A Gorgeous Sunday!
It was a beautiful day today, the sort of day that makes you glad to be alive; It was a perfect Autumn day: clear blue skies, warm temperatures, a gentle breeze blowing... And bugs... yeah... Maybe not quite so perfect thanks to all the bugs, but otherwise a very nice day!
Finally got some important stuff done: I pressure-washed the IH201 swather, getting it as clean as I could with the pressure-washer and cold water. I'd like to have one of the big industrial steam-cleaners like we had back in the automotive shop in high-school; Even under high-pressure, cold water just doesn't do a very good job of cleaning years worth of baked-on grease and gunk. Still, it's a lot cleaner than it was earlier! I doused all of the chains on the machine with chain-lube, so that should get them well oiled and protect them from rusting. Tomorrow I'll change the oil in the hydraulic systems, and lubricate all of the grease-fittings. The weather forecast is calling for a 30% chance of rain on Tuesday, which means we'll get a monsoon. :P
The rest of the week looks good though, and Trixstir and I finally got another small but important task completed; We've had three rose-bushes (2 Hansas and a John Corbet) waiting to be properly planted for nearly three months now. Thankfully they've all managed to stay green and healthy, but they should be a lot happier now that they've been freed from their little plastic boxes, and can spread their root-systems out. Hansa roses are one of my favourites; They have deep red blooms, are incredibly fragrent, and will bloom from Spring 'til Fall if you keep dead-heading them. They're also a "hardy" rose, so they can withstand the frigid winters we have up here.
The Bobcat is ready to go as soon as the customer comes to pick it up; I filled it with the new oil this morning, and that's about all there is left for it. It's a neat little machine, but I'd be just as happy never to have to drive one like that again! Between the Bobcat repair, and the bill I sent to Sears for repairing the garden-tractor, there should be about $600 coming in from those two jobs! Now if I could just keep getting more of these sorts of jobs, though preferably ones that are a little cleaner when they come into the shop!
We met Jack and his family in town this evening, and went to the annual Knights of Columbus Fowl Supper. As always, it was delicious! Real mashed potatoes, turnips, carrots, stuffing, turkey, ham, gravy, all kinds of salads and desserts... Truly a feast, and something eagerly awaited each Fall. There will be more of these things throughout the area for the next several weeks; Last year we didn't eat at home on Sunday night for nearly a month! :)