Bought me a new Power Auger

 So yep, we planted 130 or so trees.  Some we dug by hand (very few) and others we borrowed Uncle Andy's gas-powered auger - which, when it runs, it runs great.  But don't shut that thing down and then try to restart it.  You'll blow out your shoulder pulling on the start cord.  However, we got the rest of the trees planted using that thing.

I gave in and used the income from the farm to purchase a PTO-driven auger for the back of the tractor.  Mama questioned my sanity as the trees are already in place.  Alas, when the highway gets redone this summer, we will lose at least 11 trees.  Plus, any that don't make it will need to be replaced.  And, we had four more coming in to replace some that had perished.

I purchased a CountyLine brand from Tractor Supply ($530 for the unit plus $120 for the auger)  because they had it in stock.  It came in a crate and required assembly.  The directions recommended that TWO people assemble the unit so that it does not drop on anyone and cause injuries.  I did it by myself and used the tractor to hold it up for me instead of a second person.  It worked like a champ.

Assembly time was roughly 1 hour - start to finish.  And of note, the unit ships without any gear oil.  There are no less than three (3) times this is stated on the unit.  If you end up not putting in gear oil then you are an idiot and probably should not be using machinery such as this.

When the trees arrived, I went out and dug the holes while Mama planted the trees, with a little help from Tiki.  The powered posthole digger worked like a champ.  We should have bought this years ago.  What a great time-saver.


Sunrise on the farm overlooking Mom & Dad's house Thursday, DEC 23, 2021



The unit after digging holes for trees.  Yes, we planted trees in late December!


Sandy and Tiki planting trees.



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