I learned about brush hogging from that.

We bought the farm, so to speak, 20 odd years ago when land was still cheap; and when you consider all the  chiggers and ticks and poison ivy we got for our money, we got a very good deal indeed.

Before you can improve property you first have to clear it.  In my case clearing involved  a lot of brush hogging, which meant cutting down everything from weeds to small saplings.

On its face brush hogging seems pretty straight forward: attach the brush hog to your tractor, pop the clutch, and tear into whatever you want to clean up.  I’ve actually done it that way.  Usually it works.  Occasionally, though, brush hogging is a tad more challenging.

For example: One time I was cruising along at 2500 RPM, happy as the tree hugging turtle I just passed, when all of a sudden the front wheels are way off the ground.  I still marvel at my quick reflexes.  I managed to stop the tractor just before any more forward progress would have required a crane to extricate it from straddling a stump.  The real take away here is that tractors have cast iron oil pans for a very good reason.

Oh, you might want to fill your pocket with linch pins before you head out into the brush and weeds.  Mother nature has an affinity for them.