The title pretty much says it all. There will be a lot of farming related posts here as well as some ancient family history and photos. Another family history blog I have is at....
http://nevardblog.blogspot.com/
I think it was 1965 my uncle Don bought the 730 Case tractor. It was close to new, at least as close as we had ever got to a new tractor except for the ones on the dealer's lot. At 57 horsepower it was a good sized tractor around here for the time.
I learned a lot about working summerfallow in the summer of 1970 when I went to work for him. Somehow the old 730 survived that episode with only a few scratches and dents. And the summerfallow got worked, sort of.
The 730 is in semi retirement now getting occasional exercise on the rotary mower or some blade work. I was going to do a little snow pushing with it this morning until I realized that the dozer blade itself was buried under a snowbank. I wasn't about to start digging it out so the tractor got a rest and the snow remains.
And Roosty6 made another video :-)
No big news here but I thought it was time for an update in case anybody was curious. The cold weather limits my ambition and endurance for working in the shop. I don't want to increase my carbon footprint too much by running the oil furnace and actually working in comfort. The world is warming up though. Snow was melting at the south doors of the shop in the bright sunshine.
I actually got the new brake shoes installed on one wheel. Then did it over again twice when I found some little detail I had left out. At this point I think I will need to remove them again, at least partially. The old wheel cylinders are seized and won't allow enough clearance for the drums to slide on over the new shoes. Getting lots of practice anyway.
Did I mention we had a lot of snow recently? Of course, you have seen the videos. Just in case you missed them, here is a drone shot from a few days ago. Looks like ideal snowmobile conditions, if I still had a working snowmobile.
Never too old to learn, or change I guess. After running the McKee snowblower on the Cockshutt 40 for probably 40 years I decided to try it on the "new to me" John Deere 2140. It took a few adjustments and modifications but I finally got it attached and working.
Last week I would have never expected to be installing the snow blower the first week in March but this recent record high snowstorm has made it necessary. There are places I can't get in with the blade and big tractor and I'd rather avoid shoveling if possible so the little six foot snowblower is the best choice. Beautiful sunny day with blue sky and no wind. You guessed, there is video.
After a below normal snowfall all winter we are finally getting closer to normal. Last night and today's snowfall was the biggest yet this winter. I'd guess ten inches on top of what we had before. Its heavy walking and almost knee deep some places. Some highways were closed as well as some schools. I didn't move any more than necessary as it hadn't finished yet. Maybe get the blade working tomorrow to make a few trails.
Some video of the old Massey getting around in the snow with a bale of hay. It does surprisingly well for two wheel drive and no tire chains.
Scared up a resting moose as I drove into the hundred acre woods yesterday to check on the grain bins. It was laying on the sheltered and sunny side of the bush enjoying the sun. It jumped up and ran around the bush which happened to be the same direction I was traveling so I used my phone to take a video and picture or two. Nothing too impressive as the zoom is fairly limited on the I phone.
Next day a major storm is predicted but I doubt it will amount to much. We are in a continuing drought here since last winter. In a normal winter there is no way in the world that even a four wheel drive vehicle could drive into the places I drove yesterday. Maybe after an hour's work with tractor and blade to clear a trail.
Today about 5:00 it is coming down pretty good and is looking like it might give us a little snow.
I probably should not even comment on the carbon tax that will eventually be imposed on us in spite of our premier refusing to sign on. But CBC keeps bringing on the experts telling us how beneficial it is going to be for us. Apparently all the money we pay as a carbon tax will be given back to us in some other yet to be defined form.
They are talking a tax of $20 a ton for now and increasing to $50 a ton by 2022. First of all how do you measure a ton of carbon? How do I know when I have produced a ton of carbon to be taxed on? How do I slow down my production of carbon and thereby save myself money? Stop driving? Stop farming my land thereby reducing fuel and tax? There are way more questions than answers so far.
If they really want to sell us on this wonderful new tax that is going to save the planet, they need to give us a little more information. At this point it sounds like more smoke and mirrors designed to squeeze more tax dollars out of us.
I guess I am part of the problem. Now I have to get back to work producing more carbon as I feed my cattle.
We got together for a short spell of firewood cutting on the weekend. Only had about an hour to spare but we got through a fair bit of poplar firewood with our 4 man, 2 women (and one dog) crew. The old Wisconsin V4 was a bit reluctant start after a night of sub zero temps but eventually it came to life and ran just fine. Unfortunately the saw blade got dulled shortly after starting when it hit a bullet lodged in one of the logs. Theres a rare and random occurrence.
Temp was up around the +8 F degree mark which is great for the job as the snow on the logs is not wet enough to soak your clothes as you handle the logs.
Its been a yearly event for as long as I can remember. We used to help my uncles cut a veritable mountain of poplar logs as they burned wood in the cook stove year round. And it was more than a one day job.
We helped dad as soon as we were old enough to hold up the end of a log. Learned to stand and hold the log straight so it did not pinch the blade and throw the belt off. I eventually learned to wear ear plugs, hopefully before I lost too much of my hearing.
Sometime in the early 1940s. My dad at far left and Uncle Sandy at far right.
Firewood sawing at Hobetzeders in the early 1950s. John Hepting far left.
Dad at the saw in 1987. This photo was published in the Western Producer magazine.
