2025, animals, Farming Update, Nature, Uncategorized

Shut The Door

60 Comments

Today’s Farming Update comes from Ben.

Nothing too exciting this week. No dog bites or trees on fire.

I made an earring out of an old rabies tag and the township guys thought that was pretty funny. I bought a pair of ‘Animal Handling Gloves’ off Amazon. The tag says they’re not “High tech bomb proof”, but they are puncture RESISTANT. I get my final rabies shot on Monday. So yeah, now that the horse is out…

I’ve been part of a County study group discussing roads, and traffic safety from the Township’s perspective. It’s been interesting. I’ve always said I’m not the idea man, I’m the one who makes your ideas happen, so I don’t have a lot of opinions at these things. Some guys certainly have more to say than I do. It’s an interesting group. The guys all have dirt under their nails, and that one black nail, and are very articulate and well spoken.

Our easter ham was really tasty. We planned on eating about 4:00. But then Kelly and I were being lazy, and then we were doing our Sunday Gator Farm Tour, so it was closer to 3:00 before I put it on the grill. At 3:45 the grill temp was at zero and the propane tank had run out. Not to worry, I had another over in the shed. We ate about 6PM. It didn’t really matter, we had nothing else going on. Monday I worked on machinery. Got the digger tires checked and filled, and I changed some worn out points, (the part that actually goes in the dirt), It’s greased and ready to go. I checked the grain drill tires and it’s greased up and ready. I crawled under the digger three or four times out on the concrete pad. It would have been nicer if there wasn’t so much gravel and dirt on the pad. It’s hard to keep it clean. Even “clean” would help. Later on, I did sweep and use the leaf blower to clean off a bit.

Tuesday I got the corn planter out and tires checked and it’s greased and ready to go. There are multiple places to grease the planter with three zerks under the planter and I can always find two of them, but that third one is tricky. The two don’t move, but that third one rotates and it was pure luck that it ended up right there in front of me.

I put both the 630 and Kelly’s C tractor in the shop. I replaced the spark plugs, spark plug wires, and coil wire on the 630 and it’s running much better. I still need to adjust the timing, and replace a throttle plate, because the throttle lever doesn’t stay forward and the tractor ends up at a slow idle. Sure was nice working in the shop.

I checked the tires on all the tractors. You’d be surprised the large rear tires may only have 8-12 pounds of air in them. Several factors determine that pressure and the goal is to get the best traction with the least amount of soil compaction. They can last a long time on dirt. Running them on the highways causes a lot of wear. New tires might be $4000 each. Imagine putting 8 of them on a tractor. Wednesday morning us five township supervisors met for breakfast at a local diner, and then went out to do our annual road inspection. Yep, all the roads are still there. We have about 30 miles of gravel township roads and we put fresh rock on about 1/3rd each year. We verify those roads need the rock (The average is about 500 tons of rock / mile). Some roads already have a good base and we may only do half that. Depending on the winter, we can get frost boils (mud and dirt coming up through the rock) and they may need more rock. We know of a few culverts that need to be replaced and we make note of trees that need trimming. We look at the bituminous roads and which ones need crack sealing or overlays. Takes about 5 hours to make the rounds. It’s a good bunch of guys and we get along well. Notice I’ve said ‘guys’ in three different township situations. I don’t know of very many women as supervisors. There are women clerks and treasurers, not sure why we don’t have more as supervisors. No reason they can’t be elected.

I went out in the afternoon and cut down trees hanging over the edges of fields. I mention every year how I’m knocking down branches or pushing back brush on the edges. This year I took the gator, three chainsaws, one dog, my safety glasses, chainsaw chaps, and I cut down a lot of trees.

Mostly box elders that lean toward the sun, and end up hanging low over the field edges. Plus some ash trees that have died and are going to fall into the field sooner or later. I only got the chainsaw stuck once! That’s why I have multiple saws. One of them is  battery operated and it’s a pretty impressive saw for battery power. Course a sharp blade is what makes a saw good. I sharpened one with a hand file on the back of the gator, but when the chain came off later, I just used to a different saw. I picked up a cheap electric bench-mounted chainsaw blade sharpener at an auction, and when I got home, I tried it out on one of the blades. I haven’t got the chain put back on to see how I did, but it has to be better. One of these days, weather and time permitting, I’ll be back out there with the tractor and loader and will push the trees off the fields. I must have cut down 30 trees along 1 ½ miles. It’s been a long time since I last did this.

The chicks are doing well. We’ve lost a couple, which always happens, but they’re eating lots and growing well.

Last weekend of our college shows. Band and choir concert next week. Then Commencement on May 14th.

FAVORITE WORD THAT STARTS WITH A ‘Z’?

60 thoughts on “Shut The Door”

  4. Two of the things that caught me, Ben: “The guys all have dirt under their nails, and that one black nail…” meaning, they’ve hit that finger with a hammer or something?

    And the $4000 tractor tires! Yikes, how do you survive??

    Answers to the Z question are too short – maybe add to the question: “.. and use it in a sentence” or “let us in on the definition(s)?”

    Zephyr – the wind, and also the name of an intentional land community near Winona. Turns out archaically it’s also a fine cotton gingham.
    “The zephyr did very little to cool us off as we sat on the hot porch.”

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

  5. What an adorable picture of Bailey.

    I’m gonna go with “zebra”. I actually use the pronunciation that they use in South Africa and Australia with a short E instead of a long E. I know that people probably think I’m affected, but it has a prettier sound to me. And I do love looking at them with all of their pretty black-and-white stripes

    Liked by 2 people

    Reply

        1. Well, this is how oblivious I am to all things automotive. I didn’t even realize there were black plates out there. Even after having read the article, I don’t know why they’re called blackout plates. And why do we have them in the first place?

          Like

  18. Zebco.
    When I was maybe 8 yrs old, but B-i-L gave me a Zebco rod and reel. He was trying to make a fisherman out of me. I tried for a while. It never stuck. But I did enjoy the fancy rods and reels for a few years.

    In other news, my mom passed away Friday evening. It’s a blessing, and I feel a huge weight off to be honest. She hadn’t really had any quality of life for the last 6 months, and probably hadn’t really been happy for the last few years.
    She was about a month from 99 yrs old. Not that that was a goal. 🙂

    Liked by 6 people

    Reply

    3. I, too, understand the conflicting emotions around your mother’s death, Ben. Her old and frail body was no longer able to contain her spirit, which now moves free of earthly constraints. I know her loving presence will never leave you. Sorry for your loss, but also glad she’s free at last. ❤

      Liked by 5 people

      Reply

Leave a comment