All Day, Three Rounds and a Little Bit

Spent every spare minute this morning tightening, adjusting, checking gear boxes, greasing, oilin' chains and adjusting some more.

Wouldn't ya know, it took me three rounds to learn how to run the crazy thing.

Then, just a wee bit to drop 4 acres of hay with that 686D and the NH 495 swather. Love the sound of that red tractor bellerin' and it just plain feels good to be back amongst the living again!

Think I'll cut another 6 acre patch tomorrow just outta spite. :>)

Allan

Well, the first three rounds were just a bad hair day all the way around. Took me awhile to not to "drive it like a mower".

Out of old habit from running the old John Deere #8 mower, I kept wanting to put that right tractor tire up against the crop instead of keepin' the tractor over to the left and straddling the prior windrow.

After that lesson finally sunk in tho, it went smooth as silk. I'm still kinda amazed at the way those things gobble the hay. They sure weren't designed for small fields were they? :>)

By the way, thanks for the tip about that grease zerk at the tongue pivot. Greasin' that guy up made all the difference in the world in gettin' the machine set up right.

Allan

Been thinkin' bout you the past several days and was wonderin' how you were getting along. Hope all is well in your world, now?

Yep, this is all still "sinking in" to us. The wife is absolutely beside herself; wants to move out there "right now". The old house just is not livable, but she is a determined cuss, so it just might happen, dunno. Says she is gonna paint it this weekend.

To me, the sound of that old tractor is my anchor and the common thread between my past and my present. Those old red devils sure have a calming effect on us, heh? :>)

Allan

Never owned or operated any kind of a swather.

I hired the hay dropped by the custom boys 'cause I was too darned busy irrigating (the old fashioned way with tubes, dams and a derned irrigation shovel.) :>(

This dry land stuff is a bloody "walk in the park" compared to that. :>)

Yes, I can't remember getting these kinds of rains out here. The pastures are up to the cows shoulders and the calves are in there somewhere; see a little head once in a while.

Allan

I'll try to remember in the morning when I sneak away from Mama to go out and play in the grass.

Also, that darned old $500 baler better work or else I might be buying a pitchfork and another pair of gloves! :>)

Allan

Maybe this will help ya out a little?

Thought you might injoy this picture of my dad cutting hay with a IH 990 9 foot haybine on June of 1974. This was my dad's favorite jobs. We had a 856 but he always used the 300. Dad had put 350 IH Firecreator pistons in it, added the wide front end and power steering. We repainted it to look like a 350 which it basically was. In the 1980's he traded the 990 for a 1190. That 300 cut a lot of hay!