Rossi Rifleman

Back at the semi-annual ritual, seeding food plots. It has been very warm down here in South Texas, so I've put the work off. I don't depend on the plots for hunting but rather want the work to make the long stretch into the spring green up. Also, have been delaying down to the minimum before the next rain as we have been getting a lot of rain and needed the plots to dry out as much as possible.

With other commitments going on all day Tuesday, I started at 8 pm and finished at Midnight. The Landpride seeder I bought 2017 sure makes the job easier as I put out two different seeds at different rates at the same time. It operates best at about five mph, so that allows you to cover ground quickly. I seeded 7 acres of plots. The latest front came through Wednesday night so all should be good!

I worked with at least one sailor who joined the Navy because they started putting headlights on tractors.

I spent all evening Monday and Tuesday fixing the league's mower, waiting for the scalping to get completed, and spreading grass seed and fertilizer to beat that same Wednesday front. We use a winter golf rye to work well in the spring but it starts now.

You probably got a heck of a rain on top of it!

It was planned that way but not finding a deck belt anywhere in town (it's an odd ball 5/8" X 148.5") on Sunday then the local mower shop getting the wrong one on Monday we weren't sure we'd get it down in time. Since two fields had been scalped Saturday before the belt broke we used the belt-less mower to pull the spreader over those fields Monday night then I got the deck working Tuesday in time to finish scalping the other two fields then spreading them too. It rained A LOT on Wednesday. The forecast as of Tuesday was 0.75" but I think we got that in the first 30 minutes mid-morning.

GasGuzzler wrote:It was planned that way but not finding a deck belt anywhere in town (it's an odd ball 5/8" X 148.5") on Sunday then the local mower shop getting the wrong one on Monday we weren't sure we'd get it down in time. Since two fields had been scalped Saturday before the belt broke we used the belt-less mower to pull the spreader over those fields Monday night then I got the deck working Tuesday in time to finish scalping the other two fields then spreading them too. It rained A LOT on Wednesday. The forecast as of Tuesday was 0.75" but I think we got that in the first 30 minutes mid-morning.

Yep, sounds exactly like farming!

I started three weeks ago, but the rate selector on my large seed box broke. Tried to fix it myself for three days as I knew there would be delays getting the part this time of year (everyone is planting). Threw in the towel and in that the seeder is under warranty, towed it to the dealer an hour away from here where it must sit in line to get in the shop. The day I planted, I had to take my wife to the doc in Austin, drive each way is two hours. Earlier in the morning, I had pre-staged my truck in town for scheduled maintenance, so I wouldn't need to drive back out to the ranch. Passing through town on our return, I got out and headed to Victoria, an hour each way. When I got back to my place, I started the seeder setup. That takes about two hours to calibrate the drop of two different seeds.

Oh, I forgot! In the morning, I take off to town to drop off my truck and my wife will pick me up, and on we will go to Austin. It is a 15-minute drive, I was just pulling into the parking lot, and my wife calls me. She is driving on the Farm to Market Road, and there is my hound dog running down the centerline. He decided to follow me all the way to town (10 miles). He has become very attached to me after the loss of the other. I know he is not going to listen to her, so I don't even stop as I pass through the parking lot. Sure enough, when I get close to home, there he is running down the center of the road with my wife right behind him. Luckily, there is not much traffic on our road. He jumped in the truck, and I took him back home and closed him in the yard. Total drive time that day before sitting down in the tractor for the four-hour run; 6:30! Hey, I could have driven from my place to yours!

I coulda got there in 5:58 hours.

GasGuzzler wrote:I coulda got there in 5:58 hours.

Instead of all the work and running around, we could have just sat and visited!