I mowed our place yesterday....As usual, I dashed over first thing in the morning and hooked the Kubota up to the battery charger (I need a new battery!). I rotated the cows after I came home.

After lunch and watching 'Hawaii Five-O' (the orginial) with Granddaddy, I went back to our place.  I tried to start the Kubota and it just grunted at me. Humph. Well...I jumped it with the pick-up and it roared to life with a little subtle choke action. Then, with that right-rear tire flat as usual, I limped it over to the front of the barn, aired up the tires and greased it.

Thankfully, the grass wasn't as soppy as the last time I mowed, so it didn't threaten to bog down as much as it did last time. I got done with the back yard and headed to the front yard, and was in practically the same spot where I ran out of fuel last time, when I felt a bump, heard a rattle as something banged into the blades, and despite my efforts, the engine puttered out.
I figured I might have had the deck too low (that is pretty deep grass right there) and hit a stick--though there usually aren't sticks right there. Um, well...

I cranked the Kubota back up (yay! It started without having to be jumped!) and backed it up a couple feet. That's when I realized the truth of the matter. There, laying over on it's side, dug into a small hole was none other than the left caster-wheel off the mower deck!! "Oh great! Now, I've broken the wheel off!!"

I hopped off, collected the wheel, pulled my cellphone out of my back pocket and called Daddy. He told me to go ahead and keep mowing, just when lowering the deck be more careful. I think, though I don't know for sure, (hands and knees still hurts my left shoulder some), that the wheel is held on by a sort of big snap ring. That's what came off and no way I was going to find that in think eight-inch grasss! Maybe if it had been another color than dark gray....

Anyway, the grass got mowed...and the cows didn't get any of it thrown over the fence to them--they could use it, but I didn't think I needed to stress my shoulder yet. Poor Abe looked me straight in the face and went: "Mahoo!" I have to get those animals wormed sooner than later--they look horrid!

And that was my day...basically.

        Racheal




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