We have been playing and watching TV. It was an early morning, we don't normally get up nearly this early, and even though it is only 9:30 I think we are all ready for a nap. Kathy has had a cold since the 2nd day we returned to MO and my sinus's are acting up, but not bad. Love that MO weather.
I was supposed to take the motorhome to Camping World this morning, for an estimate on the body damage. Because the weather people said we were supposed to have thunderstorms this morning I postponed the appointment until Friday. We have had rain, on and off, but we haven't had any thunderstorms yet. (These are part of the same group of people who want to destroy our economy because they just know that man is causing global warming.) It was only 36 when we got up. I doubt that we will accomplish much outside today.
We have seen deer pasturing in our lawn every day since we have been home. I put out some deer corn but think the squirrels probably ate all of it. We have LOTS of squirrels, time to get out the rifle again, and start thinning them out. After I shot the first 4 last year, all from our porches, they stopped coming to the house.
Yesterday I cut up part of a dead tree that has been down for several years, and hauled the logs back by our woodshed.
I had started my tractor the first day we were back. It started easily after sitting for over 3 months. I didn't move it then but did yesterday. The first thing I started to do was smooth out the ruts we had cut getting the motorhome to its parking area. I noticed the front tires spinning but nothing was happening with the rear tires even though it was in 4WD. Initially I was worried that something was wrong with the hydrostatic drive. When I switched to 2WD the tractor wouldn't move until I "locked" the drive wheels. The right tire looked like it was wobbling. I leaned over it to look down and noticed that it felt spongy. I got off to look at it and noticed that the bead was no longer tight against the rim. The tire was flat but the sidewall is so stiff, and the tractor is so light, that even when uninflated the tire holds the tractor up. The tire was also wet around the bead. I now know that the back tires were filled with fluid, for ballast. I jacked it up and beat on the tire with a sledge until the bead sealed enough for me to reinflate it. I couldn't find where it might have been leaking. It held air OK while I used it yesterday and I haven't checked it this morning.
When I started picking up the logs it became obvious that I need to get the tire filled with fluid ASAP. I had to be REALLY careful picking up the logs because I kept lifting the unballasted right rear tire off the ground. After loading some stuff on the trailer and hauling it to the house I put the carrier on the rear. Once I got a log on the carrier I had some counterweight and it wasn't as squirrelly. I think it probably took me 10 minutes, at most, to cut up the wood and then took me several hours to get it out of the woods and up to the house. There is more out there but by the time I got what I had cut up to the house I was wore out.
Tom - you will be happy to know that I changed the oil & filter in the tractor when I finished with the wood. It only has 268 hours on it. The maintenance schedule calls for oil changes every 100 hours and filter changes every 200 hours. I had to go to the house and get the manual before I managed to locate the drain plug. It is hidden by the subframe that was added with the loader. It isn't hard to get to, with a socket and ratchet, once you know where it is.
I still haven't resolved our Internet provider issues yet. CenturyLink is still sending us overdue bills for the cancellation charge they say we owe. (I've told them I would pay the charge as soon as they provide me with a copy of the audio file where I agreed to a contract extension. I filed a complaint with the Consumer Fraud Division of the Missouri Attorney General's office, in Feb. I know they received my complaint because after I hassled them they confirmed that they are working on the issue.)
I've searched for other providers who advertise that they provide internet service in our area. The only competitors I've found are satellite internet providers. There are 2 of them but the services they offer are slower speeds and higher prices.
I'm going to call CentryLink and see if they will re-establish our service while we dispute the old bill. I doubt that they will, but guess it won't hurt to ask.
The good news is that our cell signal, at the house, seems to have improved dramatically. We have service throughout the house now and I have decent speeds when I tether my laptop to my phone to get to the Internet. Kathy has the same Iphone that Kelsey & Andy had when they lived with us. They had to go outside, on the rear deck, to be sure they had a good connection. She can use her phone in the house.
Time to do some online shopping. I'm going to order a new set of bibs and enough cane to cane one of our chairs.
May God bless you and yours.
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