Men's Campfire

[Trinityz1]

Still Livin' the Dream!

loaded, strapped down, and hauled 10,000 lbs of cow cake yesterday
on 5 pallets weighing a ton each over two passes
got back here just in time for the sun to drop behind the ridge
and start getting colder fast and call it a day....

It's warmed up to a balmy 0º so far this a.m.

today get to unload about 1/2 by hand out of 50 lb bags
into the top of a bin
My first plan...
I get a bag from the trailer after unloading it from a pallet
to the trailer floor
then carry it up the stinky sort of ladder on the bin
and dump the 50 lb bags one at a time

time to place your bets for if I actually get it done...
I'm just wishing there was a way to empty them into
my backhoe bucket and dump them in

which just gave me an idea
I have a fabric sort of tote that holds 2500 lbs
it did have a tear in it, now if I could repair it
then pick it up with the backhoe
without tearing it...
if I could empty the bags into the tote
and then dump that into the storage bin...

hmmmm....

place your bets...
it's a failure if the tote rips
and it goes all over the ground
and has to be carried up in 5 gal buckets
and with my messed up body...
I wouldn't bet on me gettin' 'er done...

so why post these fun little bits?
it ain't to complain or get sympathy

well see, my guess is that there some folks here
thinking about a rural life and that leads to hmmm
what can I do on my place to make some $$ and earn a living
and one goal is to actually encourage them by letting them know
just some difficulties some of us run into...
but we stay and stick it out

the other reason is for comradery among others who fight the good fight
and can LAUGH right along with me
because they've had some of this kind of fun
It ain't boring...you're always looking for solutions to problems that crop up
and sometimes we have epic fails before we succeed IF we succeed

back in 2012, I had a couple totes of cow cake delivered...
well of course I had to settle the bin
It's a versatote, it's on wheels
so I took the forks I use on the backhoe
went to the front, put the forks under the frame
and gave it a jiggle to settle the cake so it would all fit

what happened you say?
Epic Fail with a brand new Versatote
At idle, the hydraulics on my older Hoe are a bit herky jerky
and the dumbass operator (ME) was in a hurry
cuz the delivery driver was in a hurry and I forgot
to raise the idle a skoshe...

I gave it a little bump
and with it over 1/2 full, I flipped the Versatote onto it's back
busted the tail lights on it....see normally I would've gone
and had them fill it at the coop
but my wife wanted to do a good deed
and had a couple delivered...

It took a bit with the snow and ice to get it stood back up
and finish the job

any time since I needed to settle a Versatote
I hooked it up to vehicle and towed it over some rough ground
a small hassle...but worth the effort....

I had a helper working for me that day
Me, him, the driver...were all laughing at my stupidity
the delivery driver said it was worth the extra wait time
just to see the look on face when I flipped it
and the look on the helper's face as he backed away,
slipped, fell on his ass, and scrambled to backwards crawl
away on the slippery ground while watching it fall towards him

he was on the backside when it happened

Now we weren't wearing our brown pants after
but we were sure grateful no one got hurt

so when out on your place and you have an epic fail
don't be embarrassed to share it
you might keep someone else from making the same mistake
or find a comrade that's been there and done that
or even better
someone who says, oh that's bullshit! I can do that...
who then comes back with chagrin and says, you're right
that was NOT a good idea!!!
Have a good 'un

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