As Fast as Three Days Can Pass

In a blink of an eye the three day holiday weekend has come and gone.  It is sort of nuts just how much stuff was packed into those 72 hours but then again this is how I mostly chose to live my life.  On Friday I had two major rides I needed to get done for my V11 review series, a ride to Dunkin Donuts and then a longer ride to Ave Maria later in the day.  In total those rides added up to over 55 miles.  Of course being away last weekend meant I had house chores piled up, the yard badly needed to be attended to.  As the wheel charged in between rides I got out and weed whacked which felt just brutal in the stifling heat and humidity.

The wheel wasn’t done recharging until close to 5PM.  As soon as the charger light went green I hit the road heading towards Ave Maria.  It was a pretty brutal ride as my knee and lower back have not been doing well.  The last 10 miles of the ride was just will power.

I stayed up late Friday night getting one of the two videos edited and uploaded.  On Saturday I had two more videos to shoot and a yard to mow.  This was my first time mowing with my new Husqvarna tractor.  It feels like a Cadillac compared to my 9 year old plus Craftsman which is literally falling apart.  I did one mod to it already, removing the front bumper bar.  It would be nice to have a bumper but it protrudes out another foot or so off the front of the tractor, making certain mowing maneuvers I am used to doing, impossible.

I need to disable the seat interlock which turns off the tractor when you aren’t firmly seated.  This interlock triggers even while going over bumps so it’s really annoying.  The third mod I am considering is trimming down the chute cover on the tractor which is ridiculously long.

I bought a 42 inch deck tractor so I could fit into various tight spaces on the property, including the gates to the front yard and the chicken area.  The chute cover is so extended it makes the 42 inch deck as wide as a 52 inch deck.  For my first mowing session I just pulled the cover up each time I went through a tight spot but it is sort of a hassle.

Outside of those mods, the tractor did a good job although I think I had the deck setting too low as it scalped a few spots in the yard.  I also think I need to adjust some of the deck guide wheels.  The Kawasaki motor in the Husqvarna, although being rated as 3HP less the the Briggs and Stratton in my Craftsman mower, feels more powerful.

Over the weekend I took the beat to hell canopy off the Craftsman and Cindy cleaned it up to get it ready to sell.  I mowed in the blazing sun with just my wide brimmed hat as protection.  It made me anxious to get a sun shade on the Husqvarna as well, it’s just too damn hot otherwise. On Saturday evening Deb came over again for a visit.  Her and Cindy always are funny when together so I get entertainment out of the get togethers.

What wasn’t entertaining was the non-stop fireworks that went late into the night.  Poor Elsa spent most of the evening shivering in the bathtub.  Loud noises just terrify her.  With no conventional public firework displays it gave people all the more reason to load up and shoot their own shit up in the air.  There was a time in my life where I thought fireworks were cool.  That time has passed.

Sunday followed the same pattern as the rest of the weekend, getting stuff done. I was both inside and outside attending to stuff after Cindy and I ran to my office in the morning so I could do a brief after hours task.  I finally got my one Prusa printer back up and running.  I rely heavily on the Prusa printers for my stand production since they offer the best print quality.  With as many printers I have it always seems like one or two need something fixed.

It felt good to get a lot of stuff done over the holiday weekend.  I emerged from the other side limping but satisfied.