Dirty day.

 This morning I woke up to a rodent in my backyard.  

While I was out shopping last week, I picked up new hitch clips.  Home depot did have some that would work, though they are a size smaller than is recommended.  

The first thing I did this morning was work on moving the electric cord.  After being outside for a couple of years, the plug is starting to corrode a little.  This is the original cord that I ran up to the slab to build the house though, so it has been outside 24/7 for over 3 years now.  With that in mind, it could definitely be worse.

The cord has been rerouted and is just awaiting the new splitter and stuff.  I will probably go pick that up tonight.

I also tried to charge the lawn mower battery.  It didn't take, it looks like I will have to replace the battery next year.  I tried using the recondition on the charger, but that didn't appear to do anything.  I ended up jumping the mower with my truck.  Even with the truck behind it though, it really didn't want to start.  But all the gas has been stabilized and completely run out of the mower, so it is ready to sit.  

I also pulled the deck off.  My original thought was that the blade had been jarred loose again, but that doesn't appear to be the case.  I will still probably replace both spindles and pulleys before putting it back on next year.  Just as a reminder to Dad, this is what a properly designed deck looks like after a year of mowing.  No scraping or cleaning required.

After that, I stuffed the lawn tractor in the corner.  This is the winter configuration of the carport.

After getting the mower squared away, I charged up the car as well.  It took a charge, so I am hoping it is fine.  I really ought to do something with the car before winter.  

After that I did some tractor work.  Apparently my rodent isn't afraid of the tractor.  

The first thing that I did with the tractor was smooth out the area right behind the slab.  This was the tire tracks that the well truck left.  It isn't perfect, but it doesn't jostle the dirt out of the bucket anymore.

I also filled in the big hole over behind the carport.

Then I filled in one of the big dips over by the well.

Next up was filling in the trench that had eroded away.  I still had dirt leftover so I started building up the bottom.  I would eventually like to make the slope a lot smoother and less.

I brought a lot of dirt up the hill today.  It was still kind of greasy and moist, so it left mud all over the place.  

I am almost out of dirt at this point though.  I will bring the rest of it up maybe tomorrow and finish smoothing down here.

This put a lot of the items on the checklist into progress.

• Support the shed (either pilings or add additional bracing)
• Get windows installed in the shed
• Paint the carport
• Re-route the electrical cords
• Install driveway markers
• Get chains and a blade
• Finish moving piles around (gravel and dirt)
• Grade the driveway
• Install acrylic and braces in carport.
• Realign the front door
• Winterize mowers
• Shut off hose.