in Blackhawk (Moderator: Patrick Remington)

I got out and worked on the old-school stuff this morning.  The Switchbacks, The Island, and the Small Switchbacks are all trimmed and blown.  Long's Short is cleared of many downed trees and is blown and rideable.  Deer Run is out of commission until someone wants to put some time into it; the top third got wrecked when the mini-ex was driven down it to install some electrical something-or-other.  I think there is room to do something more interesting than what was there before, but that's pretty low on my priority list.

I think we could improve the switchbacks by staying in the woods all the way to Hill 5, then crossing Hill 5 a little higher.  It would be more interesting, and stay out of the marshy area at the bottom.  Also low on my priority list, but it's a smaller project, so I could be talked into spending some time to make that happen if we had a couple people willing to help out.

Weeds are not terrible yet, but will need to be trimmed in a couple weeks, so start thinking about it.

I've been thinking about those weeds. I'll start with the boardwalk and creekside if nobody else gets to it first.

I had to take one of the string trimmers to be worked on, but there is one there running well, as well as the combi-tool with the brush cutter, and plenty of string and gas.

I trimmed Howling Wolf from bottom to top. Twist and Shout and Berms and Rollers needs it next.

Is there a brush mower or lawn tractor that can take care of the XC ski trail connecting to PV?

There is a walk behind string trimmer in the barn.  There is also the Simplicity lawn tractor behind the barn which gets used to mow some of the grassy areas at BH.  I think Pat has taken the big tractor over there in the past.  I'm not sure what the guidelines are as far as working on the Erdman land, maybe Pat will chime in.

I mowed it. Next question is how to get the tractor up the hill at PV in order to mow the two prairie sections? I think it will make it up the steep access trail.

I mowed the Zig zag last night with the Simplicity tractor. The lever for the hydrolics was adjusting the mower deck and 3-point, but I couldn't get it to adjust the front loader Up or Down. Do we know if there is a problem or is it my inexperience? I tried flipping the switch to the left of the seat with no effect.

We weed whacked everything from PV trailhead to the prairie.

Regarding the Simplicity, I have the opposite issue; can work bucket, but have never figured out how to raise and lower the deck.  We should get together sometime and see if we can bridge the divide.

The first time I drove it all 4 ways of the joystick controlled the bucket. This last time the up/down moved the deck and 3-point hitch and the R/L dumped the bucket.

You got the twistes under the power line already right? Did the prairie get mowed or does it need attention?

Awesome job on Creekside, guys!  The connector up by the road could use some attention if anyone has time.

Also great to see some tracks on the Switchbacks and Island that weren’t mine. Island needs to be trimmed (my job) but I’m out of town for the next three weekends. I’ll hit it when I get back, but won’t be disappointed if someone else has a chance.

I'm heading over to do some trimming today. Reply or show up if you want to help.

I gave the scorched earth treatment to the connector. Trimmer through a part from the head though.