Tractor World Show

Since writing my monthly article about vintage and older machinery it's given me a real thirst for knowledge in this subject. It's meant that I've gone to things I wouldn't normally, like a local ploughing match or vintage day and now the Tractor World show.

The Tractor World show was great fun. I'm lucky having the show ground just the other side of the hill from where I live, about 4 miles by road but closer as the crow flies.

Major Tractor Mistake

Well two actually!

The other day I jumped off the tractor and my rather jumpy handbrake sprang off as I hit the ground. Luckily I manged to jump back on before it picked up too much speed and stop it. Made my heart beat a bit faster though I can tell you! 

The second mistake is going to cost a bit more. I opened the window on the tractor to throw my dad a knife and then without thinking picked up the forks on the back.

  I realised my mistake a second too late and tried to drop the hydraulics but they're not very responsive, there was a loud POP and glass went everywhere. 

To say I was a bit miffed off is an understatement. Dad just said it could have been him and it was an easy mistake to make, I said I wish it was him that did it! Never mind, just tricky to stop the chickens from roosting in there at night until I get it fixed! 

Also thought I'd just put this picture in at the end of dad coming back from casting his eye over my sheep with the girls all holding hands. Made me smile.

Anyone else broke a window in a silly way? 

Come on tell me your stories and make me feel better! 

Flat Battery On The Tractor

If you use a vehicle everyday and it has a flat battery one morning, chances are the battery is dead. If you haven't used a vehicle for five months then chances are it just needs charging. 

A case in point is my tractor. Dead as a door nail. Half a day on charge and it coughs into life with a cloud of black smoke (or not on Sunday - needs a bit longer on charge). 

 This little battery charger has had some use over the last few years. I think as soon as you have a smallholding you have to have something that doesn't start first time, kind of an unwritten rule.

Growing up on the farm was no different. I remember that we used to have to leave certain vehicles within range of an electric socket or next to another, more reliable, vehicle so it could be jump started in the morning, sorting this minor problem was something we learnt at a fairly young age. 

So what's the most unreliable (but easy to sort) vehicle you've owned or currently own? 

Hay Making

We cut three fields of hay this week - around 7 acres. 

It's always a gamble when you cut hay but it seems to have paid off this week and even though we thought we'd be battling the rain for Thursday it's still dry here at the moment.

Cutting the crop - quite a bit on it this year.

 To be honest other than organise everything and decide on times to do things I've done very little with the hay this year (although it still seems to have taken up loads of time). It was far to hot to have a little one in a tractor with me so Ken offered to turn the hay for me with his old '35. I think he loved every minute! And I had my contractor cut and bale the hay, the girls loved watching the tractors.

Spreading hay

Great to see a tractor like this working so well.

The hay drying late on Tuesday evening

Old versus New - The old '35 keeping up with the big boys

I love the fact that we had a nearly new tractor working alongside one that's older than me (much older!).

41 round bales in total

So luckily we got it made in time, Tuesday was so hot that it pretty much dried it in one day. The guy cutting it, Rob, said that the one field of ours was the most grass he'd seen on one this year, that's why in the four acre field we had 30 bales! 

I now need to sell them all as I have no where to store them. 

Anyone want any good quality meadow hay? anyone else been hay making?

Long Furrows Almost Ready To Plant

At the weekend I did a bit of work with the tractor, I tidied up some brash, moved some wood chip and some muck. The amount of time saved by using a tractor with a front end loader is ridiculous, it would have taken me days to do what took me a few hours. 

 I moved a fair bit of cow muck on to Long Furrows ready to be spread about. I didn't drive over the plot just up the side and tipped it over the fence (that isn't there yet). 

 I then spread this muck out by hand, leaving an area clear a the bottom so I could grow some carrots there. 

Dread filled me as I dragged out the rotovator to give the plot another going over last night, but I managed to get it going first pull! I think I have the knack now and I might even write down how I did it so I can remember next year! 

 The muck worked in really well and I went over the plot twice. 

the soil has worked down to a really fine tilth, I might even get some carrots and parsnips in tomorrow.

All I need to do now is to finish fencing it then I can get on with the serious planting! 

Who feels they're behind on their planting this year? Some things I'm ahead with but I keep remembering things I've forgotten to put in!

Blackboards For Children - Tractor Shaped

Ev and Melissa got invited to one of their friends parties the other weekend, James. He's a lovely little boy and whenever he comes over here to play he's always slightly obsessed with the tractor we've got in the field. In fact I'm fairly sure he'd spend all his time in there and be quite happy!

So for his birthday I decided to make him a blackboard shaped like a tractor. I was a little bit worried as drawing is far from my strongest point and I had visions of him not being able to work out what it was! In the end he loved it, stopped playing with everyone else and pushed it around for a good ten minutes before his parents could hide it so he'd go back to playing with his friends!

It was really simple to make, just some WBP plywood cut to shape, then sanded to remove all the rough edges and painted with blackboard paint. I drilled the fixing holes in the middle of the wheels and one on the top of the cap (countersunk as well) and included some screws and rawl plugs for fixing.

As usual with this type of thing I had people telling me I should make them to sell. How much do you think they'd sell for? Do you think they'd sell?

Moving Bales

The bales have gone today. Dad found someone who wanted to buy them so picked them up this afternoon. As well as this he came with a trailer full of bits and bobs for a rather large project we're starting next weekend (but more on that later in the week).

An enjoyable job



A good, secure load



Off they go!



A flat tyre just to make things interesting!



Getting a wheel off a tractor with no jack - just a few tricks my dad taught me!

Things were going so well until we had a flat tyre on the little loader tractor. The only advantage with this was dad showed me a trick on how to take a tyre off a tractor without using a jack (as I didn't have one).
We did have to continue loading the trailer with the flat tyre, but as the tyre is completely perished where it burst it will need to be scrapped anyway so no great loss, just bad timing!

Making Hay

 Another busy week!
Thursday night dad came over and cut the hay. It's been that hot that it's taken hardly anytime at all to make.


Nice field of grass

I turned it a couple of times over the weekend and decided that even though I'd booked the contractor, Spike, for Monday to bale it, it might have been too dry by then so I rang him up and he came over yesterday afternoon. We were having friends over for a BBQ as well so when they turned up I was covered in dirt and sweat as I had only just finished! It's a good job they know what I'm like!



It's made some lovely hay

We made 22 and a half bales. Not a huge number by any ones standards but it keeps the place looking tidy until I find the time to get some more stock (and do some fencing), and should help fund some other things we need like gates and wire.
I just need to sell them now!

Hay making

It's been a busy week this week. Coming home from work I've had to turn the hay to get it to dry, although doing this in the evening isn't as good as doing it in the mid-day sun, i wanted to get it ready for the weekend. 

sunny evenings

  Yesterday evening I book the contractor to come and bale my three little fields on Saturday. I'd have it all rowed up and ready for him, just had to pray for sunshine.

Last bit of spreading the hay

 We woke up to a thick fog this morning and it took until half ten to clear, I then turned it all before lunch so the sun could dry the underside, after lunch I went out and turned the wet bits under trees and round the edges again before setting the hay bob to row up.

All rowed up and ready

I rowed up all three fields then went to unlock the road gate just as "spike" the contractor turned up!