Most Unusual

Any time I can sit on an open tractor and cut grass, bulrushes, willows, etc. on the last day of November without freezing, it qualifies as an unusual day. The weather has been amazingly warm and what little snow we had is gradually disappearing. I figured it was a good chance to cut those pesky willows that are trying to re-establish themselves.
The ground was frozen solid to support the weight of the tractor, most of the time, and I never got stuck. Although it was a bit surprising when once in a while the tractor  wheel would suddenly drop as it hit a patch where the ground was  little less frozen.

And that is ice in the background. The sloughs are frozen with a thick enough layer of ice to support "light traffic". Fun place to do some sliding around on the trike. Kids, wear your helmets if you try this! Check the thickness of the ice too.

Trail Riding With Roosty6

Nice day for a trail ride/crop tour yesterday. 13 of us on various forms of atv and off road vehicles, although we did mostly road driving. Still plenty of places where water is over the road for those that like to play in the mud. Sometimes the short cut is not the best way to go. At one point I had to pour water out of my shoes after encountering a deep spot in the road. Apparently the beavers decided that road needed a ditch cut across it.

We crossed the rail trestle of the abandoned rail line and some of the more adventurous ventured right down the steep banks to see the creek flowing through the crumbling concrete tunnel. On foot of course. It is far to steep to drive, almost too steep to climb on foot but we made it. Maybe not as fast as I did 47 years ago.

April Showers, May Flowers, whatever

The old saying of April showers bringing spring flowers is of course true. Even though some of our showers were snow the first crocus flowers are showing in the few acres of undisturbed prairie sod on my land.

Those showers sure left the fields wet though. That and the 15 inches of rain in thirty days that I got last summer all add up to an almost impassable field. As I found out yesterday trying to do some fence checking and repair with the trike. It was impossible to get to some parts of the field without driving through water. That and the weight of the fencing trailer brought me to a stop . Some time later, leaving deep, water filled ruts behind me I continued on my way. Trikes going to need a wash.
It is an unusual spring with colder than normal temperatures. Slow drying and no field work done at all. Some years I have been close to finished planting by this date (May 7).
The next picture shows the wierd clothing combination required for this weather. The wide brim hat to protect my pale anglo saxon skin from sun burning and the heavy coveralls to protect me from the cold wind.

With all the water around this spring maybe I should be getting out the fishing rod like the lazy farmer was recently.

Trike Driving and Tree Cutting

A small job gets bigger sometimes. I'd found this huge poplar tree that had leaned over almost horizontal in the field the other day while I was spraying the crop for weeds. A victim of last week's terrible winds. I decided to get it cleaned up while it was fresh in my mind or else I would forget about it till harvest time and have to drive around it with the swather. Headed out through the wet field with trike and chain saw and got a good start but came to a standstill. Got the saw jammed in the cut and there was no way I could pull it out. No tools so I headed home for a hammer and wood chisel. Of the various wood chisels I own, I could not find one. Settled for a dull old steel chisel and nail hammer which was a poor choice. I ended up making another trip home for a hand saw which turned out to be a better option. I got plenty of exercise using a hand saw on green wood on a hot summer day to release the chain saw bar. With the heat and the clouds of fuzz flying off that tree I felt like I was being tarred and feathered by the time I was done.

Between the crop I flattened out with the trike tires and then my size 13 work boots I probably lost more crop than if I had just left the tree in the field and drove around it at harvest time.

Time Well Wasted

Time well wasted.There is an old saying goes something like "time you enjoy wasting is not really wasted. I suppose riding atvs and moving antique cars might be considered a waste of time by some but I did enjoy it today.
http://youtu.be/Uno-NWC--xU