Tractor = Superpowers

This is a momentous day. I finally got the big rock out of my front yard.

My property has a fair amount of rocks under it. It’s not full of small rocks. You can dig a hole without hitting rocks. The problem is big rocks. Some that have already been dug up are the size of couches.

I have several rocks sticking up in the lawn, and I have hit them more than once. I decided to try to get rid of them. I dug around one with a shovel, and I couldn’t do much with it. I tried the tractor, but all I had were a bush hog and a frond end loader with forks, so I had to come up with a new strategy.

I decided to get a subsoiler. This is a very sturdy hook that goes into the ground. It has a rectangular plate on it at the bottom. The plate gets pushed through the ground, and you end up with a deep, narrow slit. You can use a subsoiler for digging slits for pipes. You can also use it to dig up your existing pipes and destroy them, but that’s off topic.

My subsoiler arrived a couple of days ago, and I installed it today. I hooked it to the rock, and the rock would not move much. It was stuck on various things under the ground. I turned the tractor 90 degrees, and the rock popped right out and slid on the lawn.

It was a little hard to get the hook out of the rock, because I had the hook facing forward. It kept pulling the rock toward the tractor. Next time I’ll reverse the hook.

If I had known what I was doing, this would have been a 5-minute job. As it was, it was probably 10 minutes.

I have guests this week. A couple of large friends helped roll the rock into the tractor bucket, and I moved it to the area of the yard where all the other big rocks have been dumped. It’s not laziness. It’s landscaping. No, really.

Now I have a gaping hole and some torn-up grass. I can fill the hole with dirt from my berm.

This is sweet. I hate those stupid lawn rocks. They are all going to pay. At least the ones that aren’t too large to be moved.

The subsoiler cost about $160, and I’m sure paying other people would eventually have cost a lot more.

I can’t tell you how relieved I am. I can’t stand those hidden rocks. I’m wondering what kind of mess I’m going to see the next time I take the deck off the mower and look at the blades.

I was able to put the subsoiler on the tractor by myself, easily. The Pat’s Easy Hitch made it simple.

The low point of the day was lifting a hydraulic lever too far and dropping my new ballast box on its rear. I nearly squooshed my friend Mike, who was helping me remove the box. The box ended up on its back, and some sand fell out. The paint job I spent two days on is messed up somewhat. Not a big deal, apart from the near-fatality.

I know Mike would want to go out like that.

There is nothing like having the right tool. Always remember that.

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Got a few more rocks out. The subsoiler is fantastic. I’m not sure, but I doubt I could do better without a backhoe attachment.