John Deere LA145 - 1 Year Review

About a year ago, I bought a John Deere LA145 and wrote a post about the new acquisition. Because I have Lijit Search installed on my blog, I can see that readers come to my site pretty regularly after doing a search for for this model. I thought I would provide a post-purchase and actual usage review, highlighting several of the key quality drivers.

Cutting - I live in the foothills with natural grass and weeds making up most of the mowable area. For this purpose it is great. It plows through the most dense clumps of grass and several weeds that resemble trees with no problem. I can't speak to how it performs for finely manicured lawns, but there is no reason to believe there would be a problem.

Reliability - Haven't had a single problem with it yet. It starts, warms up, runs, and mows without a problem.

Maintenance - Maintenance is a snap. Changing the oil is a 5 minute job. Fuel filter, air filter, plugs, belt drive, zerk fittings, etc. are all readily accessible. I have yet to swap out or sharpen the blades, but I can see where that is done, and it will be super simple. It also comes with an attachment for a hose, where you can essentially blow out all the grass from the blade guard.

Drivability - Drives really easy, up hills, down hills, sideways on an angle (which you are really not supposed to do, something about safety). Steering is also smooth. It does not have that zero radius turn feature, but it's pretty close.

Functionality - I'm not sure what else you can ask for. Electronic blade engagement, electronic ignition, blade engagement in reverse with the push of a button, parking break (which actually comes in handy), and did I mention the beverage holder...

Cool Factor - Let's face it, it's a John Deere. Would you rather get on a Deere and fire it up, or fire up that Cub Cadet, ha?

Basically, it's so easy to use, I now mow my neighbors yard for a nominal beverage fee. I highly recommend it for anyone seriously looking at buying a lawn tractor. For the money, it is well worth the investment.

The fly of the day is the Stuck in Shuck Mayfly, courtesy of the folks at the Fly Tyers Page:

Tight Lines,

Dave

Angler's Workshop

This is the latest installment of "Hey look at these guys, their products and customer service rock, and if you are looking for a vendor of X, then definitely call these guys".

I'm in the process of building my 3rd fishing rod, which means I know enough to be dangerous, and enough to know to ask for advice before I piece together the components for a rod.
The first product was a fly rod that I built during a class held at Front Range Anglers, here in Boulder. I bought all the components through the fly shop, and will buy the components for my next fly rod through them as well. The guys are Front Range are great, and always ready to help you out.

The next two rods are for my father and father-in-law. My dad fishes for salmon and my father-in-law is a bass angler, so it doesn't make a lot of sense to build fly rods. Needing expertise in what parts to buy, I started to do some searching on the Internet, using Google, and searching through forums. Angler's Workshop was recommended by a couple of people who posted on RodBuildingForum.com. For both rods, I was helped by a gentleman named Dave. After clumsily telling him about the rods I was going to build, Dave pointed me in the right direction, and helped me pick out all the parts I would need. Delivery took about 2-3 days, and all the parts were labeled appropriately. Angler's Workshop also carries a full line of just about everything you might need to catch a fish, with the exception of luck and skill. Long story short, I highly recommend taking a look at Angler's Workshop the next time you are looking for rod building, or just about any gear.

The fly of the day is the Ice Dub Para-Wulff, courtesy of Front Range Anglers.














Tight Lines,

Dave

Membership has its Priveledges...

...or in the case of USA Rugby, also knows as USNAFU, membership has its disadvantages.

The other day when I got home, there was a message on my home phone. Unfortunately, it was a robocall, from the benefactors at USA Rugby, reminding me of a purchasing opportunity, for me to buy tickets for the upcoming Churchill Cup competition. (The Churchill Cup is an international competition made up mostly of the second teams of some of the better rugby playing countries.) At first, I wasn't exactly sure what the call was for, but since we are on the "Do Not Call" list, we typically don't get many of these calls.

After a few seconds, the voice identified himself as a member of the Eagles (the US national team) and that he was reminding me to buy tickets for the upcoming event, and what a great experience it would be. Personally, I'm a little offended that USNAFU would use the information that they collect during the annual dues collection process, so that they can try and sell me products, or more importantly sell my info to other entities so they can try to sell me products.

As a former officer of my rugby club, there are two things you face on an every day basis. 1) Your organization needs more players/members, and 2) Your organization needs more money. Unless you raise money from outside of your membership, all you are doing is charging more dues. Expecting the membership to fund the international joke that is the Eagles and the other officially sanctioned programs is a model that has not worked in the past, so why would they think it will work in the future?

If growing the sport is the intent of the brain trust at USNAFU, then perhaps their efforts would be better focused on introducing the sport and marketing it to people who do not already play.

The fly of the day is the Papal Purple Indian, courtesy of the folks at Front Range Anglers.













Tight Lines,

Dave

Awesome Customer Service - Fishpond

It's easy to go around looking at all the companies that provide lousy customer service, whether the deficiency is either real or perceived. Periodically, you come across a company that takes care of their customers, despite how lazy we can be.

A while ago, I went on a fishing trip and found that I had broken a zipper on my wader bag. I sent an email to Fishpond with some loose idea of when and where I bought the bag, and asked if there was anything I could do. They gave me an RMA number and told me to send it to their customer care center. About 4 months later, I finally got around to finding a box and sending it off. Having been through this process with other companies, it would not have surprised me if fishing season were over by time I got the bag back. In fairness, I thought, if I needed it that bad, I probably would have sent in the bag earlier, and I'd have it by now.

With less than a week of total turn-around time, I found a box on my porch, containing a brand new wader bag. NICE! The people at Fishpond have earned themselves a lifetime customer and advocate. I've always known their products to be of high quality, and now I have first hand experience as to their customer support. Now I just have to transfer all my cr*p to the new bag. Let's hope I get that done some time before it's time to hang up my gear for winter.

The fly of the day is the Dark Trico Spinner, courtesy of the folks at the FlyFishingConnection












Tight Lines,

Dave

Adios, Cruzador

Last weekend, the time that every pet owner dreads came to pass. It became the time where you are faced with the 'quality of life' decision, as in: Is your dog happy living the kind of life that he is living, and is it in the best interest of the dog to keep him going? Unfortunately, we came to the end of that road, where the mind was still there, the organs were still working, but the legs were just no longer viable enough to keep things moving. It was time to do the hard thing (and the right thing) and say goodbye to Hunter.

Hunter B. Ferro

A.K.A.: The Judge, The Enforcer, The Cop, The Huntman, El Cruzador, Cruzer

While it's easy to focus on the loss, I think it better to describe the life of this truly unique animal through a series of anecdotes and non sequiturs:

• It was not wise to leave a plate of food anywhere within reach, particularly if it had anything tasty. Cruzer has been know to artfully remove all the gravy from an open faced roast beef sandwich, without disturbing a single french fry.
• The dog never met a carbohydrate that he would knowingly consume. Hand him a piece of sandwich, and he would extract the meet and spit out the bread.
• He could be a major pain when it came to administering pills. Hand him a pill wrapped in a piece of steak, and he would spit out the pill, without dropping the steak of course.
• He was an instant alpha dog, no matter what group he was in. Any fight at a dog park was immediately dispatched by the huntman. All he would have to do is stick his nose in the middle, and all combatants would disperse.
• Going for a walk, was more of an exercise in starting and stopping. All information that could be gathered through smell would be examined thoroughly.
  
• Whenever he got tangled in his leash, he would lift the appropriate leg to get himself untangled. Smarter than your average dog.
• He had a keen ability to lodge protests, never really buying into the roles of pet and owner.
  
• So that his people wouldn't get lost in the house, he would leave kibbles around, so that we could find our way back to the kitchen.
• He was a veritable connoisseur of ice cream. Ben and Jerry's being his favorite.
• Jaws of steel. He could grab on to a suspended rope toy and hang in the air.
• Never once let the imminent threat of the approaching UPS truck go unchallenged. The postal service was successfully defended against as well.
• Subjected all newcomers to the rope toy test. He would drop it in your lap. The next muscle twitch you made sealed your fate as one that he either liked or disliked. Not much of a people person that dog, unless you were one of his people.
• If you got a lick, you were in good company. If you got a face lick or he slept on your foot, you were in rarified air.
  
• Incarcerated in the state of Arizona. Cited in the state of New York. Narrowly escaped prosecution in Maryland, Virginia, and several other jurisdictions.
• Could smell fish being prepared a mile away.
• Understood that when humans were having an egg breakfast, his was soon to be prepared. Scrambled eggs with sausage gravy, being the preferred morning feast.
• When presented with his first full time canine roommate, Willie, it took him a little while to figure out that the little black ball of energy was here to stay. Once he got that through his mind, he took the young lad under his wing.
• He was my pal.
  

The fly of the day is Hunt's Hybrid Crayfish, courtesy of the folks at Fly Anglers Online:

Tight lines,

Dave

How Big was the Check?

Every so often you see grown men do something that makes you ask yourself, why? As a semi-retired rugby player, I probably run into this more often than most. This weekend, I was watching the Final Four on Tivo, so that I can catch a 40 minute game in less than 2.5 hours. When Coach K, Rick Pitino, Roy Williams, and Bobby Knight all slid across the floor in socks and drawers, doing their best(worst) Risky Business interpretation, I had to stop to figure out what was going on.



Not one of these guys looked like they were having a good time. At this point in their careers, you have to think that they are set enough in their careers that they don't have to do things they don't want to do. It must have been one really freakin' big check for each of them.

The fly of the dayIs the Heavy Metal Spyder, Courtesy of the folks at Fly Fish Ohio





















Tight Lines,

Dave

Time To Fish

I ran by Boulder Creek this afternoon at lunch. There was clear water, it had risen about a foot since the last time I went by, and I saw a trout waiting patiently behind a rock.

Last year, a buddy and I decided we were going to shoot for 50 days, with at least some portion of time spent standing in a river, stream, or creek. Needless to say, we fell far short of that goal. I spent most of the off season, building a couple of rods, (one for me and one for my dad), tying flies, and learning more about tying flies.

The time for the academic portion of this program has now concluded. I've been out 3 times already, but let's face it, fishing season is upon us, and it's time to get on the river.

There will be no fly of the day, today. It's time to go fish.

Tight Lines,

Dave