Day two... Denise had called her neighbors Kristy & Sam , and had them come over to give their opinion on the situation... Sam being older & I guess wiser (I don't know the man) pretty much shook his head and agreed that it had to be winched out. I figured the same... but at the same time..... I wasn't done yet. I mean, back in the day, men moved mountains with just hand tools and oxen... This was just a little 'ole tractor stuck in the mud. And Sam's pickup couldn't even make it to the scene of the accident... he got bogged down just in the pasture. I'm the first to appreciate 'old school' advice/experience... but I've got a modern Rubicon and naive determination... I will not be beat by this challenge...
Look at this pic because in tomorrows post you will see a huge difference... primarily look at the position of the front tire... it's almost touching the black culvert. The other front tire that you can't see, is practically in the water on the other side. I got my Hi Lift jack out of the Jeep and was able to jack up the other side about 4-5 inches... high enough to get this troublesome stump out from underneath the body and pile some rocks underneath... By now Denise showed up ready to work. She's the 'Pitbull with lipstick' around here... even though she's coming down with a cold, she worked with me for almost 5 hours, without even one complaint! She is definitely one pioneering woman! The only other woman I know like that is my ex Mimi... she too, is tough as nails... 
Here we are while it's still daylight... We spent all day digging out behind the tires... placing what ever we could find underneath for traction... cutting back branches... repositioning the Jeep... pulling on it from different angles... And after a while.... PROGRESS. We counted the inches we gained... blocked the front tires so as not to lose any ground we worked so hard to get. Now, we were no where near close to getting out... but we were inching our way closer. It seemed to trade off... the closer we inched out, the deeper the front end dipped, increasing the downward angle... Yes a winch would've been great! And most would have agreed... necessary.
I had 3 pic's of Denise... and these are the only 2 that I'll post... and even then she'll probably say that, that's 2 too many. It's funny, but yesterday I told her that some of the most rewarding times while going out 4 wheeling is actually getting out of stuck or hopeless situations. You get such a feeling of relief, accomplishment and satisfaction, that at the end of the day... those are the moments you remember & cherish the most. She didn't get it at the time... but by tomorrow.... she will ;-)
As daylight began to disappear... we surveyed our work. We had moved the tractor back about 6-7 feet. Though the pitch and the downward angle seem to have remained the same... we were still much closer to getting out. By that time, Wayne and Henry came down to check on the action. In the twilight, Denise notices Henry was carrying one of Wayne's shotguns... and even though it wasn't loaded... I (& Denise) still had reservations about him handling it so nonchalantly. I personally think that everyone who handles a gun should go and take a class on gun safety. When I took the class, they teach you to treat every gun as if it were loaded, no exception. But that's me... 
And to end the day on positive note... check out the prices here in town... Never did I think I would ever see this... ever! But anyway... so my lesson for the day..... Make my own reality. Today I chose not to fail... My mantra, while I was getting the tools necessary for the seemingly impossible task was, "I am going to get the tractor out." I repeated this a few times... knowing that by doing so, I was calling upon something much bigger than myself into action. I create my reality. And God, the Universe, how ever you choose to see the, I AM... gave us free will... freedom to choose. And I back up that belief with these oldies but goodies... "Fear is of the earth" and "I am always with thee"... and then I'll personally add to that.... "Co-Creating"... So to me it means "(Our) Will be done." And then I just put one foot in front of the other... staying in the present, not looking too far ahead, and not focusing too long on any negative... and what will be, will be..... Tomorrow will be..... ;-)
Just checkin in, following the adventure..
ReplyDeletegit that tractor out rubicon!