Got to play with a new toy the other day.
For the shop, I needed to trench in my gas, electrical, and data lines. To rent a trencher was going to cost me$230 for the day. Neighbor Dan has a buddy who has a mini-hoe.
I got to rent it from him for a really sweet deal, and I got to keep it for a few days. I couldn’t pass up the deal, even though it came with a 16″ bucket, even though I only needed a couple of 4″ trenches. (mini hoe with a big bucket… I’m not even going to bother… the joke is too obvious) That’s a way bigger trench than I need, but the price is right, and driving a mini-hoe with a big bucket has always been a fantasy of mine (sorry… couldn’t resist after all)
Dan started the festivities, but I finally got the nerve to get behind the controls and give her a whirl. I had a lot of fun cutting the trench, even though the pictures don’t show it. We didn’t get started till just before dark on Saturday, so I had a bit more to do on Sunday. It was cold and rainy but I got it done. It saved me soooo much time and money, but I still had to do a bit by hand under the deck. I went as far under as I could reach with the machine. With Wife spotting for me, I got a few feet under and only bumped the deck once (my fault not hers…machine is a bit jumpy) I had the bucket right under the support beam and the bucket popped up and slammed it pretty good… no damage though. Oh, and I destroyed a flower pot. (I was parked backwards, and since the cab swings all the way around, pulling back on the sticks, made the machine go forward … over the pot 
whoops!)
I’ve got the electrical ($5/foot!!) and data lines in, just need to get the gas line in tomorrow, then I can start filling the trench back in. Hopefully I get to keep it till end of day Wednesday or Thursday. That’s a lot of clay to have to hand bomb back in the trench.
Damn that was fun.
