Mower Repair
I'd been searching the parts diagrams on the internet for the bracket that broke that supported the front of the mower deck, but could never see this particular piece identified. So on the way out we went by Ramos' to see if they could find it. The first fellow brought up the same diagrams I had been looking at and seemed to get a bit frustrated by my insistence that it wasn't identified there. But the second guy, after finishing with another customer, came over to help and knew exactly what I was talking about. He said that originally the bracket was welded to the front axle and thus part of the axle, but later they modified the design so that it could be replaced. However, you have to work the bracket up into the axle so that the two eyes hang down to receive the pin that connects the deck flange to this bracket. (I had wondered how I was going to get the replacement part inside.) He told me you had to bend the part of the axle where one of the slots was in order to work it up and inside – that little piece of advise was invaluable. He eventually found some reference that told him where to find the piece in his parts inventory and got it for me. (Strange that it was a Murray mower part that came in a Briggs and Straton box.) The piece is secured to the axle by two self tapping screws that go up through the axle and into the bracket. He sold me two of those as well since I couldn't remember if I had them. Everything cost me all of $11 with no charge for the advice. I love that place.
We didn't get to the farm until after three and it took me until after dark to get the axle bent/modified, the bracket inside the axle and hanging down, the self tapping screws threaded into the bracket (big mistake here, I should have tapped the threads before getting the bracket inside the axle since I then had to do it upside down with limited ability to apply pressure on the backside of the bracket), and the deck re-installed onto the mower.
More White Oak
Since it had been dry all week, I decided to go back into the pasture and continue working on these two huge white oaks. I first tackled the larger one, skipping the huge section where the trunk split. Using my McCulloch I cut three pieces off (working from both sides of the trunk with the little 16" bar) before getting to another big fork. These chunks were to big for me to lift into the truck but all three had a line dividing the two sides where it forked above, and I was able to split each along that line. This gave me essentially 6 big trunk pieces.
After those three cuts, I could tell the chain was already dulled, so I hit every tooth with the file. Being a bit tired and not feeling ambitious enough to go after the rest of that tree, I moved over to the other white oak and started on its trunk. 
What a surprise when suddenly black liquid started spraying out everywhere. My first thought was that something had gone wrong with the saw and it was spewing oil. Then I realized it was stained water and sawdust. It just kept coming and coming. I had plenty of time to get my camera and take several pictures of this erupting log.
This had to be one of the strangest things I've ever seen. The trunk was laying down hill with this hollow at its base facing up. There were no openings in the hollow trunk and the entire thing had filled up with stagnant water -- sitting there for years I presume.
The further down the trunk I got, the larger the hollow was. I think the wood will be fine once it dries out as it seems to be solid. All in all a very nice load of fire wood. I just dumped it in the barn to dry out and be split at a later date. I was a mess though with that brackish water and sawdust being thrown all over me. Sally said there was no way my clothes were going in to her washer. (I did throw out the jeans, which were ready for the trash anyway with numerous tears on both legs.)Weeded the Garden
Amazingly, Sally was still able to pick some chard and lettuce. The garden's a mess though with weeds coming up everywhere. There is also a blanket of violas that have come back from seed. I leave them, but tackled the rest. However, I didn't get but half of it done.
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