Swamp Road, the Worst Stuck Yet

The above photo shows the worst of it, but let's start at the beginning of the project, which was not to extract the Fiat from deep in the mud.  

This is what we call the Swamp Road,

and this road/path is the only access means we have to the northwest area of the original 100 acres.  So, since it hadn't rained in weeks and the low lying areas are dry, this was a good opportunity to mow down brush that with natural succession eventually turns into small trees and impenetrable tall brush.  And then, large trees.  Chinese privet and oaks are the worst offenders. 

So after working in the front northeast corner of the property, I planned to work on the other side of the Swamp Rd, which I thought would be easy to traverse since it has been so dry.  The swamp drains from the right side of the road to the left through two culverts that we installed years ago when we setup the road.  Unfortunately,  beavers plugged up those culverts and created a pond on the right side of the road.   When driving over the road I got too close to the right edge and the front wheel sank into the dirt softened by the nearby water.

I tried backing out and the rear wheel sank.

So, I called Jeffrey and he brought the International with the dual rear wheels.

He backed down the road, attached a chain to the back of the Fiat and pulled.   However, instead of pulling the Fiat out, the Fiat's rear tire rolled along the edge of the dry solid part of the road without coming up on it and actually started sinking deeper into the mud.  We were afraid it was going to flip over so we quit pulling from the back.  But, with swamp on both sides of the road, there was not enough room to get the dual-wheeled International around the Fiat to pull from the front. 

However, there was just barely enough room to get the 4-wheel drive John Deere 6120E around the left side of the Fiat so we could pull from the front.

With a chain now between the 120 and the Fiat we tried pulling from the front.  Again,  the Fiat wheels just road along the steep dry edge of the road without coming up on it.  And again, the Fiat was sinking more and tilting into the swamp.

Now it was time to go back to the arch barn and get the swamp boards.  These are heavy oak planks, a foot wide and 2 to 3 inches thick cut from our trees with the sawmill.  With shovel digging, much pushing and shoving, and sloshing around in 1 foot deep swamp water, Jeffrey got the boards in position under the leading edge of the tires (the farm owes Jeffrey a new pair of boots).  We were ready to try again.  And by this time it was dark, we were working by the tractor lights.

After several times of pulling the Fiat and repositioning the boards, we were finally able to drag the Fiat out onto the far side of the Swamp Road.  Then very carefully, Jeffrey drove back across the Swamp Road and back to the arch barn.   I brought the 120 back.  Mowing the northwest corner area will have to wait until the swamp drains and I get the Swamp Road rebuilt.

A couple of days layer I took a 20 foot pole and cleaned out the obstructions in the culverts, getting the water flowing again.  Next I need to use the backhoe and bring in much more dirt. 

Rhino Maintenance

Yesterday we replaced the blades on the Rhino SR-15M sidewing rotary cutter.  The wing blades are swapped with the wings up.  The center blades are accessible with the deck elevated.  In each case there is a hole in the deck for access.

We use a compressed air impact wrench that quite readily removes the blade bolts.

The center blades wear out a lot faster than the side wing blades.  These blades were replaced last year, but they show substantial thinning and distortion.  Below are new and used blades for comparison. 

In contrast, this is the second year for the side wing blades and they are not near as worn as the center wing blades.

Here is the new set of blades on the left wing with Jeffrey. 

Out To Pasture

Each morning I take the ewe flock out to pasture, here we are in the lone pine field with cowpeas in the foreground and pasture transitioning back to bahiagrass in the background.   Odin, on the right, is permanently with the ewes.  Hero came out with us to help check the area out, but will come back with me.  He is a vicinity patroller at night. 

Rhino Repair

I've been doing quite a bit of mowing lately using the Rhino SR15 behind the John Deere 6120E.

  

 We bought the Rhino several years ago as a used mower.  Actually,  very used.  The axle spindles that support the rear wheels had been severely eroded making it difficult for the bearings and seals to work well.  Recently the bearings on the outside wheel of the center section went out and it started flopping around.

After removing the wheel, it seemed that there was no point in trying to put new bearings and grease seals on that spindle.  So, I've ordered some parts (looking forward to seeing what actually arrives). 

 In the meantime,  mowing still needs to be done.  I cycle the sheep around different pastures.   After they leave a pasture, it needs to be mowed to cut down the plants they don't eat.  Otherwise,  the undesirable plants would begin to take over.   With the outside wheel missing the mower is very unstable with the wings up and I have to be very careful when traveling from one point to the next. 

So we undertook to move the inside wheel to the outside position.   However, the spindle was very frozen into the housing.  It would not budge, even using a large pipewrench with an 8 foot pipe extension to the handle while beating on it with a slege hammer wouldn't move it.  Jeffrey even tried welding a bead of metal on to the housing to heat it up, while I tried to move it with the pipewrench.   

Here Jeffrey is grinding back off the weld bead he applied so we can try the next idea.  That is to cut a slot in the housing to try and break the shaft free.

With the slot cut, Jeffrey welded a chain to the end of the shaft so I could pull on it with the Fiat tractor while he beat on it with the sledge and turned it with the pipewrench. 

And after all of this, it came out.

We beat out the inner wheel.

Once the housing interior was cleaned out and the inner wheel spindle cleaned, it slipped quite readily into the outer position.

So, we are back in business, at least temporarily until new parts arrive and a more permanent fix is made. 

Feeding Kites

This time of year the bahiagrass pastures grow so rapidly it is hard for the sheep to keep up with forage and it rapidly becomes rank and unpalatable.  So, periodically I mow the pastures to renew them.  Mowing stirs up many insects; the grasshoppers especially can be quite large and fly up into the air 10s of feet.  This action attracts many birds that feed on the bugs.  Cattle egrets scoot around on the ground next to the tractor grabbing bugs; they are fun to watch.  Even more interesting and spectacular to see are the swallow tailed kites and Mississippi kites soaring, swooping and diving after the airborne bugs.

I am mowing with a Rhino SR15 attached to my John Deere 6120E.

Here are some photos of the swallow tailed kites. 

The Mississippi kite has a more fan shaped tail and is grayish and white as opposed to the black and white of the swallow tailed kite.  Mississippi kite photos are not as good, more like silhouettes. 

The Mississippi kite on the right appears to be transferring a bug captured with its talons to its beak.

Swallow Tailed Kite

July 13,

I believe this is a swallow tailed kite.  When mowing the bahiagrass pastures, I often see them soaring and diving as they hunt for airborne insects and small rodents stirred up by the mower.  There are a surprising number of large grasshoppers in these pastures. 

This is the first time I've seen one resting in one of the dead trees.  This tree was killed when a tornado came through here a few years ago.  I never got around to cleaning it up, probably a good thing.

July 14,

It's a day later, this morning I saw four of them soaring around together above a corner of the front field. 

July 17,

Haven't seen the kites since the last post, in spite of a lot of mowing being done.  This morning when taking the sheep out to pasture, I saw one on "their perch".  He or she flew off as the sheep and dogs went by, but came back after a few minutes. 

The 3/4 moon also managed to get in the photo.

The flock of sheep are moving in.

View from Top of Hill

Here is a view looking west from the top of the hill near the old cattle corral.  In the foreground,  just across the alleyway fence is the middle field with cowpeas just emerging out of the bahiagrass sod.

Zoomed in a bit,

through the gap in the trees is the east bahia field with chicory growing (not very well).  Further out is the west bahia field with sheep grazing on the bahiagrass. 

Beyond the west bahia field are the beaver fields, the high growth visible is a test planting of eastern gamagrass.   It is doing well here, but the planting in the Coast Electric field did not take.

Cattle Egrets

Cattle egrets are often seen around the sheep.  They will lineup on fences, catch rides on sheep, and move with the sheep (Odin in foreground is a good guardian dog, he stays with the sheep as they move around.