Getting the tractor ready

I pulled the deck off first. That is the easiest part. Then I took the blades off, set them aside, and scraped all the buildup off the underside.

 I took a wire brush to it after that, cleaning it up good. I have one that fits my grinder, so it wasn't that hard to do, just dusty and dirty.

 Then the paint. This is the first coat, and it's actually red. I put grey over that, and then yellow. I used up all the old spray paint from the shed. I hope that will help protect it. It was starting to rust a little. I sharpened the blades up and greased the spindles while the paint was drying, as well as repairing the steering. The bushings had worn out and the steering was getting pretty sloppy.

Then comes the hard part - putting the deck back on and hooking it up. I've done it quite a few times, so it's not so bad. I used to have to do all this when I put the snowblower on every winter. 

 

All hooked up and ready to mow. All there is left to do before I start mowing is the oil change.

Stump is moved!

I don't know why this picture is 10 times size, but the stump is out of the drainage ditch. The guys were back at Alfie's barn with the bigger tractor, so I asked them to move it for me and they did. That was very nice of them.

Now that the stump is out of the ditch, it should dry out and I'll be able to break it up and get it on the burn pile.

updates

 First, Heather's bathroom "after". It looks nice, and now it is done right.

 Allen playing with my Redhawk. He did better with it this time than he did last time. It just takes practice.

These are from the 30-30 loads I made up. The center target on the right is our winner! The loads from Heather's .257 were similiar and we have a clear winner there, too. We got to play with my new .45 while we were there, too. Until we ran out of ammo, that is.

Range time needed!

I have the first batch of ammo finished for Heather's .257 and also for my 30-30. Hers are nickel plated cases with a black oxide bullet with a silver tip. They look really sharp. I hope they shoot as good as they look! I have a week off coming up soon. Maybe I'll be able to get these loads tested then.

Powder run

Lisa and I went to Jeffersonville, IN this morning. It's just across the river from Louisville. Orion Arms was the destination. They sell guns and reloading components. There were a lot of things I wanted to buy, but settled on a couple of pounds of powder.

I seem to have a hard time finding the powder I need for what I'm reloading, but an easy time with everything else, and they had a couple of the ones I needed. I know I already got a pound of the Hodgdon, but it seems to one of the hardest to find, so I got an extra can of it.

Two loads of hay

 Heather and I got two more loads of hay today, the first one was in her truck. It was 25 square bales from a farm in Salt Lick. We ran the trailer over to the barn and unloaded it so we could get the second load.

We used my truck for the next load because we didn't unload her truck before we left. We got the this load from a place in over in Judy. When we got back, we hooked the trailer on to the wheeler and took that roll out to the pasture. Dropping the roll from my truck on to the trailer didn't work very well, but we finally got it done just as the rain started.

we got some snow

We got some snow last night. It's about 2" and looks very pretty. Because we have to go work later today, that opinion may change, but it looks serene right now.