This isn’t a very good photo but the guys I was working with weren’t cooperating with staying out of the photos and I’m sure neither would be OK with being in a posted pic, particularly given the circumstances.
Long, long backstory. My elderly father who lives beside us has/had a hunting buddy that had somehow Svengalied himself into running the property and a good portion of my Dad’s life. I noticed about 3 years ago that Dad was doing a bunch of things and allowing a bunch of things he didn’t want to, but couldn’t figure out why as he’d always been an in charge of everything guy. After a few months of observation and study, figured out (as dumb as this might sound) this guy’s control all hinged on his having a tractor slightly larger and newer than my Dad’s old 9N, which just wasn’t up to some of the routine brush hogging. Dad maintained, stored, and fueled buddy’s tractor but was never allowed to drive it. Shortly after I figured out what was going on, the L4701 was delivered. Buddy was VERY upset when he saw it, more so when he found out anyone in the family could drive it but he’s not family so he can’t drive it. There’s a lot more to it, but that gives a little context to today’s fun.
He got all his stuff off the property a year and a half ago; except this hunting blind box thing that was down in the creek bottom. He kept saying he was going to get it and Dad didn’t want to destroy it so it just sat there as a last little morsel of his old presence. I’ve mowed past it several times tempted for it to suffer a tragic “accident“ with the loader but have restrained myself.
Saw him today picking up one of his deer stands from a corporate neighbor’s property where he poaches. Reminded him that things been there a year and a half since the rest of his stuff left and asked him if he didn’t want to move it before I got too close to it mowing as he knows I’m not near as good an operator as he is. He said he’d come get it week after next but he didn’t have any way to skid it out. I suggested we’d skid it out today or I’d pull it out with the grapple and he could pick up whatever was left of it week after next. So we skidded it out today and now the @&*% box and it’s @&*% owner are both completely gone. True to form, he asked if he could come back and get a windfallen white oak for firewood. Of course since he sold his tractor he’d need to use mine. Uhhh… no.
We had to skid it across two creek cuts, up the back side of the dam, and a few other unpleasant areas. The 1/2” bolt the chain was on pulled out the end of the 4x4 runner and was being reattached after crossing the second little creek. The forks made tossing it on a flatbed quite easy. It was a good day.
. They are where you find them.
