Monday, August 10, 2009

Monday, August 10, 2009
The grass and surrounding area is heavy with dew this morning, but the deck is relatively dry, so I know it didn’t rain during the night. The sun is out and the sky only has a few broken clouds. The wind started up shortly after 9 O’clock this morning and has been gusting to over 15 mph. That keeps the temperature down, but it is 75.3 in the sun at noon. It will also help keep the bugs from being a problem.
I finished my usual morning routine and will now change into my work clothes and go out to get some manual labor done.
I hiked to the dozer with several bottles of Gator Aid and my gun, just incase that wolf is mad that I shot at it, and drove it to the cattle guard, which was a real mess. I worked that area and all the rutted and bumpy parts of the road all the way past the spring. I was loosing light, but wanted to finish so I could ride the dozer back to the cabin instead of hiking. As I made my final pass and turned the dozer towards home, I placed it in high and then second gear, which I find makes the best and fastest travel, and slowly released the clutch. I know . . . you have already determined that something went wrong, haven’t you. As you may or may not know, I bought this bulldozer new and then found out it is made in China and has a brand name used by Northern Tool, which is a huge American farm and construction catalog company. I have had nothing but problems with it since it had less than a half-hour running time, and more with the tracks now than the hydraulic system.
As I eased the clutch out, and I do mean eased it out because in high gear it jerks so hard when it starts to move that it’s hard on the dozer, not to mention my body, and I heard a loud pop and metal grinding. The entire right track simply “popped off” the drive gear. It didn’t separate it just pealed off intact. Now mind you, I had been keeping a close eye on the tension of the tracks, adjusting them religiously because I’ve had so many problems with them. I stepped down to assess the situation and not having more than a couple of wrenches, determine that it ain’t going to get fixed today. I shut it down and grabbed a bottle of Gator Aid for the mile and a quarter hike back to the cabin.
By the time I got home, it was quarter to nine and I was tired from the walk, not to mention climbing down to roll giant rocks off the road at every pass. I managed to feed Zack and Zoey and then take a shower before throwing Zack’s toy a few times. It was 10:30 before I had the energy, or desire to eat, so heated up some leftovers and watched television until going to bed at 12:30.