Jeff did catch his tractor on fire the other day. Apparently, the exhaust pipe is right by the fuel tank, and he was running the tractor hard, disking the new corn field. He was running it so hard, then when he shut the tractor off (at the edge of the field), he could hear the fuel boiling in the tank – which apparently happens… Jeff started walking toward the house, when the fumes from the fuel caught on fire, and the entire hood of the tractor was covered in flames. Jeff ran (in his words) to the house to get the fire extinguisher – Sam said he was really moving – and managed to get the flames put out. He opened the tractor hood (which by the way was still so hot that it singed all the hairs off his arm) to get some air flowing, hoping this would cool the tractor off. The tractor started right back up and Jeff decided to drive it back over to the house side and cool it off more with a water hose. After this incident, Jeff took the hood off the tractor, to keep more air flowing around the fuel tank. It now bears some slight resemblance to “Mater” – but the tractor is running fine.
Chronicles of the Long Shot Farm
Winter Transplanting Worked After All
Perennials that were hastily transplanted during our move last November miraculously survived in the equally hastily created flowerbeds. Right now poppies, peonies, perennial geraniums, lavender, roses and a few stray daffodils are in bloom. Above is the circle bed right at the corner of our hedge in front of the house, which we edged with stones found around the property.
Bargains at Annual Plant Sale
Went to the Cumberland County Master Gardener annual Plant Sale and found some nice additions for the flower beds and more:
- 6 evergrees (3 blue spruce and 3 scotch pine)
- black eyed susan
- blue bell flower
- shasta daisy
- bee balm
- feverfew
- lilly of the valley
- 1 flat of cabbage plants
More Cleaning up and Planting
It’s time to catch up with blogging – it’s been a crazy week:
Last weekend Jeff planted corn – two pound of Silver King (we think) – this was seed we had left over from last year, so we’ll have to see how it germinates. He planted this on the lower field – next to the blackberries in the back of the property. Jeff had ordered new parts for the fertilizer bins of his corn planter – they worked like a charm, saving us a lot of time!
We also killed a lot of poison ivy and continued cleaning out the willows around the pond. Late Sunday afternoon, Zach decided to set up the swing set – it was in pieces and had to be moved into place with the tractor. We got it all set up between two large trees in the back yard, near the ‘future play house’ (an old chicken coop that Sam worked on cleaning our for a couple of days already)
Cleaning Around and in the Pond
This past weekend we worked on cleaning the pond – around the edges and the water.
Jeff sawed off a lot of the willow trees – which not only grow around the edge, but also grow in the water. He cut the larger pieces into firewood (which Anja and Duff carted away and stacked), and we made yet another burning pile for all the smaller branches.
Then Jeff had the great idea of trying to pull those willows, which were actually growing in the pond, out with his tractor – Tina had to borrow Anja’s fly-fishing waders to go into the water and hook ropes and chains around the tree trunks….this did not work too well – so we went back to sawing them off where possible.
At the end of this rather exhausting day, we hung out at the pond and enjoyed the peaceful afternoon. Anja and Duff took a ride in the paddleboat.
