Wet again but irrigation rolls on
Even after another 1.5" of rain fell this past Sunday, and a miserable day of drizzle Monday, the guys have made it up to the gas line on 5 this week. That is about 100 more holes dug and filled back in leaving less than 150 heads left to dig and wire up over the next few weeks. The natural gas line actually consists of 3 huge pipes carrying gas from West Virginia to who knows where. No electrical lines can run over the gas pipes but we will use an existing conduit pipe to run the new wire through and then connect all the heads on the other side of the line.
The wire has weaved through the trees between 5 and 6. A line has to be trenched when in close proximity to the trees as the plow will not cut through the roots. It is nice to have the sun out to help dry things up again!
Our pickleball area is soaked again but at least it is on grade and the water ran off pretty nicely. Our last hurdle before we can get some stone down and not have to worry about the mud anymore is getting electrical conduit in for the lights. The paddle court guys are moving along and think they will be close to finished with all 4 courts inside of two weeks. Black logoed windscreens are on order for these courts to help them disappear a bit back into the landscape. The bottom skirting will be painted as well.
Dunstano and Carlos continue to grind away on preventative maintenance through our entire equipment fleet. All three rough mowers are broken down and any potential or current issues with bearings, pistons, belts, pulleys, blades or PTO shafts are addressed.
Our older track loader is getting some new shoes this week as well. This unit has 1,000 hours on it and for most of those hours it is at full throttle and working hard. New drive sprockets and tracks are being put on to the tune of about $3,000.
Check out the old drive sprocket vs the new one. To say that these Takeuchi machines pay for themselves considering the work they get done is an understatement but they do require maintenance!
Inflation has certainly put more pressure on proper maintenance over the past two years. Our wood chipper is coming up on the 5 year mark and considering the amount of wood it has chucked it was worth seeing what a trade in would look like. This unit was purchased in May of 2019 for $36,000 including tax. A new one now costs $70,000 out the door! Taking care of what we have on site right now will be paramount!