Southmoon heeds the message of this YouTube preacher:
Out in the barn (now that it's light outdoors, and not so frosty), 'twas time to make preparations...
Oh, yes. Yesterday's word is that the guy who normally harvests the hay (here and various other not-really-agricultural places) is under the weather, and also thinks he has enough hay for the winter, so he's not harvesting any more this year. He did offer to come out (once he's feeling better) with a brush hog, but that leaves the cuttings lying around, just as a DIY mow operation would. Could be the neighbors with the cows would be interested... but they have a small herd for this winter, and also have a large stockpile of hay already. So, I'll put the mower deck on the tractor and see how it copes with the really tall stuff. I won't be attempting any steep areas with that.
So, preparations. Need to take the loader and box blade off the tractor. Pull forward, remove loader, back up a few feet, remove box blade (on the concrete floor). Removing the lower pins from the box blade, for what I hope will be the last time, is a royal pain despite the flat surface. Pull forward again. Set about installing the Pat's Easy Change dingus. Determine that it seems to require both shims. Decide to come indoors, have lunch, and look up a vid or two on the installation process.
Plan for after lunch: put the box blade back on with the PEC in place, then take it out and dump it in its storage spot. Move the tractor back into the barn and install the mower deck. Maybe even try doing some mowing in the jungle zone (max height, max speed, low feed (sorry: max RPMs, low forward speed), and keeping a previously-mown area to starboard so's there's a place for the detritus to go). I'm thinking I don't really need to mow the whole back yard - it's not like an HOA inspector is likely to come looking - but I certainly want to do the front yard and the area around my unfinished dirt-rearranging project.
Update: After having to sort out a couple of mistakes (e.g.: it doesn't need both shims; it just needs to be installed with the hitch in the halfway-raised position), I think I now have the Easy-Change thingies installed and adjusted pretty near correctly. And grabbing the lower pins of the box blade was so easy I thought it must have gone horribly wrong. The original top link does extend far enough... I think. At some point, probably soonish, I need to try hooking up the tiller and make sure the PTO shaft reaches.
Maybe I'll get the box blade stowed and the mower installed this afternoon. Also got a bunch of other stuff to do, so no telling which tasks I'll end up getting around to.
From my point of view links that open in a new tab/window are better than ones that open over the page they are on.
Posted by: Rob | Sunday, 18 October 2020 at 11:00
I generally middle-click on links to open them in a new tag, regardless.
Now, clickables that aren't really links but script entities that prevent opening the link in a new tab (or copying the link, etc.) are truly an Abomination unto Nuggan.
Posted by: Eric Wilner | Sunday, 18 October 2020 at 11:27
Tag, tab, what's a little typo here or there?
Posted by: Eric Wilner | Sunday, 18 October 2020 at 11:28