HC wrote:

G'day Max

Half the fun is fixing a broken item with spares bits 'n pieces you have
lying around. LOL

After the Cox was just about totally rebuilt and strengthened we bought
a garden tractor, an old Howard actually, and it would drive up a
vertical wall. We were fortunate that the seller had the implements for
it, there was a grader blade, single furrow plough, ripper and a
home-made disc plough so this combination was fabulous, plus of course
it had a slasher. Then we made a tipping trailer that was 'the' most
useful item in a big garden...it looked funny because it had Mini Minor
wide wheels with slick (worn out) tyres and was heaps better than any
wheelbarrow.

Because this garden tractor was constantly in use doing other things and
I couldn't get the lawn mown, I bought a demo model Honda ride-on with a
39" (1 metre) cut and a nice gearbox with reverse....so much nicer to
drive than a Cox could ever be!! We fabricated a trailer hitch which
meant I could cart chain saw/spray gear/whipper snipper/tools/dog/etc
etc to wherever I wanted to work on the place (12 acres), then unhitch
the trailer and start mowing.

Both the Howard and Honda could mow up the very, very steep dam wall
over large rocks.....like you've mentioned. At the chute in the mower
deck (where grass/rocks/etc used to be ejected at a million miles an
hour) we fitted short lengths of chain as you see on large slashers,
this stopped stones/rocks being flung everywhere.

I used to mow along the side of our road for about a klm each side,
although had to remove small saplings with the chain saw so I could fit
the Honda through...also did this around the dam area and the whole
place used to look like a park when mown. Also good to keeping snakes
at bay as there was no where for them to hide.

Because I live in town now I'm not up to date with ride-ons but would
recommend you get one with a comfy and well sprung seat, this is
important if you have to mow a few acres. The Honda had headlights too,
which always made me smile, but this also meant it had an electric
start....so then an old car radio with headphone socket was my next
luxury. Gee, might as well be well set up when mowing so much grass!!!

Bronwyn ;-)


That sound wonderful Bronwyn! We will definitely look into these
mini/garden-tractors that you and Len have both spoken about. I find
perseverance in these things generally pays off, and it never hurts to
ask around for advice.

12 acres! that's a hell of a lot of mowing. You must have the patience
of a saint. Saint Bronwyn, patron saint of lawn keepers and gardeners,
I will say a prayer to you tonight! :-)

Remain in light.

-Max

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