A vineyard, an antique tractor and 640 acres of magical land
Friday, March 4, 2011
Trellis
The t-posts were delivered for the vineyard! Soon these lovelies will provide a strong home to acres and acres of vines.
Thursday, March 3, 2011
Wednesday, March 2, 2011
Glam-less days
So not everything on the vineyard is glamourous. Sometimes we find ourselves working all day just to get the tractor started.
And by all day, I mean all day. We started at 7:30am, charging the tractor battery with the pick up truck. For hours. Then we tried new batteries. Then we tried a service call where the John Deere repair guys came out to the property to diagnose and fix the problem.
Well they didn't fix the problem but they did get Big John started. At 5pm. And then we had to drive him back to town to their shop. We finally arrived at 8pm. Yep, three hours. It was a slow and harrowing drive without tractor lights on back country roads. (The repair guys apparently disconnected the electrical stuff and neglected to put it all back together.)
Field laying fallow - 1
Newbie farm hands attempting to disc said fallow field - 0
We try again tomorrow.
And by all day, I mean all day. We started at 7:30am, charging the tractor battery with the pick up truck. For hours. Then we tried new batteries. Then we tried a service call where the John Deere repair guys came out to the property to diagnose and fix the problem.
Well they didn't fix the problem but they did get Big John started. At 5pm. And then we had to drive him back to town to their shop. We finally arrived at 8pm. Yep, three hours. It was a slow and harrowing drive without tractor lights on back country roads. (The repair guys apparently disconnected the electrical stuff and neglected to put it all back together.)
Field laying fallow - 1
Newbie farm hands attempting to disc said fallow field - 0
We try again tomorrow.
Tuesday, March 1, 2011
Our first task
Our first major task upon arrival was taking down old barbed wire fencing. With our brand-spanking new wire winder it should have been a snap. Unfortunately, things don't always go as planned. In the end we enjoyed hours of winding barbed wire by hand, singing songs to keep the snakes away whilst sporting our snake-proof chaps.
After four days, we ended up with this. Barbed wire wreath anyone?
We hope we're officially retired from this particular task.
After four days, we ended up with this. Barbed wire wreath anyone?
We hope we're officially retired from this particular task.
Monday, February 28, 2011
Meet Big John
Ain't he a looker?
Admittedly, he's lean at the moment. We had to have all four duals taken off to transport him from the mid-West to West Texas. Regardless, he's one handsome devil. With 270 horses pulling, all the Baker disc plows want to follow him around.
Before the Baker though, we first have to use an offset disc to break the almost-virgin land. It's a wild thing, breaking land, especially when the land isn't flat. I got us stuck twice today in holes. Or maybe I should say: only twice. We'll see what tomorrow brings.
Admittedly, he's lean at the moment. We had to have all four duals taken off to transport him from the mid-West to West Texas. Regardless, he's one handsome devil. With 270 horses pulling, all the Baker disc plows want to follow him around.
Before the Baker though, we first have to use an offset disc to break the almost-virgin land. It's a wild thing, breaking land, especially when the land isn't flat. I got us stuck twice today in holes. Or maybe I should say: only twice. We'll see what tomorrow brings.
Sunday, February 27, 2011
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