June 23-29, 2025

Weather | 6/23, sunny, 73°, 91° | 6/24, sunny, 72°, 91° | 6/25, sunny, 73°, xx° | 6/26, xx°, xx° | 6/27, xx°, xx° | 6/28, xx°, xx° | 6/29, xx°, xx° |

• Monday, 6/23: Pickup Problems
  • Mary and I moved the riding mower deck to the back of the pickup. When I went to drive off in the pickup, I could not get the vehicle into drive. Later, I hooked the 8N Ford tractor to the front of the pickup with a chain. Mary put the pickup into neutral and steered it as I pulled it back into its parking spot with the tractor.
  • Right after I discovered the pickup wasn't moving forward and I was starting to look online for answers, the welder called. I already texted him that I wasn't moving the pickup. He told me that he will be at the dairy tomorrow, doing a welding job, and will drive here to put the weld on the mower deck. That was very nice of him.
  • I did a bunch of online research. I think my problem is a worn out shifter cable. RockAuto.com has them from $39 to $113. I'll need to order one.
  • Mary watered all garden plants and smaller trees. She reports everything is doing well.
  • Mary mowed more and mulched to the near the end of the row she's filling in the near far  garden. I mowed the lane so when the welder visits tomorrow, our lane looks like someone lives here. 
  • Mary checked a patch of blackberries south of the house and discovered that most of that patch is gone, but what is there has green blackberries.

• Tuesday, 6/24: A Free Weld
  • On our morning walk with Plato, we saw a doe with twin fawns on the lane ahead of us. Plato was great at just watching them and not barking or running towards them. The fawns still had spots. All three deer looked very healthy.
  • Hudson Welding showed up around 9:30 in a pickup. They had a big Lincoln welder in the back of their pickup powered by a portable generator. Tony, the eldest, who welded our trailer a couple weeks ago, stood by as his son and grandson did the work. A quick rust clean up with a grinder and a 30-second weld was all it took. When I asked how much I owed, Tony said I didn't owe a cent...they did it for free. That was really nice. Prior to showing up, they just left the dairy west of us, after doing some welding. The dairy gives them regular work. After they left, Mary and I moved the riding lawnmower deck to the wagon behind the 8N Ford tractor inside the machine shed.
  • I jacked up the driver's side front end of the pickup, installed a jack stand, and removed the underneath half of the pickup's shift cable. Once I disconnected the cable, I grabbed the lever on the side of the transmission and easily moved through all of the gears, thereby verifying that the problem isn't inside the transmission, but probably in the cable. Prior to removal, I took several photos of the cable's routing underneath the pickup. 
  • I had to take frequent breaks, due to hot, humid conditions. While removing a tiny C-washer that holds the two halves of the cable together, the canvas tarp under me got wet just from sweat dripping off my arm. Mary also had to take several breaks from the heat.
  • Mary performed more of her mowing/mulching dance. The near far garden is now mulched and only requires additions here and there where older mulch has decayed.
  • For a second day in a row, Mary added a couple loads of green clover leaves to the hens and chicks. All of it gets gobbled up by all chickens.
  • In the evening, we enjoyed a bottle of 2022 blackberry wine. It's very mellow with a good berry flavor. Aging greatly helps enhance the taste of homemade wine.