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I have discovered, sometimes life puts obstacles in our path, and sometimes we put them there ourselves. I am not talking about deep philosophical things but actual things that get in our way.

At least once each week, my wife and I go for a ride around the farm on the Gator. We are always accompanied by two dogs, and sometimes a grandson or two. Life would get to be boring if a person always took the same path, so we never go the same place twice. The boys can point out deer rubs on the trees and the dogs can chase squirrels they have not seen before. The only problem with new trails is a person never knows when they might find a new obstacle.

Our Gator is the six wheel variety with four wheel drive. It is great for going most places, but has a rather low ground clearance. This is not a problem unless a person gets three or more wheels off the ground. On one of our outings, my wife and I were driving though the woods below the top gate when we approached a ditch. It seemed to have gently sloping sides and wide enough to not present a problem. I accelerated and down into the ditch we went. We came to a sudden stop at the bottom, which rather surprised me. The tires were spinning but not getting any traction. When I put it in reverse and obtained the same results, I discovered all six wheels were off the ground. The ditch was the perfect width to hold the Gator just slightly suspended.

I looked toward the dogs. They were busy trying to dig a mouse out of a hollow log and would be no help at all. With chagrin, I looked at my wife. All she said was, "You know the rule." I was hoping she had forgotten "the rule" because I had not. "The rule" basically states anybody that is foolish enough to drive into a place they cannot drive out has to walk for help. It is close to a half mile from the place of suspended Gator to where the tractor was parked. An hour or so of labor with an improvised lever made from a hickory tree and a few oak logs got us out of the ditch. It would have been faster and easier to have walked back to the house and gotten the tractor, but hindsight is always better.

Another day, the boys were with us as we drove leisurely across the pasture. The cows had been moved a month or more before so the grass and weeds were quite tall. A salt block had been out in the middle of this field when the cows were here, but I thought nothing of it as we drove along. We came to a sudden stop as the front of the Gator fell into a hole that had not been there before and was not visible in the tall grass. Below my feet was a hole in the ground big enough to swallow up half the Gator. The deer had eaten what was left of the salt block and all the salt that had leached into the surrounding soil leaving a rather impressive hole. The boys and I stood on the back of the Gator giving us traction while my wife backed out. I knew deer would eat left over salt, but it never occurred to me they would make such an obstacle. That experience has taught me, a person can be responsible for their own obstacles. I learned to never give the cows a salt block where I cannot have a crater.

Nature can put things in our way and we can unknowingly create our own problems, but there are no obstacles we cannot overcome with a bit of determination.[[In-content Ad]]

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