Play Misty for Me

Have you ever wondered how you get 2 tonnes of mini-digger back on its feet?

That's funny, I spent half the night pondering the exact same thing.

Come morning, we loaded the argocat with everything we could possibly think we might need. We had big posts, little posts, flat boards, ropes and strops, ratchet straps and hand winches, spades, pinch bar, high-lift jack, engine oil, hydraulic oil (in case these had drained out while the digger was having its wee lie down), shovel, fuel etc etc etc.

As forecast, it was pissing rain but, coupled with that, the hills were obscured by a thick mist. Prudence has us wondering if we should leave it for another day but we eventually decided that if we could get it back on its feet, we wouldn't attempt to take it anywhere.

We trundled out to infinity and beyond. Visibility made negotiating the maze of peat hags even harder. After a couple of hours of travelling I eventually cut the motor of the argo and said "I don't think we can be far from it now.....but how are we going to find it?"

We decided the best thing was to walk in a line until we came across it or its tracks.

"But then how do we find the argo again? asked Mark.

"Er... good point. Hmmmmm."

Then Dave gave a shout. He'd wandered 10 yards off to have a pee.

"It's right here!!" And so it was- about 60 metres from where we parked.

The pictures tell the rest of the tale. With a bit of improvisation we got it upright again.

Unfortunately, even after letting it sit for a while, the engine wouldn't turn over. It's a shame the whole machine wouldn't show the same reluctance.

I pray it's oil in the cylinders. We've left it overnight in the hope it will drain out in that time. But when I go back out tomorrow, I'll be taking spanners....and sockets....and screwdrivers.....