New Life Sprang all Weak-like.
Sunday was a day of burning all the skin off my back while spider harrowing the two corn fields. I going to not give you a picture of a spider harrow in this space just so you can imagine it. Skittering across the field on it’s hairy legs, eyes aglow.
Memorial day was supposed to be a repeat of Sunday excepting that I was to be planting the corn while burning my skin. By two I had one field done. By two thirty I had broken the planter. I broke her hard. When the machine is lowered to the ground, the two wheels engage a series of chains not unlike on a bike. The gears engaged feed the soil it’s breakfast of seed from each of the four planter boxes. A single hydraulic control picks the marker arms: (really, they’re wings. planters like to fly to Florida in the off season.) left right left right left. Simple simple simple.
I didna see the zerks on the clutch (mechanical device that sit on the wheel driven shaft to engage and disengage the planting action) assembly in my preplanting greasing. [As they tell it, the squeaky wheel gets all that cool delicious lubricating oil. They’re wrong. the squeaky wheel gets ignored and explodes. I’ve seen it happen. Take notice you whiners.] The clutch assembly on John Deere planters is hands down the most difficult part to replace.
John Deere engineers planter clutch assembly - F
John Deere engineers front loader removal - A+
Day one. Locate a replacement clutch. Loosen all chains, gears, clutches, sprockets and bearing collars from the shaft. Cut off unyielding bearing with torch. Call it a day.
I have never been a motivated individual. I’ve only ever daydreamed about having my priorities set straight. But here, things need done. Corn needs planted by a certain date (yesterday, actually). Hay needs started by a certain date (soon). Cows need to not run out of food. I have found some priorities now only because, unlike ever before, there exist things which I simply can not fail to do.
When asked what farming is like, I usually tell people it’s confining. Probably not unlike having a child.
Memorial day was supposed to be a repeat of Sunday excepting that I was to be planting the corn while burning my skin. By two I had one field done. By two thirty I had broken the planter. I broke her hard. When the machine is lowered to the ground, the two wheels engage a series of chains not unlike on a bike. The gears engaged feed the soil it’s breakfast of seed from each of the four planter boxes. A single hydraulic control picks the marker arms: (really, they’re wings. planters like to fly to Florida in the off season.) left right left right left. Simple simple simple.
I didna see the zerks on the clutch (mechanical device that sit on the wheel driven shaft to engage and disengage the planting action) assembly in my preplanting greasing. [As they tell it, the squeaky wheel gets all that cool delicious lubricating oil. They’re wrong. the squeaky wheel gets ignored and explodes. I’ve seen it happen. Take notice you whiners.] The clutch assembly on John Deere planters is hands down the most difficult part to replace.John Deere engineers planter clutch assembly - F
John Deere engineers front loader removal - A+
Day one. Locate a replacement clutch. Loosen all chains, gears, clutches, sprockets and bearing collars from the shaft. Cut off unyielding bearing with torch. Call it a day.
I have never been a motivated individual. I’ve only ever daydreamed about having my priorities set straight. But here, things need done. Corn needs planted by a certain date (yesterday, actually). Hay needs started by a certain date (soon). Cows need to not run out of food. I have found some priorities now only because, unlike ever before, there exist things which I simply can not fail to do.
When asked what farming is like, I usually tell people it’s confining. Probably not unlike having a child.
posted by Lord of the Barnyard at 7:23 PM
2 Comments:
IFP:
I KNOW what confinement is, I've had a child. I admire your "One-ness with the earth," and read your entries with facscination and awe.
thank viscount
if it's a 1 to 10 scale, i certainly haven't attained oneness. i'm probably closer to a three where i was previously a five.
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