all in a day's work ...

What an absolutely beautiful day it was outside today. I have a ton of chores or projects that need to be done around the house and I have made my mind up that I am going to quit ignoring them and start knocking some of them out. Not only does it make the list of things to be done smaller, but it gets me out of the house.

Melissa and Megan were both here today so it made getting outside to do stuff much easier. I really wanted to work in the garage or on my bike, but it is time I start working on things that need to be done that are not self-serving. Hey, I *may* be growing up! Meh, probably not!

Anyway, so I figured on trying to get the mower and the weedeater working since the grass is up to about ass-high by now. When the dogs go outside you can only see where they are by the grass that is being trampled down.

I knew I would need to charge up the battery on Dad's zero-turn mower so I prepared to move the Teryx out of the garage to make maneuverability easier. Turned the key and .... nothing. Yeesh! I have to charge the Teryx first.

That was surprising. The thing sat all winter long ... outside ... and the battery never quit. Put it in the garage and it dies. WTF?

Well I hooked up the charger and it started in a matter of minutes as the battery wasn't dead, just slow. Next, I tried the battery on the mower, just in case, but it was as dead as suspected. I pulled it, and set it to charge.

Meantime, I decided to see what I could do with Dad's weedeater. It hasn't been started in at least two years. There was no gas in it so maybe the carbs aren't all that clogged. I had Melissa run down to the store to pick up a gallon of gas so I could put the oil additive in and add it to the tank.

Now, I need something else to do while I wait for her return. I have been wanting to make a tray for Dad to use when he eats as he usually puts his plate on his lap and it is quite less than steady. I had a piece of board out there that was purchased with the idea of making a bookshelf for the cook books (another project that never got done). I cut it to size and made a hole in the center about the size of the bottom of one of his plates.

By the time I got that "done" (still need to apply a finish to it), Melissa had returned, so I went back to the weedeater. I added gas and immediately noticed why it had none in it before. It was leaking out as quick as I had poured it in. I found that the gas lines that led to the primer and to the carburetor were both .... gone! So not getting this done today.

Luckily, by now the battery for the mower was charged enough it should start. I had no faith it would as it has sat for about a year and not even started once so the carbs are likely going to need a good going-through. To my delight, it *did* actually start and was only rough at slow speed.

So I figured I would run it until it ran out of gas. I had to have the deck up 3 notches from the bottom because the grass was so thick. Heh. Running that mower out in the sloping front yard was quite the adventure.

The grade is steep at parts and with the grass being so high, it is wet at the ground level, so it's rather slick. I found myself slipping more than I had traction at first. I even got stuck to where it wouldn't get out under it's own power.

Once I had to have Melissa come out and stand on the rear of the mower to put some more load on the wheels to gain traction on that slippery slope. Another time, I had to use the Teryx to pull it out. After a while I figured there was just one part of the lawn that was going to have to be neglected.

After a few more runs, though, I figured I could kind of "drift" as I was turning downwards and it would sort of pull, then gain traction and voila ... climb right out. This got kind of fun. It was interesting as I got near the fence a couple times, but I didn't get stuck again, although there still is a part that is neglected -- mostly due to the grade and proximity to the fence not allowing the drift technique to be effective.

I managed to finish all the front yard I felt that I would be able to without getting stuck again and still hadn't run out of gas, so to the backyard we go. I got all that done (or as much as I plan to) and still had enough gas to get the mower back to the shed.

There was still daylight so I figured I would use the rest of the light to chop up some of the maple wood I picked up a couple weeks ago. I have a buddy coming up in a couple weeks to visit and we spent so many hours hanging around a bonfire drinking beers and solving the world's problems that I figured I better get some of this stuff split.

These are "man" logs. Good Lord, you swing that axe and it just .... bounces off the wood. Many of them are 1' - 2' in diameter. I split one big one, then would take a couple small ones, grab another big one, and a couple more smaller, etc.

By now the sun has set and I am now in the sequence of a big one. I have the wedge driven halfway down the log, but it just isn't giving. I turned it over and started working the other side. Dusk has turned into near dark and I still haven't driven through this log yet.

By now, I am damned determined *I* am GOING to split this damn thing before going in, if it takes all night. Swing the axe. Pick up the log. Swing the axe. Pick up the log, I think I got more tired of picking the damn thing up over and over and over than I did swinging the axe. I finally managed to break through and let out a victorious yelp. Heh, this prompted Melissa to ask if I was okay as she was worried I couldn't see what I was swinging at and may have struck myself.

I came inside and felt -totally- exhausted! I am sore! Yet, it feels great!

It's been so long since I have felt sore from a good day's work. I feel like I have done something, but all I did was cross off a couple items on a very long list.     ; )