I cut a couple loads of wood today. I didn't know if I'd remember how. I guess it's like riding a bike. Only I think even a little more fun than riding a bike and certainly more exercise. It felt good to run a saw again. It really wasn't too bad, except for a little while when the sun peeked out. Then it was kind of warmish!

Like a broken record, I was impressed with my little Hawkeye. One of the loads I hauled was big enough that it would have also impressed the old Sportsman. As far as clutching and gearing, I felt that the Hawkeye might have pulled it a bit better than the Sportsman. With the old clutch design, you could always feel that little bit of belt slip when first taking off under a load, even in low range. It just felt like the belt was straining at those times. With the new clutch, there is no such feeling. The belt feels solidly engaged right from idle on up. No slipping sensation whatsoever.

The power was more than adequate. Didn't really notice a difference between this 300 and the old 500. Most likely the 500 would have pulled the load faster at top speed, but if you have ever seen some of the loads I pull, you'd know that top speed is the last thing I worry about!

Since the Hawkeye is lighter, I did have the feeling that the front wheels were in the air! But, it went where I steered it so they must have been touching the ground a little. And for the same reason, the big load pushed it around a little. Not bad enough to be scary, just enough to let you know the load was there.

I did run into one problem today. Well, almost a problem. The hitch on the Hawkeye is a receiver hitch. For those of you that may not know what a receiver hitch is, there is a hitch pin that holds the ball mount in the receiver on the ATV. Then there is a hitch pin clip that holds the hitch pin from working it's way out of the receiver/ball mount. Well, I don't really care for such setups because I'm always afraid I will lose the pin clip and then the pin will work out and I'll lose the trailer! Well, that's almost exactly what happened. I didn't even notice it until I put the ATV away. I was walking by it, heading for the house, and I happened to glance at the hitch for some reason. And there it was (or wasn't). The pin clip was gone! A stick must have caught it just right. Fortunately the pin stayed in. I have spare clips, and from now on I will keep a closer eye on it and I'll carry a spare with me.