A Ford tractor, that is......ok, let me back up a bit here. Just before I was ready to start making dinner tonight, a truck pulled up and our neighbors got out. Jennifer and Michael were the first neighbors we met after buying Whispering Oaks and are two of the nicest people we have ever met. A month ago when I told Jennifer I was trying to figure out how and when to begin my garden, she made me an offer I just couldn't refuse.
She said her brother, Curtis, would be bringing over her daddy's old Ford tractor to plow her garden, her mama's garden and her sister's, too. And he would be happy to plow up ours, too! Ummmm, I jumped at the chance because we still have no mechanical garden tools to turn over the soil. And tonight she and Michael dropped in on us just to make sure we were home as Curtis had just plowed her garden and he would come over and do ours.....right now! OH. MY. GOSH!
Sure enough, 5 minutes later I heard a tractor come tearing up our road and it turned into our lane. Jennifer giggled and said everyone calls her brother Precious, not Curtis, and that I needed to do the same. Uh, ok. So, I smiled at Curtis, I mean Precious, and thanked him for coming to our farm to dig up our very first garden. I mean, we have only been waiting to start our foray into large scale gardening for how many years now???? I don't know because I've stopped counting.
Ok, I digress. So Curtis, oops, Precious asked me where I wanted my garden and I explained that I actually would like two....one near the house for herbs and salad greens and then the main garden behind the barn. He just grinned and said, "Ok, show me where to plow." By now Joel came outside and was laughing as I paced off the size I thought would work for what I had in mind for the smaller garden.
Can you imagine how long it would have taken us to do all this with a shovel? Forget it!
Yup, that's Precious.....happy to plow up whatever we wanted plowed. Yeah, I think that should do it for the herbs, lettuces and tomatoes. The very last row is going to be blueberry bushes to serve as a windbreak to protect the fragile herbs from the constant breeze coming up the valley.
Alrighty, now, this is more like it! So then we moved on to the space behind the barn and I paced off the main garden and Precious got to work. Yikes, this is looking really big! But Jennifer is a veteran gardener and she reassures me we're going to need every bit of this garden space.
And here is the garden....almost done.
Thanks, Curtis, we never could have done this without your help. So, I made the comment that I've driven almost every vehicle except an 18 wheeler, a front end loader, and a tractor. Curtis asked me if I knew how to drive stick..........Of course I can drive stick! My dad made me learn on an old Rambler American stick shift car......on the mountain roads of Penna......in the winter! You bet I can drive stick!
So, before I knew it, Michael and Curtis were explaining the finer points of driving a Ford tractor that was almost as old as I am. I didn't realize that tractors have a separate break for each big back wheel and both are operated with your right foot. And there is a kill switch in case you need to stop the engine pronto. And there was "low" and "high" on a separate gear shift lever as well as the usual "H" configuration gear shift. All I can say is.........Too. Much. Fun.
So Curtis and I went for a little spin around the barn. I loved driving this thing! He just asked me not to throw him off the tractor.
Oh, my gosh! I had my ugliest painting bib overalls on......nice way to greet the neighbors. I didn't even realize it until I saw these pictures on the computer. Oh, well....we're just keeping it "real". Can you tell what a good time I was having driving this baby?
By the time we pulled up next to the garden, Curtis said I needed to plow one more row. I was doubtful but he showed me how to lower the blades and line up the wheels in the previous row. That did it, I'm hooked! Playing with this machinery is just too much fun.
I hopped down off the tractor and thanked Precious for the driving lesson. The sun had gone down behind the woods and dusk was settling in so everyone went home and Joel, Jeremy and I went inside to start dinner. It's hard to believe that in less than an hour the garden spaces I have been dreaming about for so long had finally begun to take shape. I'm so excited that I don't know if I will be able to fall asleep tonight!
We're supposed to get rain in the next day or so, and then after the ground dries out a little, Precious will come back to all our gardens with a tiller to smooth out the huge rows of turned soil.....then the real work begins. Planting. Hmmmmm.......I'll let you know how
that goes in a couple of weeks.
So, what did you do today? giggle.....
Fun on the farm,
Debbie
