(Garden under water-there's chives and clover and many a submerged herb under there!)
The previous days here on the farm, and in most of central Illinois have been wet, wild, wondrous with lightening shows and a basement full of water. The fields will still yield, the geese seem happy and the corn all around is growing at a break neck speed. The weather again, as of this writing- is threatening to unleash more torrents of rain, whining winds out of the south and as is predicted, severe thunderstorms. I wish I could plant the Fava beans next to the potatoes, wished I could insure the hen house would not leak...but this last week, this whirlwind first week on the farm- has really kept me hopping. So much so, that I've hurt my back already, had to have a massage yesterday and must rest some more today. AAAARRRRGGGHHH! I'm the gal you'd see out in her fields doing yoga stretches, curling up in a ball and working out the strains. I'm really good at taking care of myself so that I might outlast the weeds and the weather. But...to no avail, don't know what spin or misstep I took to throw me out of line, ibuprofen is my constant companion. So today, I write. And later...finances, and paper work and deciding whether to go in debt on a new tractor, getting rid of the too big Kubota that is not as versatile as I need it to be. Besides, if you've kept up with the web log here, you know that I hit things all to often with my too big tractor. I even told the sales man that, he looked at me like I was a dangerous person, probably went to the post office afterward to see if I was on the top ten list. Tractor smashing fiend. So- a smaller model with a belly mower, smaller bucket, and a smaller tiller. Or, I could stay out of debt and try a used model. But then I'd be dealing with the previous owner's previous problems, and for a working girl non-mechanic type- that would be one big headache. I've had old tractors before-God I loved 'em...and could work on them, heck- anybody can figure out an old Ford 8N, there's just not alot to go wrong there, but problem is- I think I spent more time working on the tractor than I spent working with it. I wish I could call this a leap of faith- but money and faith have little in common in my book. I have to make the decisions here, have to decide if my little patch here can sustain a payment. Thus far, I've been pretty lucky, frugal- but I'm doing to much work with the old back and not enough with the joy stick and the powerful hydraulics of the Kubota. Smaller bucket-smaller tiller, oh the places I could get into! The manure I could move here and there!
Hope this day finds you high and dry...take care-
