Holy hanna weeds

We've got weeds in the chili's. Serious ones. We christened the cultivator this week in an attempt to gain dominion over them.

Nathan drove Mae through the field. Now Mae is our uber dependable tractor but she's not fancy. She was built the year I was born, long before GPS and shock absorbers. So I followed along behind her helping Nathan drive accurately between the rows.

The line between killing weeds and killing chili's is a very small one.

Once the cultivating is complete we'll walk the rows and pick the rest of the weeds by hand. The beautiful thing about walking the rows after cultivation is that snakes will be a lot easier to spot with less vegetation obscuring the view. I do love my life.

All in a day's work

Got to buy a new tractor tire today. At over a grand, it was a breathtaking experience.

There goes my Christmas bonus.

And such excellent progress on my farmer tan today.

I will remember sunscreen. I will remember sunscreen. I will. I will.

We've got creepers

I smell money

And 500 tons of organic compost.

Shift change

The first day of plowing we did together, seated side by side, learning the nuances of a new tractor. We had a blast working together.

Then it was just time to get the work done. So we split up into shifts. Nathan taking nights and me the days. Or parts of days rather. (There are still other things besides plowing to get done, if you can believe that.)

The changing of the guard.

Nathan is doing the lion's share. I just relieve him so he can cat nap between plowing marathons. So very thankful for this man's work ethic (and a working tractor). You can't fake that out here. The field either gets plowed or doesn't.

Pape tells me my grandfather did the same thing back in 1952 to break out his land. Add this to the list of things I didn't really understand until it became my own reality.

Plowing

Yesterday was our first day plowing in the sweetest tractor you ever did see.

Our progress toward the end of the day.

That may not look impressive, but you have to remember we're driving between two and four mph, and the plow is only 7.5 feet wide. One pass (in one direction) takes about ten minutes, so you're looking at six passes total in one hour. But that's okay because not only does the radio work in this bad boy (a first for the tractors we've used so far), but it also has an MP3 player and a CD player.

The tractor drives itself. Literally. About 80% of the time. That allows the operator time to focus on adjusting the depth of the plow because we lack the guide wheel.

Drives a pretty straight line if it does say so itself.

Aslan made himself quite comfortable in the roomy cab. The windows are floor to ceiling so he gets a great view when he's not napping.

We anticipate three more days until completion. 

Oh, and if your interest is piqued in owning a tractor like this, you'll need to pony up $190,000. Such a deal. We're thinking of buying two. <Insert sarcasm here.>

Seems like installing a cupholder and CD player in Big John would be cheaper.