Motorcycle weather

Yesterday we planned to ride today.  They said we'd have highs around 70, and indeed we have.  Last night, though, I got to thinking maybe Cliff would like to spend this golden day puttering around the farm (I use the term "farm" loosely, because we're not real farmers).  
He agreed that at this time of year there's a lot he can find to do on an unseasonably warm January day.  The thing is, it really needs to be at least sixty degrees before we head out on the bike.  Oh yes, there are lots of folks who take pride in the fact that they ride their motorcycles all winter, but Freezing to death just isn't FUN to us.  So we'd have been waiting until noon or so for it to warm up, and then we'd have maybe four hours to ride.  We've ridden all the local roads until we know them like the backs of our hands, and we don't want to get too far from home because we know nightfall (and cool temperatures) come early.  We'll have plenty of riding weather in the spring. 

  Cliff spent most of the day tidying up a small lot that my readers don't often see:  It's part of the original 6 1/2 acres we bought when we first moved here.  For the past few years it was often used as a horse pasture for the former neighbor's horse.  Horses ruin small pastures by cropping the grass so close in the ground that it dies, and eventually nothing is left but weeds.  Now the horse is gone, and Cliff plans to sow some grass seed there.  As long as it isn't overgrazed, the grass will do well.

The loggers got the biggest tree on our place over there in the direction where Cliff is looking.  The treetop was laying there for Cliff to cut into firewood, and he put the smaller limbs in the ditch.  

A couple of years ago, there was a BIG fire in that ditch.  But I digress.  

That shed isn't on our property.  I wish it was; Cliff could fill it up with tractors.  Our property line is a couple of yards this side of the shed.  I wish I knew who to talk to about that property; it's been foreclosed on, and I'd like to know if it's something we could manage to buy.  


Hey, a person can dream, can't she?

What's Cliff up to?

The temperature is above 100 degrees, but Cliff is in his shop.  He isn't doing anything strenuous, though.  

He is working with a teeny, tiny piece of a tractor part, a piece of ....

a freshly-cleaned carburetor from an Oliver 550 tractor!  

I realize this is a terrible picture, but hey... deal with it.  

I go out to the shop from time to time to eat a freezer-pop.  We've found out freezer-pops don't taste nearly as good, eaten in an air-conditioned house.  There's something about the way a hot day melts them, turning them to brightly-colored syrup and slush, that makes them yummy.   
Iris doesn't want to leave the air conditioned house, but she also doesn't want me going outside without her.  So she suffers the heat with me.




Here's a brief snippet of Cliff working on the carburetor.  In the background you'll hear the roar of a fan, and Tom T. Hall singing on the XM radio.  
I hate the way Youtube puts links to unrelated videos at the end of my videos.  Does anybody know if there's a way I can prevent them doing that?

Just show me a better photo than this!

My great-nephew posted this VIA Twitter.

It's Cliff, with my nephew's two grandchildren... Em and Ethan.

This is one of my favorite pictures EVER!

Sometimes older is best.

Turns out that since there's new growth coming up through the ruined hay, Cliff's old rake does the job better. He doesn't care; it gives him an excuse to use his Oliver 1855.

Cliff's new implements

Cliff was browsing Craigslist's Farm-and-garden section Thursday and saw a couple of things he really needed. Looking at the pictures, he recognized the implements as belonging to my cousin and her husband, and quickly made a phone call.

They agreed to hold the two items for us, and we picked them up on Saturday.

Cliff has an old-fashioned hay rake, but everybody who has this kind says they are bulletproof, and that you can rake just as fast as the tractor will go. Once the dew is off our rain-ruined hay, he'll try it out. Even though the hay is no good, it needs to be taken off the field. We needed this!

Cliff had an old disc mower he used for three years, but it was so worn out that it seemed he spent more time working on it than he did mowing with it; so this year he sold it for parts and went back to mowing with the old John Deere sickle mower. Folks, that's like going from an automatic washing machine to a wringer washer, and Cliff really missed having a disc mower.

We consider this one a blessing from heaven, because we didn't expect to be able to buy another one.

The icing on the cake is that my cousin and her husband take excellent care of their machinery, keeping everything oiled and greased regularly.

Cliff is so happy.

Here's a related footnote: Cliff mentioned to his Kansas brother who works on farm machinery for a living that he'd like a big plow to pull behind the Oliver 1855 tractor. Donald called yesterday: he found one free plow, and one six-bottom plow for $250 (that's cheap).

"I'll take both of them," says Cliff.

It's raining farm machinery around here!

We don't have much to plow on our property, but Cliff LOVES to plow. So he's going to see if one of the local farmers will let him try his tractor and plow out in some of their fields, once the harvest is over. Farmers these days don't plow at all, so he'll be doing them no favor; he just wants to put that big tractor to work so he can see what it will do.

I think it's some sort of macho thing.

Oh, about that tractor....

You know, THIS tractor.

Cliff leaves for work at 3:30 Monday, the day of the auction. So if he were to attend the auction, he'd have to leave by 1:30 or so in order to get to work on time.

Any other time, he could call in and take a paid personal day or sick day. But when since Good Friday is a paid holiday for him, he has to be at work the day before and the day after the holiday. Unless he had previously put in for a vacation day, which he, of course, did not.

So he can't miss work Monday. Chances are, that tractor won't sell by 1:30. Cliff could see if his retired brother would be able to go bid for him, or he can call and ask if the auctioneer would take a bid from him ahead of time, even though he can't be there. Which means someone might outbid him.

Or he might decide to forget the whole thing. No matter what, I'll guarantee that he won't be thinking of much else until this whole thing is history.

Cliff, keeping busy

It's a fantastic day today, and Cliff went back in the pasture to trim up some trees so he can mow under them in summer. He also cut wild grapevines off that are deforming some of the trees. The sides of our deepest canyon are a mass of tangled vines, as you can see here:








In the background of this movie, quite a distance away, you can see my cabin. Once the leaves are off the trees, the cabin can be seen from many vantage points. Including from our present home!


Sadie found a twisted piece of cut grapevine and decided she loved the novelty of having a crooked stick.



And she brought it all the way to the house.

Cliff has one tractor-driver that's better than I am

There are certain things Cliff would love for me to help him with, but I refuse. Because some things look dangerous, and I don't want to be responsible for maiming or killing him.

Granddaughter Natalie, aged eleven, came over today. So Cliff enlisted her help. He's been training her for quite some time.

The project was this: Grapevines had overtake many of our trees in the pasture and deformed them. So Cliff went out back to take care of that situation.

While he was there, though, he decided a certain tree needed trimming. So he had Natalie elevate him high enough to get rid of some limbs.


Don't try this at home.


Cliff gives Natalie the "higher" sign.


And she raises him up.

That high.

Scares me to death.

Random unrelated photos

That's the sunrise, as seen yesterday from just outside my back door. At the old, two-story house, you had to walk to the pasture to get the full view of a sunrise...

or a sunset.

Cliff now has a new helper; that's his sister, Rena, driving the tractor.

An electrician made a quick visit to get my electric dryer up and running. When Sadie heard an electrical-sounding "snap", she ran to the farthest point away from the noise she could find... behind the guest bed against the wall. I finally coaxed her out about a half-hour later.

main transportation

There's a local fellow who likes to partake of spirits rather heavily. He got so many DUI's that finally he decided he didn't need to drive a car. Now he gets around on a tractor. This year he's even winterized it a bit. And of course, there's the little trailer to pull behind with his "groceries" when he goes shopping. This isn't his house, by the way; he's just visiting friends.

a weekend visit to a friend's place

Cliff got a call from a friend last weekend. Tommy said a neighbor of his had a trip-bucket loader for a Ford tractor, and he just wanted it out of his yard. Obviously the man never heard of Craigslist.

Cliff can't use the loader, but he has heard of Craigslist, thanks to his loving wife. We'll see how much we can get for this thing.

Tommy's neighbor has a skid-steer loader, which he used to load the bucket-loader onto our trailer. Cliff took time out to admire the skid-steer, which the man picked up from a farmer for a mere $11,000. In great condition. (Cliff takes time to admire all things mechanical.)

Tommy's neighbor had sort of a pretend town in his yard; I don't know what the purpose was, but it was cute. No, we were not anywhere near Holden. The guy is a retired mailman, so maybe Holden used to be his mail route.
Tommy has Scotch Highland miniature cattle; he pastures them sometimes on this neighbor's place.

Tommy has a brand new tractor. Sixty horsepower. It has an air-conditioned cab. Cliff is jealous.

Of course Cliff had to try it on for size.

Tommy used to live in that house, but he sold it, along with a few of his acres...

and built that house yonder.

Back at home, we took pictures of the bucket-loader and put it on Craigslist. And then went for a motorcycle ride.

time to put up hay

Cliff used the old Farmall H to rake hay. He and grandson Arick restored this tractor over ten years ago.

Cliff gave me a ride back to the house and I snapped this over-the-hood picture.

Although I don't drive, and have never had a driver's license, I decided I'd better do it today after watching the grandson put the driver-less pickup in motion and try to load hay on it. Oh yeah.

Cliff had nothing but trouble with our antiquated 14-T baler today.

Arick, picking up one of many piles of hay that didn't bale.

Cliff had so much trouble, we kept catching up with him.

The two guys put the hay in the barn, and that dirty job was done.

More haying pictures HERE.

As always, click on any picture to make it larger.