I mowed the very back of my yard today. That means I got to use my 1956 Allis Chalmers walking tractor. I loaned it to bro-in-law first, so it came back in perfect working order, including all new knife sections on the sickle mower. The important thing about antique equipment is to get somebody else to fix it whenever possible.
First I had to get the tractor out of the yard. That requires wrestling it through the gate while all four dogs help. The blind dog escaped and ran head-first into the truck cap I have out back. She's used to running into things, being blind and all, so the neighbour and I laughed at her as she got back onto her feet and ran into the fence while trying to find the gate.
I fired up tractor and started with the easy part. I mowed my way through the part that never quite dries, and headed up the yard, cutting swath after swath. The grass fell like Conservatives at a town hall meeting.
Soon it time to cut between the trees though. This is tricky because the machine is a little hard to control and Mrs. Rev considers each small tree to be very important. Even though it was the first mowing of the year, I got it done without sacrificing a single sapling. I didn't even cut down the ones that the deer killed.
With the trees done, it was time to cut the concrete and rocks. A few years ago I found myself with a lot of concrete and rocks. I could have taken them to the dump, but I had this low area in my yard. I dumped the concrete and rocks in there, thinking I'd put some dirt over it later. Kind of a crude, impromptu dry well. I've never quite gotten around to the dirt part of that though, so now I have all these chunks of mower-destroying concrete hiding in the grass.
Fortunately I have an 1956 Allis Chalmers walking tractor with a sickle mower so the mowing is easy. Unfortunately I have to walk behind trying not to break an ankle by tripping over a chunk of concrete. Life is an adventure though, so what the hell.
With that section done and both of my ankles in more or less the same condition as when I started, all that I needed to do was mow around the big green truck. That requires a lot of forward and reverse and some quick work on the clutch. That should be easy, but apparently in 1956 it in vogue to have reverse move around a bit. Sometimes it's where it's supposed to be, sometimes it's where 3rd gear is supposed to be. When trying to mow between a truck and a fence that can get a little entertaining. Fortunately the clutch consists of a $3.00 v-belt on an open pulley, so abusing it is acceptable.
So the back is mowed and the neighbours are all looking jealous wishing they had an antique walking tractor. Now if I could just find a deep tillage cultivator for it....
First I had to get the tractor out of the yard. That requires wrestling it through the gate while all four dogs help. The blind dog escaped and ran head-first into the truck cap I have out back. She's used to running into things, being blind and all, so the neighbour and I laughed at her as she got back onto her feet and ran into the fence while trying to find the gate.
I fired up tractor and started with the easy part. I mowed my way through the part that never quite dries, and headed up the yard, cutting swath after swath. The grass fell like Conservatives at a town hall meeting.
Soon it time to cut between the trees though. This is tricky because the machine is a little hard to control and Mrs. Rev considers each small tree to be very important. Even though it was the first mowing of the year, I got it done without sacrificing a single sapling. I didn't even cut down the ones that the deer killed.
With the trees done, it was time to cut the concrete and rocks. A few years ago I found myself with a lot of concrete and rocks. I could have taken them to the dump, but I had this low area in my yard. I dumped the concrete and rocks in there, thinking I'd put some dirt over it later. Kind of a crude, impromptu dry well. I've never quite gotten around to the dirt part of that though, so now I have all these chunks of mower-destroying concrete hiding in the grass.
Fortunately I have an 1956 Allis Chalmers walking tractor with a sickle mower so the mowing is easy. Unfortunately I have to walk behind trying not to break an ankle by tripping over a chunk of concrete. Life is an adventure though, so what the hell.
With that section done and both of my ankles in more or less the same condition as when I started, all that I needed to do was mow around the big green truck. That requires a lot of forward and reverse and some quick work on the clutch. That should be easy, but apparently in 1956 it in vogue to have reverse move around a bit. Sometimes it's where it's supposed to be, sometimes it's where 3rd gear is supposed to be. When trying to mow between a truck and a fence that can get a little entertaining. Fortunately the clutch consists of a $3.00 v-belt on an open pulley, so abusing it is acceptable.
So the back is mowed and the neighbours are all looking jealous wishing they had an antique walking tractor. Now if I could just find a deep tillage cultivator for it....
