Re: Garden tractor acquisition
Posted: Wed Feb 25, 2026 8:01 am
Finally counted my money. Got a check from one grateful older gentleman on New Rd for $100 (wow). And my next door neighbor apparently gave me $40 twice so $180. Not bad.
However, had a close call yesterday when doing my next door neighbor the second time. He wanted me to make more of a path around the house (it's all a dirt driveway). Easy enough. But after clearing what he asked (including some of the previous storm PLUS this storm, which is still too easy for this machine with the chains), he wanted me to clear a little more in front of his Ridgeline. So I did. He would mark it out with a shovel and I'd clear. Well there was one pass where I went in and the blower sort of picked up kind of like it was on a rock. I looked down after backing up and there was either a mini-sledge or at least a mallet on the ground. Almost sucked that in. But it gets worse.
I went in again in the same general area and again the blower sort of picked up like there was a rock. I backed up and looked down and there was some kind of handle looking thing buried in the snow. He went in to pull it out and it was......a full-size hydraulic floor jack. Now THAT was a close call. That would have really done some damage to the auger and impeller. The mallet, too. He seemed frustrated and said his dad leaves that shit all over the place but, I mean, he does live there, too. Anyway, no issues overall and he was very appreciative. I still cannot believe how effortlessly I can just plunge into the full 35" snow fall amount and it just eats it. I can also take a bite out of a bank with multiple storms and it eats that, too.
However, had a close call yesterday when doing my next door neighbor the second time. He wanted me to make more of a path around the house (it's all a dirt driveway). Easy enough. But after clearing what he asked (including some of the previous storm PLUS this storm, which is still too easy for this machine with the chains), he wanted me to clear a little more in front of his Ridgeline. So I did. He would mark it out with a shovel and I'd clear. Well there was one pass where I went in and the blower sort of picked up kind of like it was on a rock. I looked down after backing up and there was either a mini-sledge or at least a mallet on the ground. Almost sucked that in. But it gets worse.
I went in again in the same general area and again the blower sort of picked up like there was a rock. I backed up and looked down and there was some kind of handle looking thing buried in the snow. He went in to pull it out and it was......a full-size hydraulic floor jack. Now THAT was a close call. That would have really done some damage to the auger and impeller. The mallet, too. He seemed frustrated and said his dad leaves that shit all over the place but, I mean, he does live there, too. Anyway, no issues overall and he was very appreciative. I still cannot believe how effortlessly I can just plunge into the full 35" snow fall amount and it just eats it. I can also take a bite out of a bank with multiple storms and it eats that, too.