door header trim.

 

[scootr]

My 8 ft barn door has about 1.5 inches in the clear when I roll the tractor in or out... This ensures that the cat who sleeps on the roof is never taken out for a ride.

 

[JethroB]

I was surprised but pleased to learn that a Kubota cab version of their Grand L tractor is about 4 inches shorter than its ROPS sibling. The cab goes under my 8 ft door, the ROPS didn’t.

 

[sixdogs]

First time I did that with my brand new Deere as I pulled into garage suddenly I was looking at the opener! I could pop light cover off cleaning out a few bugs. I eased it back and still amazed how strong the building & rops were to go undamaged except for two perfect dents in door header trim.

When we located from another state I dragged a lot of equipment with me and had to struggle to get stuff into our temporary rental barns.
The fit for the fixed ROPS was so close I had to lower the air pressure in the tires, back under the door header and reinflate on the other side.