The " FARM"

A brief report on my activities of the last mounth or so.

July 08/03
The June Report
June has been a busy month. Some farm areas were planted to clover and buckwheat. A garden of sorts was planted. Many seeds did not sprout. The brown thumb syndrome strikes again. Lack of local condition knowledge must finally be accepted and a soil sample taken in for analysis.
A poor mans fence has been started to protect the few plants but still requires many an hour of work to finish. At 35C in the field this may take some time. Post holes are made with a crowbar and a post maul is used to set the posts. All the materials are from spruce cut on the farm. The fence is zigzagged with two parallel rails between the fence posts to which 6 foot vertical uprights are attached. Figured that when the posts rotted in a few years the fence would still remain standing. It will give the locals another tale to tell.
My poor tractor finally broke. The plate to which the front axle is attached failed. The dealer was able to fix it for a substantial price but so be it.
The trailer required all new tires as every trip out to the farm produced a flat. Fortunately they were all slow leaks and did not occur on the road. These tires, four of them, only run at $170. apiece. Then it was noticed the suspension components were in sore need of replacement. It took me one full day of crawling around on my back to do the one side. At the end of the day I had a terrific sore shoulder and knee. Probably from pulling on or pushing wrenches. My air impact wrench was not up to removing the nuts and a nut splitter was used. The treads became galled and it did not work as well as it should have. The good Doctor said tendonitis and sent me home with a muscle relaxant. After two days I was finally able to do the other side of the trailer. This time it only took several hours as I had purchased a new nut splitter and greased it well before using. Now the undersides will require some sand blasting and painting. At least another 3-4 days of crawling around on my back will be required. The topside needs some paint also.
The truck had a fuel heater failure and an underhood fire started out at the lake. After removing some charred wiring harness and taping off several bare ends all worked fine. Again the dealer came to my rescue and replaced the faulty items for another substantial price. There is also a suspicion that some front suspension components will require replacement.
The equipment seems to be failing as fast as is my body. Perhaps they will all require rebuilding at the same time.
Now its time to clean and polish vehicles, camper and then back to the farm for more fencing and planting grass. There is also the small matter of house decks needing paint and windows wishing some attention. Life seems to be an endless series of work.
There are some moments of joy. Like walking barefoot through the warm rain with mud squishing between the toes while Thunderbolts rent the sky leaving their resulting booms reverberating among the hills. The birds coming in to the feeder are always a joy to watch. In the lake several pairs of Bullheads were closely quarding their spawn. They constantly circle their young and chase off any predators. Ducks and a muskrat come up to the campsite to partake of ground corn.
The Lakeside flower beds are looking good and a small herb garden was even started. And yes, there is also grass to be mowed at the lakeside.
There is also a bit of joy as I have heard one of the drainage trenches managed to trap a skidoo several winters ago.
And then there is the cooling refreshing dip in the lake after a hot sweaty day in the field.
Life goes on and is good.
Egon

Great story Egon but sorry to hear of all your misfortunes. Doesn't that "Red Green" guy live up near you somewhere. He works wonders with duct tape. Perhaps the two of you can get together and get some more repairs underway [img]/forums/images/icons/laugh.gif[/img]

Duct Tape ???

Look, the rear hub flange bolts and safety bolts on the tractor are held in place by duct tape, Really. My coveralls are held together by duct tape so I can appear in public without causing a scandal.
That boy " Red " could get some new ideas from me.

Egon

"Quando omni flunkus moratati" [img]/forums/images/icons/grin.gif[/img]

Egon,

Still working on the fence eh? Pics?

As a weekend warrior routinely facing long drives to work incredible hard and then take more long drives, I can only comment:.....Ah, please pass the advil, aleve or whatever.

Sorry to hear about your tractor woes.

Best,

Sabi

Uh, ye, okay, If you say so eh.

Egon

Pic's when I get it done if it's not too embarrassing.

Equipment breaks. The little tractor has been well used to it's maximum abilities so I have no complaints. Given time and use machinery does wear.

Egon