I spent the evening soaking in the sauna.
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Two days ago I put up 400 square bales only the second cut I have gotten this summer. I didnt get done in the field with my grapple until 11:30 at night but it rained at about 5 am so I was lucky to get it all under cover. I have 500 bales in and should have close to 3000 up by now. If the weather doesn’t flip soon I won’t be getting all the fields covered in time. Sucks to watch your hay get wet but you have beef cows that will probably eat it unless it gets rained on really bad and too much hay is down. That is why I have cows horse people want perfect hay and they don’t even like first cut most of the time. I think I have a window the day after tomorrow to mow some more. All I know is we have to mow twice what we think we can get and hope for the best. Now that my equipment is working right I will mow like crazy.
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The cable to activate the drive wheels on my walk behind mower broke 2 years ago. I’ve been pushing it ever since.
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Yep. Yep. Had power wheel drive failures too since I was ~12 y.o. back in the last millennia.
I ain’t that grunting 12 to 30 y.o. anymore.
Wised up and watched yardsales, curbside thrwoaways for really light weight decks with ballbearing wheels and bad motors.
I’ve remounted my good motors and pushed-on much easier for years.
Current, oldest Honda engine now on it’s second deck install. The stamped steel lightweight decks will “tin-can” crack at the wheels stressed mounting corners sooner-or-later. Only worth plating a couple of times - stress cracking just move out past the reinforcement.
This last install has that long shaft power drive engine stand-up mounted onto long 12mm diameter bolts sitting on nutted stacks to get the right blade height.
Leaves a big gap between the engine bottom and deck top.
Ha! Center-air sucked IN, it blows out below, and cut grass clears much better. Engine with better surround air flow runs cooler, too.
And I do have an old, old 1950’s magnesium deck squirreled away. Be great for “perfect” yards. Here surfaces small stones from the moles would fling out holing it with created metallic shrapnel.
“Practical rules, before idealism grandstanding.” ( why my bicycle frames remain steel)
J-I-C Steve Unruh
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Seven walkbehinds at the moment. All junk yard resque given to me. One in a spare part box. Currently only one with a working power drive. Four of them are the same 1972 Cresent brand, chain drive RWD. Still going strong.
I see alot of people washing and cleaning for rust protection. I shut down and roll them into the shed. It seems the grass coating protects the deck from oxygene. Not one of them have rusted throug or cracked in 45 years. Brass bearings and clutch mecanism for the power drive are always the weak spots.
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Excellent idea and discovery Steve.
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DOing more, with less is not just words but a lifestyle for me.
Or Mr Wayne’s version of the same, “A poor boy, does things a poor-mans way.”
J-I-C Steve Unruh
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Hello all.
The grass ,weeds and hay are growing like crazy !!
I am rained out of the hay fields and trying to catch up on cutting pastures . The pictures below is sharpening blades . When one is cutting 21 foot a pass it takes very sharp blades and a lot of horses .
Also using the wood burners daily 
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Hi Wayne K that is one nice big .mower deck for no payment Equipment farming. Are you able too power the mower deck and cut the lawn with wood gas alone.?.
Hello Kevin ,
This mower has to have hydraulics and about 75 hp to power it so I pull it with my john dreer.
I have been using my V-10 ram truck on wood to haul equipment to and from the hay fields.
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THANKS WAYNE nothing runs like a deer and a ram v10 on wood.
I first was thinking the picture was Super Mario… today i did find out the reality… sometimes reality is better…
I gess the old phrase seeing is beleiveing, wasent and aint allways true.
Heat index says 104 F today. Good times…No frost in sight…
Back home from a fishing/camping trip in the Norwegian mountains. Appreciated by the dogs too.
EDIT: I don´t know why I turned out upside down and I don´t seem to be able to correct it, but you get the picture.
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I thought you took the picture looking in the water and got a “reflection” picture. Hadn’t heard from you and I thought it was about time for your annual fishing trip. Looks like it was successful. TomC
Hey Billy .
No sign of frost on my side of the mountain also .
With the heat index over a hundred the rain doesn’t get us any wetter than we already are 
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How do you deal with the large round wet hay bales?
Hello Mr. Gibb.
The hay that I hauled in today I set it outside the barn where it can get plenty of air. After 2-3 rain free days I will stack it tight in the barn .
The hay is dry with the exception of the outer two or three inches .
Wayne I sure could put that mower to use… I have been brush hogging and mowing off about 40 acres with a little 5 foot brush hog and my 12 foot field mower to open them back up… that is one nice looking pasture mower.