Senile Texas Aggie - comic relief for the rest of you

[CntryBoy777]

I think Joyce is trying to tell you something.

Yeh....she can't pay attention to look for things in the grass before she pushes the mower thru it..... ....it's the ADHD at its best....if ya was referring to me doing the pushing, well she can't sit still and her health is much better than mine...she would rather do it instead of feeling guilty if I had a 3rd heart attack....

 

[thistlebloom]

Oh dear! I wouldn't want you to have a third one either!
I have hit a boulder or two in the tall weeds.
Have my share of mower casualties...

 

[Senile_Texas_Aggie]

If the mower proves to be unrepaireable, I may buy the kind of mower that cuts with the nylon cords. Has anyone here ever owned one. How long do the nylon cords last?

 

[CntryBoy777]

If ya are talking about something like a DR Trimmer, the durability of the cords depends on what is being cut....I have gone thru several sets cutting thru ditch bank growth, but lasts for awhile on just grass....if ya are one that wants a "finished look", ya may be disappointed with it....because it is a 6hp weedeater on wheels....difficult for a smooth even cut...they are great for thick heavy growth, but for mowing they're heavier and not as easily handled as a regular blade mower.....

 

[thistlebloom]

We have a Cub Cadet line trimmer mower. It's great in the weeds, everywhere I used to use my weed whip. It's much faster than a weed whip and a lot easier on the body.
I find that coarse woody growth will tear the line out, but in the spring when it's still tender, the same size shrubby weed growth gets cut much better. We get Snowberry shrubs popping up everywhere, and that's more difficult to cut later in the season.
I'm in agreement with @CntryBoy777 about mowing a lawn with it, it doesn't give the same effect as a mower and isn't as manageable.

But it's irreplaceable around here for managing the weeds. I should add that since we got the string trimmer I haven't destroyed so many mowers running into hidden rocks.

 

[Bruce]

I hope the tractor and mower are not signs of things to come!

Me too!!!!!

It will probably be cheaper to replace the push mower....Joyce is a mower killer, so I tend to get the least expensive ones cause they don't usually hang around long before they are in the condition yours are in....she killed my mulching mower just a couple of months ago...

Joyce, Joyce, Joyce. Ya gotta be careful with the machines!

if ya was referring to me doing the pushing, well she can't sit still

I will attest to that. She can NOT sit still.

How long do the nylon cords last?

As @CntryBoy777 said, they are really no different than a string trimmer on wheels. Depends on what you hit, get close to a metal fence and the answer is "not long" and if it is welded wire, it will break the welds at the same time. The string will wear fast on big woody stuff but hardly at all on grass size plants.

 

[Senile_Texas_Aggie]

All,

Just a short update on what's going on here at STA Farm. First, my Beautiful Gal and I are celebrating our 45th anniversary today! Can you believe that she has put up with me that long?

Second, I think I know what my punishment in hell is going to be. Just as Sysiphus was condemned by the gods to push a huge boulder up a hill only to have it roll back down the hill when near the top, my punishment will be to work on PVC pipe(*). You see, the water lines that I worked on in February I think seem to be leaking again. Our water bill was higher than normal, so yesterday I went to check the water valves and pressure regulator access tubes to see if there was water there. There was, but not a tremendous amount. Since it has been raining a good bit, I was not sure if the water was from a leak or if it is just from ground seepage. The weather forecast for today and tomorrow is 80% chance of rain, but it is supposed to be nice Monday, so I guess I will be digging it up and repairing if needed.

Senile Texas Aggie

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(*) A year or two after we moved into our house in McKinney, TX, I decided to put in a drip irrigation system for the flower beds my Beautiful Gal had planted around the edge of the back yard. I also ran tubing to water the plants she hung under the patio cover. It proved to be great -- except when it leaked. It seemed to spring a leak about every year or two. I used PVC pipe to supply the water to the control valve, then black plastic pipe to distribute the water to the different places where needed. The black plastic pipe never leaked, probably because it was low pressure and was not under continual pressure. The PVC, however, seemed to develop leaks about every year or two. No matter how I tried -- using a lot of primer or a little, using a lot of glue or a little, it would spring a leak somewhere in the part I installed. I never did figure out what I was doing wrong. It seems I may be repeating the same mistakes here.

 

[rachels.haven]

GAH! Darn plumbing!

 

[farmerjan]

CONGRATULATIONS ON 45 years together. That is so wonderful. My hat's off to you. My parents celebrated 67 last Nov..... It takes alot to be able to last through all the ups and downs.

I am in AWE of you.

 

[Senile_Texas_Aggie]

Thank you, Miss @farmerjan! I feel very lucky to have such a wonderful wife!

Yesterday the rains held off long enough for me to dig up 2 different spots of the plumbing. I concluded that the plumbing is NOT leaking! What made me think it was leaking was that our water bill was quite a bit higher than normal ($92 versus around $50). Since I don't recall our having used any more water than normal, I assumed it was leaking again. It still may be, but I don't think it is leaking where I installed the plumbing. I will try to confirm that today. Regrettably we got A LOT of rain last night and both holes I dug are filled with water, so I will need to bail them out. But maybe there won't be water seeping into the holes and they will remain dry. Of course, that leaves the question of where the water went. I hope there is not a leak somewhere between the water meter at the highway and our house. That line is 1/2 mile in length! Oh, well, I have been sitting here wishing for something to do besides watch YouTube videos!

Senile Texas Aggie