Today I got a bunch of stuff done at the farm. I went up to the farm this morning and fed my cows four square bales of hay and opened up the doors. I got the 584 tractor started and brought our old sap wagon up to the house where I began to fill it with water. The well at the house fills the totes much faster than the farm's well. I came back up to the farm and got the 784 tractor started. I drove it into the barnyard and got the loader hooked back onto it. After the loader was on, I took off 3 of the 5 forks we had on it. Over in the barn where the tractors stay, I had set the cattle head chute down behind our 766 tractor a while back. I picked the chute up with the loader and set it on the side of the barn so it was out of the way. Now that the head chute was moved, I got the 766 started and drove it up to the shop. I went up to the house and switched the hose from the front tote on the sap wagon to the back one. I came back up to the farm and started to do some maintenance on the 766. I took the front grill off and blew out all the grass and dirt that had accumulated on it and around the radiator. After I got the tractor cleaned up, I checked the oil in it and had to add a little bit. I checked the coolant and saw I had to add some, so I mixed up a jug of coolant with some water so it was 50/50. After I got that poured in, I got it started and let it idle for a little bit. I did a walk around to check for leaks and other things while it ran. I aired up the front right tire and checked tire pressures. I shut it off and got it fueled up, and then I drove my car up to the house and got the 584 with the water and brought it up to the farm. I parked it in the barnyard where the cows are and I hooked up the big hoses to empty the totes of water into the tanks. I washed out 2 of the cows water tanks and filled 4 of them in total. I checked the oil level in the 766 and saw it was all good now, so I backed it up through the barnyard to the Oliver 3 bottom plow we have. It was a bit of a challenge trying to line up the tractor with it plus it was on a small slope, so I had to lock the brakes in every time I got off the tractor. This is my first time getting the plow hooked up by myself, so it took a lot longer to figure out how to do it because the design doesn't make it easy. After a while I finally got it hooked up, so I drove it from the barnyard and parked it on the gravel in front of the tractor barn. We had a lady come out and buy 3 bales of hay, so I threw them down for her. I got the sap wagon unhooked from the 584 and then drove it up to the house where I hooked up to the manure spreader in the tin barn. I drove it up to the farm and then I got the 784 started and I picked up the crate I had filled with manure from the small pen before our trip to Florida, and I dumped it into the spreader. I brought the now empty crate up to the house and set it down at the chicken coop up against the barn where a small access door is. I brought the 784 back and put it away, and then brought the 584 and spreader up to the house again and backed it up alongside the chicken coop so the chicken poop could be thrown out the window.
I walked up to the farm and then got in the side by side and went driving out through the fields shoveling in dirt and sand into woodchuck holes. This will help show me what holes are active and what ones aren't. I set a conibear trap over a woodchuck hole down by our crick in a brush pile before I drove up to Mr. Keith's place. I had seen him moving the semi around, so when I went up there I found him working on trying to get soy beans out of his grain bin so he could haul them. I helped him get the floor door to open up in the grain bin which was stuck shut. It allows the soy beans to get to the auger which brings them out to another grain auger that dumps the beans in the truck which is run off the PTO of an old Farmall M tractor. We tested the moisture in the beans, and it was at 11% which is right exactly where he wants it. I left and came home to where I started to roll the yard with our mower and roller. Later I went up to the farm with dad, and Paul was there. We talked for a little bit and then looking at the plow on the 766, I needed to get the back end of the plow to be level with the ground so it wouldn't dig deeper in the ground than the front. We took the top link off and then had to use some yield spray to free it up so it would crank in. We got it figured out and I learned that when unscrewing a top link, you have to do it the same on both sides, you can't just unscrew one side to make it reach your implement. I fed my cows some more hay for the night and then bedded them with some straw before closing up the doors. We had another great oyster party tonight with friends and neighbors. Bruce Wingeier stopped by and had some with us, and cows got brought up in the conversation. I learned that back when they used to milk cows, when they would clean the cows udder and also dip the cow teats, they would stick their head right up under the cow. That is because back then they would sit down right by the cow and this would protect you from getting kicked in the face. Later I put 10 pieces of wood on the fire.
Enjoying the sunshine!
ReplyDelete