Gotta get one of these!

7/17/09 Friday
I called the old man about borrowing his disc. He said it was still attached to his tractor so to just use it. Man, I’ve got to get one of these. It’s the same model we wanted to get but that was before Cherie had her full time job and our credit is still bad. Mostly because of the bankruptcy we had to file that included the quarter million dollar hospital bill I had from the coma. We could have gotten this with a front end loader for something like $230 a month. It’s way better than that thing I bought. Has a reverse that works, power steering that works, and a lot more balls. I’m grateful we have the Massey Ferguson but…

It’s going to be a 103 or so degrees today and it’s humid on top of that. I’ve been running the tractor for about two hours now. Came in to grab a bite to eat and more importantly, something to drink. As I ran the disc it was sad to see how much of the sticker grass has gone to seed. It was my hope to keep it turned under to prevent this and prevent it from propagating. Once I get my own disc so I won’t have to borrow one it will be easier. So basically I’m planting weeds as I disc. Plus if I had my own I could have disced after the rain. Now with it so dry the wheels of the tractor spin and in some places you can’t see where the disc blades were because it’s just sand and flattens right out. As this farm grows and we get the tools needed things will be much easier and I can do a better job. Till then I do the best I can with what I’ve got and I’ve got a whole lot more than last year or when we first moved here. Hell we didn’t even have a lawnmower back then. Little by little we’re getting there. You can’t blame me for being in a hurry can you?

I’ll need to drive the tractor to the farmer’s co-op and fill it with diesel. Looks like I’ll be running the thing for about another four hours to finish everything. With a reverse that works I will be able to get into the various plots that I normally have to do with the tiller. That will save a ton of work, and back pain. It’s hard on my neck because I can’t turn it far enough to look behind me. The things a little stiff after being broke three separate times. Some times I have to stand up as I back the tractor to see where I’m going when in a delicate spot.

The corn’s a total loss. Not really a surprise. Everyone tells me that corn is impossible to grow out here. I’m not buying that and will keep trying till I figure out how. One thing I can’t do has to do with the heat. Sweet corn turns starchy quickly in the heat. I was talking to Wally and he said something about “You have to pick it and cook it right away. Pull the ear of corn and put it right in the pot”. I’m going to try a fall crop so it ripens when things are getting cold. The problem is that out here in the desert you could hit a hundred degrees in October, or maybe even in November. What got the corn this time was bugs though. I only sprayed once and probably need to do that a whole lot more. The organic pesticides aren’t as effective as the other stuff so it takes a lot more. That’s hard on the budget at our current level. Organic stuff costs twice as much, if not more.

Gotta fix something to eat folks. Think it will be a meatloaf sandwich. Then it’s back to work.



Oh! Here’s a picture of the Dana 60 rear end I’ll have for sale. Steve and Janie had it laying in a storage unit so gave it to us so we could raise some funds. It was built up for a funny car so you can bet it’s beefed up pretty good. I’ll have to take it apart to figure out what’s in it. Is it a Detroit Locker, or positrac, or limited slip? What’s the gear ratio? Are the gears the heavy duty high grade steel ones? How many splines are on the axles? What kind of axles are they? I know they aren’t stock ones and are definitely stronger and bigger. The only identifying mark is the symbol on the ends. Any of y’all recognize it? It's hard to google a symbol. This is a “shortened” rear end meaning it’s made to fit fat racing slicks under the vehicle. What I was told is that the guy who owned it was building a funny car out of a pickup. There are lots of other parts including a set of racing discs and break calipers with special pads. Cool stuff. I haven’t had time to look it all up.