Follow Me

Follow me is the name of the program that allows the Autel drone to follow (or lead) as I walk, drive or whatever. Tried it out today on a drive through the snow covered trails of the hundred acre woods. I did not get lost or crash into the trees with either vehicle so I'll call it a success.

More On The Massey

As promised, an update on progress (or lack of it) on my old reliable right hand tractor, the Super 90 Massey. After sitting in the workshop all winter,  finally got the head re-machined down to a supposedly perfect level fit with the block last week. Surprisingly enough Agco (now owns Massey) was able to supply most of the gaskets to put the engine back together. With the exception of water pump gaskets so I got out the old carving tools and gasket paper and made a reasonable facsimile that should hopefully serve the purpose when I bolt it back together.
With a little help from my brother (the real mechanic) and nephew, we got the head lowered into place and torqued down. There was a time I would have just done it myself but the recovery time for an injured back makes me think before I try these things nowadays.
A few digital pics have helped refresh my memory while trying to figure out the jigsaw puzzle of parts, fuel and hydraulic lines, etc. Daytime temperatures a little above freezing certainly make it better working conditions.
This fifty year old tractor is one of the more complicated I have worked on. Massey and Perkins liked to pack a lot of parts into a small space. In so many cases you need to remove part #A, B and C to get at part D. Its a good thing I don't pay myself by the hour or this would be quite an expensive repair job. I shot some time lapse photos of the job yesterday with the Gopro but it would not make very interesting viewing as a lot of time lapses and not much change is seen in the project. Heres one.

Sometimes I get a little sidetracked on other jobs such as this windshield wiper circuit board on the Blazer. Funny how I never remember it had a problem until it rains or the windshield needs washing. Suddenly I am reminded I need to fix that problem. A new wiper , multi function switch listed at over $600 . A new wiper motor assembly, about $132. So do I just throw in new parts in hopes one of them will be the fix? The internet came to my rescue after a little searching and apparently this is not an uncommon problem on 90s GM wiper systems. There are even instructional videos on youtube to walk me through the disassembly and repair. A few minutes with the soldering iron and I think (hope) I have it fixed .

Driving The Winter Driveway

The video of these impressive snowbanks along my driveway should be fun to look at this summer when its hot . Middle of March and no sign of winter letting up. More snow coming tonight and no thawing predicted in the near term forecast. Looks like it will be a late spring, and a wet one if flooding predictions are right. Maybe as bad as 2011? I've spent many hours and many gallons of gas running the old tractor and snowblower up and down the driveway numerous times. At least my fellow blogger the lazy farmer is able to get in the field and plant an acre or two.

Late Night, Deep Snow

Well at least it wasn't cold. Snow had been drifting pretty bad all afternoon with the strong north wind so I knew it could be difficult getting through my driveway. Speed carried me through the worst of it without hitting the ditch. But about half a minute after the camera fell off it's mount I came to a spinning stop. Once the snow got up to the bumper even four spinning winter tires could not carry me any further. Another hundred feet or so of deep snow and I would have been through the worst. Rather than burn up the transmission rocking back and forth a few inches at a time I decided to walk in to the yard and get a tractor. Even at a mild 15 degrees (F) I don't think any of my diesels would start easily so I fired up the sixty year old Cockshutt 40. The gas engine will start easily even at cold temperatures although it complains a little and the carburetor ices up.
Plenty of fresh air and good exercise plus justification for owning a gas guzzling four wheel drive SUV.

Modern Problems

Ok, I guess not modern my some standards, but to me a 1997 vehicle is "modern". My Chevy Blazer , normally ultra reliable, has failed me. It has taken a notion to stalling in traffic at low speeds and only reluctantly re-starting. Like so many newer vehicles the engine is nearly inaccessible to service or diagnose, not that there is much I could fix even if I could get at it.
A mass of electronics, sensors and computer controlled junk. After searching the net I see that this is not an uncommon problem on these vehicles. Unfortunately I have not found a clear and definite diagnosis. It looks like I will need professional (expensive) help on this one.
For the short term I guess I will get back to basics when life was simpler and license this old 64 Chev.

In other farm news, between rains I have managed to cut and bale a little hay for winter feed, shingled the leaky roof on the fuel shed, finish weed spraying, and get at least one summerfallow field worked into good condition. The rest awaits. Grain hauling deadlines approach and keep getting set back every time it rains and makes the grain bins inaccessible. Summer is racing by just as fast as spring did. The heat is on, 80 degrees one or two days. That is about too much for me. Early potatoes are blooming and looking great. Still a couple of rows I should hill but the aforementioned heat and of course mosquitos are making that job a little unattractive at present.