Well, I had one of those days on Saturday.
Haven't mowed in two weeks (rain) and there was rain in the forecast so I went out and this was the weather when I started.
Pretty picture, with the green and the contrast of the sky but I was on a mission to mow. I started out and did the driveway, around the back of the house and around the barn and shed and then started on the front yard when the mower just stopped cutting. The engine was running fine but the mower stopped. I thought maybe it got clogged up again but all I had to do was look down from my perch on the seat...
...oops, that's not good! I drove it to a flat area and crawled around checking it out and it was frayed and cut in a few spots. I kind of wonder if the issue the last time with the clog caused the belt to become worn. Could also be a stick with thorns that got stuck in there.
Honestly, in all the years of mowing on the other mower, I never ever had a belt break. Replaced it once during an annual maintenance because it was nearing the end of its life, but it always kept going.
This was how much of the front I got done. You can see right where it stopped. Sigh.
Only 33 minutes and got a little less than halfway done.
As this posts, we're awaiting the Deere dealer service department to reach out so we can see what our options are. If we lived out there and had a concrete floor garage, to make removing the mower deck easy, I could order a belt and I bet I could figure out how to fix it. But we don't have the luxury yet so, $$ it is.
But wait...there's more.
So I decided to drive the truck, as I always do, to keep it running and in good shape and I got in and rolled down the window since it was cool, and then I slammed the door shut.
Wasps flew out of the MIRROR and almost into the cab of the truck. I've never rolled up a window so fast. It is an old school crank handle and my experience from pre-power window days came in handy (young people today wouldn't know what to do, ha!). I took the wasp spray and handled that.
But wait...there's more.
I went to the porch to rest my body after all the excitement and I was in the rocking chair when something stung me. It was a glancing blow and I was wearing shorts sitting in a chair, so I'll spare you the pictures because this is a family oriented blog, LOL.
I jumped up from the chair, sending it flying across the porch (and broke it the seat out of it)...
I nursed my glancing sting and let them reassemble on their nest...and then I took care of that too.
At this point I was done for the day.
I'm gonna blame it all on the solar flare! 😆
Yep, that's it!
Those wasps love getting behind the side view mirrors, even here in Colorado!
ReplyDeleteI'm just glad you didn't get stung anymore then you did! Ouch!
The Zen machine isn't being very Zen lately!
Watch that sting site for infection. My first wasp sting ended up as a skin infection. My second wasp sting the next year blew up my hand. I now consider myself allergic to wasps.
ReplyDeleteThe last time I was stung I went to the doctor and they gave me a Tetanus shot. I was stung on my foot and my ankle and calf swelled up. The doctor told me to keep an epipen on hand in case I'm ever stung again. I keep a keen lookout for nest to spray. I've read those fake hornets nest can be hung around and wasps won't make a nest anywhere around them. I ordered some from Amazon, but I never got around to hanging any of the up. Whether they work, I don't know. :). I have cedar siding on my house. A few years ago I had a huge nest inside the siding where a knot had fell out of the wood. I had to get an exterminator for that issue. It took him forever to get that nest taken care up. I do periodically spray around the eaves of the house. I hate wasps and yellow jackets. I think yellow jackets are worse than wasps.
DeleteWasps come from behind mirrors on my car. I cannot move fast enough to get away should I make them come out, so I am waiting on mower to do it form. Tommy cannot move fast, either. When I stay in the car as Tommy goes into a store, I watch them emerge, hoping they will stay at the shopping center.
ReplyDeleteMaybe you should put concrete for the barn floor since surely that will improve the place and give you a flat place to work.
I have seen a few wasps in my lifetime but more likely to see a big ass spider in the wing mirrors of a car here down under
ReplyDeleteEncountering Yellow Jackets in 2 places - Yikes! Their sting is so painful. I’m glad you got just a “glancing blow.”
ReplyDeleteToo bad about the mower belt break down. Especially when you really needed to get it mowed.
I can relate on them; ' not having a good day.'
ReplyDeleteThe very first thing to do if you get stung is to wash the area immediately with warm soap and water to was out any bacteria and / or venom the wasps may have left behind. After you wash the area off really well; apply an ice pack to keep the swelling down. After about 30-60 minutes with ice pack; apply some sort of cream to stop the itch. I usually keep calamine cream on hand.
When we had them earth tremors; late afternoon / early evening the 1st of May, woke up early the next morning; No water. Had broken main water line, so was without running water for the whole weekend. Had plenty of water to flush the toilets being we have 3 - 150gal tanks to refill the toilet tanks. Also already had bottled drinking water here but had to get some larger containers of water to do dishes in and cook with. Was many years that I had to go back to taking sponge baths.
With all that; even tho not having a good weekend; I knew there would be brighter days ahead. Sometimes we have them bad days so that we can appreciate all them good days that are ahead of us, all that much more.
'Today Is A Good Day To Have A Good Day.'
Enjoy your day
Our front deck is an absolute wasp magnet. This time of year they are looking everywhere for good places to build their nests. Under the deck boards is not my idea of a "good place". I have swatted 18 wasps so far and that has put a pretty good dent in the population of "wasps who want to live on the deck"..
ReplyDeleteWasps! Yikes! After you kill the nest, don't take it down. Leaving it in place keeps the wasps from returning to Prime Real Estate. You can also make a fake nest out of a brown paper lunch bag to keep them from building. Puff up the bag, tie the top closed and hang it on the porch ceiling. Put one in your storage sheds too. I know how much you love your Zen TIme but I still think y'all ought to put in wild flowers :D
ReplyDeleteWhen it rains it really does pour, doesn't it.
ReplyDeleteI live on 15 acres just east of Houston and I loath the wasps and yellow jackets. A yellow jacket got in the house unbeknownst to me, and I did not see him on the couch as I sat down. He let me know very quickly that he was there. I couldn't sit for almost an hour it was so painful.
ReplyDeleteI'm not illiterate and I promise I know how to spell "loathe"
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