It has been a bit slow at work since I am transitioning projects, so I have started working on the front end for the software for the box truck. You may recall I built a mspaint mockup. I have now recreated part of it in Python. Python is on my list of things to learn this year at work conveniently, so I am doing this as part of my Python training.
The mowing went on throughout the week. I finished up the front during the week. By the time I finished the thicker and faster growing parts were taller than the handlebars on the mower. I literally had to mow it by going 10 feet, shaking the mower to get the discharge unclogged, go backwards over it, and then go over it again, then clear the discharge again. Every ten or so feet in the thicker spots. And it still came out looking bad.
Late Friday, I even got the side done.
Saturday was wet and stormy, but I got the back yard done before it started. It thankfully wasn't as thick as the front so it didn't take as long.
Saturday night I organized the splices and stuff I bought. I have been waiting for work to refill their stock, but Fastenal seems to be sitting on their laurels about it. They aren't expensive, so I ordered a kit online. They didn't pack the container very well, so I was able to fit all the splices (the container in the back) into the spade connector container, so it is one less floppy container to spill everywhere. It is surprising how cheap the cases have gotten.
Sunday morning I went out and observed the storm damage. I had a couple of trees come down. This was the only one in an impactful area though. I will now need to cut this up before I finish the carport. Ugh. That tree was on the list of ones I wanted taken down this year anyways, perhaps I should mark them and get Barry to come chop them down. I was originally going to wait until I got the big carport I built moved out.
Since it was off and on drizzling in the morning, I decided to take the tractor out. It has been a while since it ran, but it fired right up. I got a spot leveled. This was the the only place I hit a rock when mowing. It is where the hand dug well used to be; the dirt has settled in and that log and rock were now sticking up enough to catch the blades. It is now reasonably flat.
The big boulder and log.
I could hear thunder at that point, so I decided I wasn't going to start working on the carport. So instead I filled in another chunk of driveway before the rain got too hard.
I also tried digging in the back yard. I will need to scrape an inch or two off this area before I put down the landscape timbers and whatever finish I decide to use (river rock or whatever) so it is all lower than the slab and thus drains into the french drain I installed instead of running under the house. I am undecided about what to do with the tanks. I could probably lift them with the tractor, but to be honest, I don't particularly want to disturb the propane. I will need to put down landscape fabric underneath them though, so I will have to move them. They should be lite enough at this point though that hopefully I can at least tip them if needed
The mowing went on throughout the week. I finished up the front during the week. By the time I finished the thicker and faster growing parts were taller than the handlebars on the mower. I literally had to mow it by going 10 feet, shaking the mower to get the discharge unclogged, go backwards over it, and then go over it again, then clear the discharge again. Every ten or so feet in the thicker spots. And it still came out looking bad.
Late Friday, I even got the side done.
Saturday was wet and stormy, but I got the back yard done before it started. It thankfully wasn't as thick as the front so it didn't take as long.
Saturday night I organized the splices and stuff I bought. I have been waiting for work to refill their stock, but Fastenal seems to be sitting on their laurels about it. They aren't expensive, so I ordered a kit online. They didn't pack the container very well, so I was able to fit all the splices (the container in the back) into the spade connector container, so it is one less floppy container to spill everywhere. It is surprising how cheap the cases have gotten.
Sunday morning I went out and observed the storm damage. I had a couple of trees come down. This was the only one in an impactful area though. I will now need to cut this up before I finish the carport. Ugh. That tree was on the list of ones I wanted taken down this year anyways, perhaps I should mark them and get Barry to come chop them down. I was originally going to wait until I got the big carport I built moved out.
Since it was off and on drizzling in the morning, I decided to take the tractor out. It has been a while since it ran, but it fired right up. I got a spot leveled. This was the the only place I hit a rock when mowing. It is where the hand dug well used to be; the dirt has settled in and that log and rock were now sticking up enough to catch the blades. It is now reasonably flat.
The big boulder and log.
I could hear thunder at that point, so I decided I wasn't going to start working on the carport. So instead I filled in another chunk of driveway before the rain got too hard.
I also tried digging in the back yard. I will need to scrape an inch or two off this area before I put down the landscape timbers and whatever finish I decide to use (river rock or whatever) so it is all lower than the slab and thus drains into the french drain I installed instead of running under the house. I am undecided about what to do with the tanks. I could probably lift them with the tractor, but to be honest, I don't particularly want to disturb the propane. I will need to put down landscape fabric underneath them though, so I will have to move them. They should be lite enough at this point though that hopefully I can at least tip them if needed
This week thankfully is supposed to be nice. I can probably go another week before I need to mow again. I can dig out the Troy Bilt mower (the Craftsman is behind the excavator, which I do need to pull out and tune up), so I might pull the carb off it this week and see if I can figure out what is wrong with it. It basically bogs really really bad under load, and then doesn't really recover when you unload it. It can take up to a minute to clear up. The current theory is a sunk float and it is just flooding itself real bad. It also has issues with the solenoid shut off; if I don't turn the gas off via the shut off in the line, it will leak out an entire tank in a day or so. The leak likely means a gasket is bad. I had debated just selling it and buying another one (that Troy Bilt doesn't owe me anything, I got several years out of it and it was a cheapo), but cheapos are surprisingly hard to find this time of year (most were sold off in April/May), and until I get my truck back I can't pick it up anyways. The truck is still claiming end of June for completion. I believe everything is done but the door, which Ford has on backorder. I might stop by their parking lot and see if the truck is outside so I can look at it.
