A Tale of Two Tractors

Hello Readers!

While July was filled with second cutting alfalfa, pasture clipping, federal survey prep (100%! Great job team!), bible school and 4H fair prep, we also had this going on...

  

It's as easy as this.

I went out to take the 806 gas to the field to load bales.

It wouldn't start.  Wrong day.

Tractors need to start. (New battery a month prior)

Called Mechanic Dan.

He said..."I suggested this a month ago...."



He picked up the gas tractor, took to the shop, removed loader, brackets, etc.

Brought the gas back to use on bale unroller, took diesel to shop.

Split the diesel

Have you ever seen a tractor split completely in two...on purpose?

New clutch parts...

More new parts....

Back to one piece again

Corrected PTO free wheeling problem...

One of my favorite pictures...everything is laid out in order.
The inner workings of a PTO

Diesel with the new clutch, PTO, loader, muffler, seat...just like new!
Ok....almost.

For Sale...



As crazy as it sounds, we're prepping for winter.  While it's 90 degrees out now, I know that winter is coming.  Our goal is to have all needed equipment in order and running smoothly before the snow flies.  When it clouds over the 7210 will go on the spreader to bed the barn or the tanker to empty the pit, the 806 diesel to feed, the New Holland T2420 on the tiller for the compost, and the Skid loader to scrape.  I might still have to pick up an additional tractor, for odds and ends, such as the generator and scraping snow, or just to have as a back up, because of a little something called Hitch Pin Disease.  

It is not easy selling our first tractor, but it doesn't meet our needs anymore.  When you really put some thought into it, it's the memories made with that tractor that matter-not the tractor itself. I will never (ever!) forget rolling bales out by hand in the snow with Rick, because all we had was that tractor and a set of 3pt bale spears.  It's the memories...not the metal.  I hope it makes someone as happy as it did us years ago.

As we roll into August we will finish up 2nd at the heifer ranch, prep for the school year, and continue to work off the project and clean up lists for winter.  We will take a 3rd cutting as late as we can, given that it rains.

Thanks are in order to Thelen Farms and Rich Ro Dairy for helping me get the new seeding of Alfalfa planted at the heifer ranch.  I am very excited about it!  It looks great!  And as much as this may sound like a broken record, thanks are in order to Dan's Ag Repair for helping me get things back on track.  Your expertise and sound recommendations are greatly appreciated.  One by one each piece of equipment runs and operates as it should, and like Dan said the other day "I think we're just about there.  Not too much left now."

Thanks for your continued words of encouragement!  I often feel discouraged when I realize how much we haven't done this summer, and your words help me re focus on all that has gone right.  It's okay if we don't get to do everything that we got to do last year, or everything that we perceive everybody else to be doing...we've had an off year...praise God for his grace and forgiveness...and for yours.