Exciting Tractor Things

Saturday was an exciting day.  It was the day that we got to bring home our new tractor!  Our new tractor is actually our friend Farmer Joe's old tractor, which I think is about thirty-five years old.  It's a fifty-horse power tractor with front hydraulics, which means it's strong enough to run a hay bailing machine, and comes with a bucket and a spike for moving big round hay bales.  It's scary powerful.   

The first challenge of the tractor was that it needed new front wheel bearings, which Joe helped Brandon replace.  Don't you think buying a tractor from a friend means that friend is obligated to help you fix the tractor for the rest of his life?  The wheel bearing replacement was a success, and then it was time to drive the tractor from Joe's farm to ours.  This meant that Brandon had to drive in the safety lane for about two miles on a major road, while I drove our truck with the flashers on in the slow lane to block any giant semi trucks from hitting him.  Yikes!  

Then he drove the tractor for another five miles on the small winding roads all the way to our little farm.  On the way, we passed three other tractors, and I think Brandon was embarrassed that none of the other tractor men were being followed by their nervous wives.  

Wendigo barked and barked at the tractor until she realized that it wasn't the scary hay man.  Once we were safely home, Brandon tried out the front hydraulics by raising and lowering the bucket, and a swarm of wasps came out of the tractor and we had to run for safety!  After that, my nerves were shot, and I was glad when it was time to park the scary machine.  

The next day, Brandon was anxious to test out our new capabilities.  I haven't tried to drive it yet, but he tells me that it's different than a car, because it does't have a gas peddle.  You control the speed by adjusting the gears, which is a lever on the dash.   There's also a trick to getting it to start.  I'm not surprised that a thirty-five year old machine has a few tricks to it.  

We tried using the bucket to lift an old roll of hay that we would like to move to the garden, but only succeeded in rolling it around.  We'll have to try the hay spike once we have it in hand.  

I was worried that the bush hog that was given to us years ago had rusted into the earth through neglect, but it worked with the new powerful tractor just fine!  Brandon mowed a small field and cut a path along our nature trail in a jiffy.  This thing is pretty handy! 

Brandon is already shopping for used hay making attachments, and I keep thinking of all the fence posts we could put in with a post hole digger attachment.  So many exciting tractor things to plan for!