OK, this is it! I'm declaring war on the mud! Trying to keep the mud, dirt and sand out of the house is a constant battle. There is definitely a reason why most farm houses have a "mud porch". That's where all of the mucky boots and mud-caked clothing reside. We have an area right next to the washer and dryer where one can strip down, leave the dirty clothes there and grab something "cleaner" to wear around the house. I have to do "mud patrol" and try to catch the wet, stained socks offenders before they step foot on the dining room rug. When mom's not in the house, I'm left to the mercy of their discretion! It's not that they really want to make a mess, but in their mind, maybe, just maybe, they can stretch a little more use out of their socks - they're not really that dirty, are they? We're getting better in this area, but much improvement is needed!
We had our first "tractor buriel" yesterday. The Greenhand was out spreading manure in what looked like a fairly passable area of the cornfield when, all of a sudden, down went the tractor, axle deep in the mud. I was getting the cows ready to milk and noticed that he hadn't returned in a reasonable amount of time. So, before deciding to throw the first milker on, I gave him a quick call. (Cell phones are wonderful, aren't they?) Yep, he was stuck. Good. Really Good.
So I started up the John Deere 4430, grabbed a couple of logging chaines and headed down to the field. About 1/2-way down, I noticed that the tractor was just a pinch above empty. Oh No! Hope this won't take long! Upon entering the field, I could see that the Greenhand had raised the endgate on the spreader and dumped the load in an attempt to lighten the load. Good. And he had unhooked the spreader from the tractor. Good. The tractor was headed south, downhill, and right in the direction of the muddiest part in the whole field. Not Good. Finding a place to get to the tractor and hook up without getting stuck myself was going to be a challenge! But after weedling around a bit, I was able to back up to it with somewhat of an angle, staying clear of the deep abyss at the end of the hill. Upon putting the 4430 in low gear and giving just a little bit of throttle, the Greenhand was able to pop the other tractor right out of the mud on the first try! Wow! Thank God for that one! After pulling up on top of the next hill, I backed up and we hooked the chain on the spreader and it popped right out! So, now, how do we hook the two back up with the spreader's nose on the wet, soggy ground with no way to use the attached jack? After watching Farmer Rick unstick tractors for the last 30 years, I was grateful that he had left the bale fork on the back of the 4430 (for once I couldn't scold him for not putting stuff away!). Upon backing up to the hitch of the spreader, using the bale fork, I was able to gently lift the spreader up. Now, I was able to set the hitch right on the tongue of the other tractor and the Greenhand deftly dropped the pin in the hole.
Oh, the outcome could have been so much worse. We could have gotten both tractors stuck - and that's happened before. We could have gotten the neighbor's tractor stuck (3 in the mud) - and that's happened before. We could have run out of diesel in the 4430 - and that's happened before. But this time, just this time, all of the blessings of God were lined up in a row. We were able to safely get all back home, put everything away and throw the milkers on only 1/2 hour later than normal. Much to the relief of the cows - and ourselves!
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