Posts Tagged ‘Grizzly’
Prudent Preparations
I did salvage my pride on Sunday by getting out in the warmth to knock off a few more winter preparation steps. After getting the Grizzly back from the shop with fresh fluids and cleaned up brakes, it occurred to me that I had yet to install the new beefier cable on the winch. That’s a chore that would be much nicer to do when it’s not freezing cold outside.
The primary use for that winch is to raise and lower the snowplow blade. That involves a heavy repetition of back and forth on a very short length of the cable. The original was old and brittle which made it susceptible to breaking, which it did, frequently –almost always at an essential time while clearing snow.
Fixing that usually involves working in the cold and after dark. A broken cable is always an unwelcome incident, but at a critical point in plowing, the impact is intensified.
When all else fails, get a bigger cable.
I hadn’t been working long when the chickens showed up to see if my project involved anything they could eat. I’m guessing they were disappointed by not finding anything. I stepped into the shop for a second and when I returned, there was a fresh pile of chicken sh*t on my pliers.
That’s a skill, dropping it so squarely on the tiny surface of the tool. I was duly impressed and totally disgusted.
With the new cable installed and ready to lift the plow, I moved on to the swapping out the summer tires for the winter set. That beast is now ready for the snow season.
Before we even get to that, the ATV and its trailer will be put to use this weekend transporting chainsaws, ropes and gear down by the road. It will also be hauling loads of cut wood back up to the wood shed, and picking up the inevitable forgotten tools that were missed the first and second trips of the day.
If a winch and heavy-duty cable turns out to be needed, it’ll be ready for that, too.
I just hope the more aggressive winter tires don’t completely chew up the not-so-frozen ground. I didn’t think to prepare for top soil that has been re-melting in the late November 60° afternoons.
.
.
Too Warm
I was not entirely prepared in my mind for the temperature to be as warm as it was yesterday. It turned out to be the second day in a row with temperatures around 40° (F). Regardless, I decided to take a crack at pulling the groomer behind the ATV in the morning.
I did a little research to learn what time of day might be the best for grooming. Naturally, I found results for both early morning and end of the day. It hinged on how much trail use could be expected to occur afterward.
Basically, desired results require an overnight of sub-freezing temperatures for the groomed snow to achieve a firm set.
When the sun came up high enough to light the day, it revealed a thin glaze of ice on all the surfaces. I held half a hope that it might provide a crust on top of the snow that would help my cause.
I was much too late for that by the time I made it outside. In fact, the moment I finally stepped out the door, I bagged the idea of using the 4-wheeler, because that glaze had become nothing but wetness.
I took Delilah to the side yard and worked on splitting some wood.
Then Cyndie came out. With her support and encouragement, I changed my mind and decided to give the ATV a shot after all, while she occupied Delilah.
My suspicion that it was too warm was confirmed, but I forged ahead anyway. I was able to coax the ATV forward after I got stuck the first time, but not the second time. I unhooked the pallet/fence panel and turned the Grizzly around.
Hoping to break down a path to eliminate the stopping points, I revved my way back in the direction from which I’d just come, then turned around and covered the same ground a third time. Next, I hooked up the fence panel again and tried a grooming pass, one last time.
It was a mess, but I learned enough to be satisfied this will work nicely when done frequently, soon after snow falls, and doing so from the very beginning of the snow season.
Yesterday was too little, too late, and just plain too warm.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
Well Supervised
When the rain finally moved beyond our location yesterday, I headed out with the intention of spreading the rest of our composted manure.
Since the horses were in their stalls overnight Friday, we now have several wheelbarrows-full of soiled wood shavings to be removed, and need to have the space to dump them.
Cyndie needed to make a run to the drug store, so I took Delilah with me and meandered toward the barn. The piles of compost looked a little wet, so I decided to delay digging into them and turned my attention to the uninvited sprouting trees that show up in the hay-field.
What transpired next is something that I wish could be experienced by everyone who comes to Wintervale to see our horses. Delilah and I entered the paddock through one of the gates, clanking the chain on the metal in the process, which inevitably draws the attention of the herd.
I had no intention of disrupting the herd from whatever was occupying their attention at the time, as I was focused on seeking out the sprouting trees. Delilah and I walked out into the hay-field where I released her to roam and then set about my task.
Slowly, almost imperceptibly, the horses made their way over, in the process of their grazing. Hunter led the way, eventually becoming the most obvious. It took probably around 15 minutes, maybe more, of me ignoring them while focused on my project, for them to close the distance and make their intention transparent.
They wanted to be with me, to check on what I was doing, to engage with my presence.
It’s an amazing thing to experience. Four horses grazing peacefully, but purposefully in your proximity. Occasionally, one will break from eating and step right up to smell me, share an exchange of breath, and invite me to scratch them.
It is a slow process that happens silently and takes both time, and lack of expectation on my part. That is the primary reason it is so difficult to make happen on demand when visitors stop by. It is a priceless experience.
After I had dispatched all the volunteer sprouts, I turned my attention to spreading the compost. This time I remembered to pause to take pictures of the ATV and tipped trailer ready to go in the field. As soon as I stopped, Legacy stepped up to inspect my activity.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
Rain Delivered
They promised snow, but we received freezing rain for most of the day yesterday. I really dislike rain in the winter. The day will not go down in our history as one of the better ones around here. On top of the weather being lousy, Cyndie is suffering greatly from a sinus infection that has walloped her a good one. When momma’s not happy, nobody’s happy.
The horses are being good sports about the lousy weather. We put them in the barn on Tuesday night, and decided to leave them inside, sheltered from the freezing rain, for the entire day yesterday. This is the longest we have yet to confine them in those stalls. It seems like a bit much to ask of them, but I think maybe they sense the benefit and are accepting the situation without complaint.
Delilah didn’t seem to mind the wetness one bit, and ran all over the place, playing in the slushy mess. I let her roam off-leash for a bit, and she stayed in contact with me for the entire distance down the driveway to get the mail, and back again. I hadn’t intended to stay out and get wet, but once you are wet, you don’t really get any wetter, so I scraped the freezing slush off the upper part of the driveway. While I was out, our tractor was delivered on a flatbed truck from the local dealer who performed a full set of routine maintenance steps. Yep, I got out of having to change the oil this time.
The driver dropped it off at the flat spot of the driveway near the barn. Since it doesn’t have chains on yet (the weather was nice when they picked it up last week), I worried I might not get it up the hill to the shop garage. Well, I made it up the hill, no problem, but then spun my wheels when I tried to back it up the tiniest of an incline into the garage. No worry, I have a loader on the front, and people tell me to use that to push myself whenever I get stuck. It worked like a charm. The tractor was a frozen mess of ice, but it is back in the garage with all new fluids, a repaired leaking front tire, and no more dripping from the hydraulic line quick-connect fitting.
Since I was out in the garage, already wet, I decided it was a good time to get the plow re-attached to the Grizzly ATV. Knowing we will have frigid Arctic air settling in for a few days, I figured I should try to clear as much of the slush off the driveway as possible before it gets locked in place for good. I can’t call my first try at plowing with the Griz a smashing success, but I was able to do a fair job and I completed it in a fraction of the time I spent last year trying to use the big diesel tractor. I feel optimistic about my chances of becoming proficient at maneuvering the ATV and moving snow to clear the pavement to a degree that meets my exacting standards. I think it will be a bit easier to plow snow in the future when it isn’t raining at the same time.
Just to top off this first significant, and lousy, snow event day, I needed to reattach the mailbox after the township plow went by. We are picking up right where we left off last year, in that regard.
.
.
.
.
Grizzly Arrival
I had a great day yesterday with Delilah as my off-leash companion for a variety of tasks and activities. We finally got the “Chuckit” device to save my arm and shoulder when tossing balls for Delilah to find. I was testing the distances and trying to give her a spread of different areas to search, and then the delivery of our Grizzly ATV arrived. I hoped to leave her searching, while I headed down the driveway to direct the driver to pull his trailer onto the loop around the hay shed.
She saw me walk away and followed, without the ball in her mouth. By the time I got done helping to unload everything (came with a spare set of tires/rims and the plow blade), I discovered I couldn’t recall which direction I had last thrown the ball. Off and on for the rest of the day, I urged her to use her nose to go find her ball, but it never turned up. I even walked the woods in the areas I had been throwing into, but found nothing.
Do some people clean the underside of their lawn mowers more than once a year? What a mess ours was. It surprises me it even works when there is that much gunk accumulated. Delilah was happy to wander off with chunks of the stinkiest pieces. I think she believes she is being helpful.
I mowed the grass on Sunday, hopefully for the last time this season, and yesterday got the mower deck dismantled from the tractor. Now there is enough ground clearance for that tractor to go places it usually gets stuck. There is also plenty of room for changing the oil.
Of course, we don’t need to drive that lawn tractor into the fields now, because we have an ATV that is made to do that, and much more. It’s a big one. I’m thinking we should call it, “Griz.”
Relative Something 