Bushhogging

I was bushhogging yesterday at Momma's house, cleaning up some tall grass and briars in a couple of acres that are infrequently used. Several years ago, Daddy planted pine trees on that area and I was about 80% finished when I got the exhaust stack of the tractor tangled up in some limbs. The tractor in question is a small International 244. It's a 24 horse tractor with a 3 cylinder Mitsubishi diesel.

I managed to stop the tractor before any irreparable damage was done to the tractor or myself. I say irreparable because I managed to break the exhaust stack. Well, hell!

Those of you who have driven small tractors across brushy fields and lots know that somtimes limbs strike the exhaust stack. In most cases, the limb bends and the tractor proceeds and no note is made of the incident. In one case out of a thousand, the limb doesn't bend, the exhaust bends and the old welds break and the limb catches the driver across the forehead. It's exciting if you don't get on the brake quickly enough. In this case, my cap was brushed from my head and managed to take a trip through the bushhog. It was an old cap. I retrieved it later, some the worse for the experience.

So, now this morning I have to find a muffler shop that'll put together what I ripped apart. I better get busy.