Yesterday I was in the process of doing about $34 worth of mowing and decided to head out along the 250m long driveway to tidy up next to the drain. We have had quite a lot of rain here over the last week or so and I left mowing for about a week to let the ground dry out. I am on a hilltop but because there is a lot of topsoil it can take a while to get onto the mower or tractor without leaving skid marks.
About halfway along the driveway where the drain is barely 300mm deep the zero turn ignored my input and slid into the drain. Bugger. Walk back and grab the little tractor. As I had access to the back of the mower I could open the bypass valves on both transmissions and using the front end loader lift and push the mower out of the drain. I took the tractor back and started mowing again, keeping clear of the slippery bit. Bit further along and tidying up next to the road where the drains off the road and back down the driveway join. This bit is about 2.5m below the driveway and road. Again careful to keep up away from where it will still be soggy. I was going well and navigating the slope when the drive tyres clogged with grass and mud and I managed to slide backwards into the bottom of the culvert faster than the thing will go forwards. All the while with the tyres spinning madly in the opposite direction. Bugger again, but louder. No access to the back to disconnect the hydrostatic drives as the mower was wedged into the drain. Walk back to the house to grab the tractor, a tow rope and the wife to drive one or other.
Tractor in low range 4wd (FWA for pedants since the front tyres are smaller than the rears), difflock engaged. Backed up enough to just get the towrope on the front of the mower and clipped into the drawbar. Wife looked at the muddy mess that was the mower and jumped on the tractor. Instructions were just head slowly up hill and keep an eye on me and the mower. Ok.
I learned that this means drive only looking where you are going.
I also learned that I cannot shout louder than the noise the tractor makes at 2,500rpm.
The mower pirouetted dangerously sideways as the tractor somehow was driven across the slope and not up it. For about 2 minutes it felt as though the only thing stopping the mower flipping over was that the deck was ploughing its own field in the mud. When the tow rope failed because the mower was now well stuck sideways further up the culvert a new plan was hatched. I tied the rope together and as I could now reach the drives on the mower I disconnected them. Repositioned the tractor and pulled across the bows of the mower to get the deck out from under half a metre of ploughed mud. It came free. Mower pulled up the slope far enough to drive out. Probably.
Slide sideways back down the hill and up the other side. and out on the driveway. Luckily. For the tractor had gone back to the house while I was reengaging the mower drives.
Mower needs a wash.
And I found a patch of grass about 4m x 5m that I missed the first time around.
Arrgggghhhhhhh.