Yesterday just one of those days. The chainsaw tensioner was broken - there is no way that just "happened", those people must have done something to it.  Not intentionally, I'm sure, but that chainsaw is out of use at the moment. 

The 4 wheeler issues started 2 days ago, that is also out of commission. I have more chainsaws, I do not have another 4 wheeler and right now? I don't want to buy one. Even old, used ones are double the price they were late last year.  The market in this area for anything with a motor and wheels is outrageous and off the charts.  

You see 20 plus year old trucks going for 30, 40 and 50 grand.  ATV's are also off the chart.  Something that might have cost $1,500 last year is in the high 2's or 3 range now.  I tried to fix the thing but I couldn't get the fan to come back on.  So, I took both of them to the local shop and he told me 2 week turnaround time.

2 WEEKS?!! I replied, probably choking a bit.  I can live without the chainsaw since I have others, I can't deal with the idea of not having a 4 wheeler to get me all over the place in a few minutes versus a lot of time spent walking.  I don't mind walking, it's just the time spent going from point A to point B to point C and back to point A and then back out to the front -etc etc etc. It's a true time saver and it also pulls the small trailer all over the place. 

It's an indispensable piece of equipment that I must have running, is the point of saying all of that.  The shop owner looked at me and said, well, do you need something fixed faster?  Yes, the 4 wheeler. I'm trying to get a business going and I must have it.  I can put it on rush, saying that without saying whether there is an extra charge for it, but it's whatever, I need it and I said yes.  

Shortly before I lost my job, I had purchased a new chainsaw in addition to the one I already have from Harbor Freight.  I also have another one out there that I might be able to get running as a back up.  

I sent the people home yesterday after all of this and they said please call us when you are ready to have us back. These are the people that are cutting the trees and dragging the stuff by hand to designated burn piles or areas to stack the stuff up.  The 4 wheeler was down but they were gleefully hauling the stuff everywhere without it.  They truly got a lot done and I was happy to have them, but at the time, I thought the other chain saw was also not running properly. 

They said it was.  I am going out there this morning to fire it up and see if that's true.  If so, I can survey the work they've done and identify further areas that need more junk hauled to burn piles.  I want to make sure and keep them busy. It's an ex-military mother with her 2 sons. One of them is 17 so he works half a day and then goes home and does home schooling, the other in his 20's, excellent health, big beefy guy with lots of energy and mama keeps him busy.  

I could hear them laughing and giggling with each other while they were working yesterday, it really was interesting to hear the amazing chemistry this son and mom have together.  I did, however, get into business mind and tell them from the get-go that I expect productivity.  I did not supervise them, I didn't have the time for it.  I was busy finishing up the front with the Bobcat, taking the 4 wheeler and chainsaw to the shop and other things I needed to get done. 

Also making sure the burn pile I had lit up wasn't spreading anywhere.  

Business mind - that's something I'm trying to get. When it comes down to where the rubber meets the road, it's all about the dollars spent versus the money generated. I just want the walking trails finished and over with and there is still a bit to do with that bridge setup. They were telling me yesterday that if it rains, it's going to be pretty slick going up that hill on one side of the bridge. Yup, I am going to have hand rails installed.  Well, I'm going to install them, I'm just saying there is going to be something to hold on to. They were suggesting building steps, something I have considered and just haven't gotten myself to quite get to yet. 

It will be a lot of work digging out steps going up that hill. Yet, for safety's sake, it's probably warranted.  I don't want people falling and suing me because I had an unsafe condition that I should have taken care of.  Yes, it's an LLC which shields me personally from liability, but that whole property could just go away to someone else's hands in such a situation.  I'm very conscious of liability and needing to have everything I can have in place to mitigate it.  Safety is key, so is good insurance and legaleze on a registration form.  I may have online registration, but I want one of those things where you can't register until you click on the dot that says I agree with above stated restrictions/rules/regulations, etc.  

I need to get working on that.  I'm curious if I can just find something online with all of that, perhaps online lawyers to reduce the cost of having one made up.  I'll be searching that out soon.  

The news of the day is Florida and the devastating hurricane, of course and I've had trouble ungluing myself from ongoing TV coverage of it.  But, I need to get out there and get some more stuff done.  And contemplate the renting of a dozer.  Take a walk around the entire property and mentally note - once again - where I have the issues that need the dozer work. Most of it is out front, but there are areas in the trails and campgrounds that need minor work as well.  

I have to have everything I want done in my mind or even written down before I'm going to spend the money it's going to take to rent a bulldozer.  And I'm still undecided whether to do it now or wait until rain is forecast so I can get it done, put out grass seed and get some grass growing.  Yes, I could get it done and just be ready, but what if weeds start growing again? All that work and expense wasted.  Maybe it isn't the time of year for weeds to be growing, since we just hit Fall? 

I dunno.  It's a tough decision for me. I'm not made out of money.  I know I was discussing a refi-cashout on the property yesterday, but that's after everything is done and the business is up and running.  You don't get an appraisal before hand.  It's a grand, basically, maybe a little less but thereabouts, to have a dozer delivered to the property.  I can't haul a dozer, they weight 30,000 pounds for a light one, lol.  

Well it's time to get out of here. The situation in Florida isn't going to change much, flooding, destroyed homes and business, downed power lines, the things you expect to see happening in a major hurricane event.  My heart goes out to all of those people, even the ones that ignored evacuation orders and stayed in their homes - and then had to put rescue crews lives' at stake because they ended up calling for extraction.  I don't understand that, well maybe I do a little, but when they tell you that storm surge is going to flood your home, you should probably get out of there at least for a few days and see what happens. I don't want to sound heartless, I just don't really get these people making decisions like this. 

I think I'll take Addler today. I usually don't take him when I'm working out there, I can't keep an eye on him and get anything done. But today? I'm going to take notes of what is left on the table for needed done.  Get a sense of the magnitude of everything left to do and try to work a plan on finishing it all, step-by-step.

G'day.