I have returned... with a Starcraft this time!

[BWR1953]

Went out this morning and marked all of the trees that will need to be removed in order to give me some boat/truck maneuvering room as well as fit into future plans for the property.

Then I broke the tractor! D'oh. My bad. Texted my buddy, who came over and took a look. Yup, broken parts. Gonna require some welding to get it fixed. He can do it no problem, but he's a very busy guy and he couldn't give me a time estimate. He said "You don't need it till spring, right?" and I responded with "How about next week?" He didn't commit. Dang. But I'll keep after him.

Told him about the alternate idea of leaving a space on the fence open up front and providing a path for the trespassers to take. And to block up the fence at my property line with the dead trees, punji style. He thought about it a bit and said the path idea sounded good to him. He even suggested that I use my tractor/mower to create an easy path for the walkers. I instantly replied that I wish I could use my (broken) tractor! LOL!

I haven't made a decision yet though. My wife really doesn't want the strangers walking down our driveway. Can't start cutting trees until my tractor is fixed though, so now I'm stuck again.

Here are just some of the trees which will be removed and which will be used to provide the barricade materials.







Yes, all of these will be cut!



And this is my old Craftsman II garden tractor with 18hp B&S engine. A great machine, when I don't abuse it! :facepalm:

 

[g0nef1sshn]

Put a few signs up that say this...

I don't know who you are. I don't know what you want. If you are looking for ransom, I can tell you I don't have money. But what I do have are a very particular set of skills, skills I have acquired over a very long career. Skills that make me a nightmare for people like you. If you stop cutting through here now, that'll be the end of it. I will not look for you, I will not pursue you. But if you don't, I will look for you, I will find you, and I will kill you.

 

[jbcurt00]

I know it should be in Liam's voice, but when I read that ^^^ it was all Clint

Do ya feel lucky punk?

Well, do ya?

 

[g0nef1sshn]

Clint works just as good as Liam on this one JB!

 

[BWR1953]

 

[Decker83]

Both ^^^^ were great movies..
Lot of trees to be taken out.. Don't over do it..

 

[BWR1953]

I promise I won't overdo! Today all I did was drive the tractor while the boy did the painting. Worked great until I revved it up too much and popped the clutch too fast. D'oh. :facepalm: :lol:

 

[Decker83]

Here's wishing you and your family a very Happy and Prosperous New Year.. arty::triumphant::rockon:

 

[BWR1953]

Here's wishing you and your family a very Happy and Prosperous New Year.. arty::triumphant::rockon:

And the same to you and yours, sir! :joyous:

 

[BWR1953]

Just a quick update that nothing has been done for the last month. Been having side effects from meds and simply can't do any physical effort. Doc said to just chill and recover. It'll all be better but it takes time. A shame too because the weather finally got right and I have SIX major projects that need to be worked. :grumpy:

Last night my wife and boy reconfigured the tent shelter over the boat while I held the flashlight.

Got the starboard side of the shelter down and strapped in preparation for the big storm headed this way (the same one that's giving blizzard warnings up north) because we're expecting 40+ mph winds. Should be interesting for the tent.

 

[Watermann]

Batten down the hatches and hunker down, by the sounds of it the storms going to be a doosey!

Speaking from experience, nothing else matters when your health isn't 100%. Take care and keep looking forward to that Chief in your driveway. :joyous:

 

[GA_Boater]

Hope the shelter survives those gales, BWR.

All the refugees headed to the BWR campground should be able to help hold it down. LOL If they aren't down there by now, the travel window is probably closed.

 

[BWR1953]

Well guys, the tent shelter made it through the storms okay. Just the top frame rail popped loose. Need to put it back together then add a couple screws to keep it from happening again. Will get my neighbor friends to help with that.

 

[Watermann]

You got lucky that the whole thing didn't end up at the neighbors place :lol:

 

[Decker83]

Mine has done the same thing.. I took 1" wench straps and hooked them from end to end.. No more problems.. Now the tarp just rips apart..

 

[BWR1953]

You got lucky that the whole thing didn't end up at the neighbors place :lol:

For sure! :lol:

Mine has done the same thing.. I took 1" wench straps and hooked them from end to end.. No more problems.. Now the tarp just rips apart..

Hmm... interesting. I may have some extra winch straps around here on an unused boat or something.

 

[BWR1953]

Oops. I waited too long to reattach the overhead frame rails on the shelter.

It rained last night and the part that was hanging down filled with water. All seems okay though. Just need to get it bailed out and the overhead frame posts pushed back together. The boat is okay too.

Just another reinforcement of the idea that proper maintenance is essential for anything.

Had been waiting for a neighbor to help since I'm still a bit wobbly. Waiting for my wife to get home from work now and I'll contact another neighbor to see if he can come over to help. I'm feeling better and doing better and I don't want to jeopardize myself by trying to do it alone.

 

[BWR1953]

Back to normal. Didn't secure the frame members with screws or straps or anything yet though. That time will come. In the meantime, we'll keep a closer eye on things in order to prevent a recurrence.

My wife scooped most of the water out and I managed to get the rest. I'd say there was 100 gallons of water in there!

I was just happy to be able to get outside and move around a bit and get a little work done. Got off the really bad adjunct meds a couple weeks ago and started tapering down from the steroids as well. Took the 2nd step down this morning. Feeling better every day.:joyous:

And I sent the pic of the water filled tarp to my neighbor and he came over and was able to put the frame back together without using a rubber mallet like I have to do. The boy is strong!

 

[jbcurt00]

Congrats on getting the water outta the tarp.

Just in time for this morning's tornado in Florida

 

[BWR1953]

Congrats on getting the water outta the tarp.

Just in time for this morning's tornado in Florida

Tornado? Hadn't heard about that so I looked it up. Happened about 300 miles south of me. Whew.