Big Boys Love Big Toys

 Cattails have invaded the pond. They are invasive, these cattails cause some problems not easy to solve.

 Not only do they made it hard to fish, but they hide snakes. I am not a fan of snakes and we have had some pretty aggressive ones this year. A copperhead grabbed a fish being reeled in and after being shaken off, it went after the people on the other end of the pole!

 The main problem with the cattails is that muskrats like to nest in them. The muskrats like to tunnel and this creates a lot of water run-off issues. Can you see the excavator in the background. We have tried burning them, but the roots won't burn and they come back with a vengeance. So, he who loves anything that makes noise and a mess decided to dig them out.

He took the excavator back and came back with a bobcat and moved all the mounds of dirt and clay into the empty field. It is quite impressive, his dirt blockade.

 The hydraulic lift came home with him yesterday. See the dead tree next to him? He managed to take down some of the big branches with his handy-dandy chain saw yesterday.
I try not to watch these events, as they make me very nervous. Yesterday he told me that he got stuck about 8 feet up and had to climb down when one of the hydraulic lines burst.

"Why didn't you call me to get a ladder for you?" I asked. Because I knew you would bring your camera and post it on your blog.

 Today, after fixing the hose (or so he thought) and testing it, he got stuck about 10 feet up. And he had no good foot hold in sight. Had to call me.

Never one one to pass up such a good opportunity, I grabbed my camera and hiked down to the site with the big dead tree. He looks pretty resigned. He had a ladder close by, but he couldn't reach it. He tried to call others before he called me ........ I was his last resort!