Tractor Lessons

Corgi in the snow

We are supposedly in the middle of a winter storm. My husband, Clint, got called into work at 6 am yesterday. That evening he called to say that he was being held over due to the storm and would not be home until at least tonight. If the storm continues, he won't be home then either. He was worried about how much snow we might get and where the tractor was if we needed to move snow. He said I should move it closer to the shop so we (I) could plug it in if I needed it

When you live in the country there are certain things that must be considered when there is a winter storm. Things like where are the kerosine heaters, where is the tractor, where are the oil lamps, flashlights, and candles. We have been out of power here for several days at a time. We run a generator that will let us run some combination of the furnace, freezer, well pump or refrigerator for short periods of time. We used the kerosine heaters for four days during one storm. Turns out they work good to cook on too! We made soup, heated water for coffee, even made popcorn on top of the heater. What an adventure that was.

It was about 4:30 pm and would be getting dark soon. I got bundled up and went out to see what I could do about getting the tractor closer to the house and yard. I had never been on this tractor before. Clint gave me instructions over the phone, and a quick run down of the controls. I managed to get it started. It took a few tries, but not too hard. I moved the tractor up to the shop where it could be plugged in, per my instructions. It turned out it was fun to drive round! No wonder he likes it! I went to turn the tractor off. I lowered the throttle, took it out of gear, and turned the key off. The tractor idled very slowly, but didn't quit. I tried putting it in gear and letting the clutch out to kill the engine. No such luck. Finally, I decided that there was only one thing to do. I went back in the house and called Clint.

I explained to the person who answered that I needed him to tell me how to turn off the tractor. While I was waiting for Clint to come to the phone I could hear his coworkers laughing.  When he came on the phone and I explained the problem, he said, "Oh, well the tractor won't shut off until you take the boom off and put the blade on, ha, ha, ha". Okay, I said, I'll give it a try. This has always been his job, so I knew nothing about it. I got my instructions. (He also told me how to shut the tractor off.) We also discussed the best place to park it if the snow continues.

Back out I went. I was surprised at how easy it was to get the boom off. I backed the tractor up to the blade and attached that. Piece of cake. I drove the tractor around the garden and up to the house. It as about 5:30 now and very dark. I found the extension cord and got it plugged in and ready to use if I need to plug the tractor in. I am now set. I just hope I don't have to try to start it when it gets really cold. It doesn't like that.

One more lesson learned, over the phone.