Let's make deals

 You all might recall the guy who is a neighbor, a farmer, and runs an excavation and gravel business.  He redid our steep driveway a couple of years ago. 

He has remained a solid guy for snowplowing at $50 per plow. He also checks in on me when he does plowing. I call that pretty neighborly. He knows I'm here on my own.

A week ago Frank came while I was feeding critters. I didn't have my car moved out of his way, he said he would plow around it.

Then the conversation.

"Say....whaddyagoing to do with that Chevy Truck over there?"

Junk it.

"Can I buy it for parts?"

Can I trade you for plowing?

"That's a lot of plowing."

That's less $ out of my pocket.

"That's true. I can do that."

Good Trade then, if you can use it?

"Good Trade."

I reached in through the window of his truck and we shook hands.

Deal--- Done.

There are still places in the US where a handshake is the real thing. The art of trading in a rural area is better than money or contracts.

Today Frank stopped by again. He asked if he could look at the skid steer I had. I'd previously asked him if he knew of anyone who would be interested in it. 

I am not qualified to use it or care for it. I don't get along with machinery. It is a nice piece of equipment and shouldn't just sit in a shed and get dusty and eaten by mice.

I helped him start up the skid steer and left him to it in the shed. He ran it through its paces while I tended to the mules.

When he turned it off, I walked in. 

"How much for it?" he asked.

I told him. I priced it on what we'd paid for it. I know could get more if I advertised on Market Place but I didn't want to deal with strangers calling and asking questions I couldn't answer. OR strange men coming to my place.

Then I took him out to where the hay fork and plow were sitting on the old hay hauler. I told him that the implements went with it.

We stood while the snow fell all around us. Frank seemed to be thinking.

"The implements too?" 

Yup, they go with that particular skid steer.

I asked Frank if he would consider some Dozer and Excavation work for me. I explained my project ideas while we walked back to the house. 

Frank stopped and looked at the fallen down garage.

"I can take care of that for you too," he said. "We can do this and things will look great for when you are ready to have your auctions. I'll be happy to help out."

I was surprised and pleased. I said I wanted to bring this place back to its glory days.

When I sell this place, I want people to see this incredibly beautiful place we have without all the piles of junk laying around.

Frank nodded. "It is a beautiful place you have here. Cleaning it up will really make it shine."

Another handshake. He was giving our old truck new life as a 'parts donor'.  

He was giving the skid steer a good home too. Plus with our trade deals, we'd both come out on top.

Funny how that is. The things that were so precious to Rich will be going just a couple miles away and put to good use.

Let's make a deal.

Tainter Hollow and other places

 These were the views traveling along part of the Tainter Hollow roads I've never gone on before. There is Tainter Rd, Tainter Hollow Rd, Tainter East, and Tainter West. If that doesn't confuse you, you are not alone.

However, the drive isvery scenic on gravel back roads that go up and down and twist all around the valleys and hills.

Then I found this truck sitting in a field. 

When I was 22 and pregnant with my first son

I worked on a Potato Farm. 

My job was to sort potatoes as they came up the belt on the harvester I rode on. The ugly misshapen potatoes went into a large bin and the pretty ones continued on the belt to be dumped into the truck like this one below. When that truck was full, the gent driving would drive back to the farm and dump his load.

I often rode with that old fella back and forth to the fields we were working on. He was a hoot. He had a country boy's explanation for everything in the world. 

One of his funniest quips was. "I didn't get much of an education, my parents sent me to school on the second Tuesday of the third week of each month."

He was quiet while I thought about that one and burst out laughing. 

I was paid $1.90 per hour. My work hours started predawn and stayed until midnight if there was going to be a frost. If the weather was good, we'd put in about 12 hours and be done for the day.

The farm owners brought out a snack for us in the field at 10am and at 3pm. We made our own lunches and ate out in the fields also.

I actually enjoyed the job even though it was hard. The family who ran the farm were very good to us. 

When the season was done, I got 100lbs of the ugly potatoes. What can I say? We ate potatoes with all our evening meals. 

We eventually made it to the Mississippi River and admired the river bluffs.

Now that a lot of leaves have fallen and been blown down, I was able to see some of the homes on the bluffs.

Yikes. I'm pretty sure that I wouldn't want to be perched on that bluff, though the view has to be amazing.

Charlie can see out of this car much better than the Outback so he seems more comfortable. It was a good day even if it was overcast and drizzly.

Oh happy Day!

Yesterday while heading to CrossFit, I saw the Truck sitting outside the DeLap shop full of snow.
At least THAT headache was at the shop and not sitting in my driveway.

I think I am a worry wort...wart? I obsess when things are not going right. I like to have things tidy and in order. The truck upset that apple cart. As did the skid steer when it didn't start.

See? Machines and I don't like each other. But I am learning important things like how to maintain batteries over winter. How to keep the skid steer happy and working. How to keep the 4 wheeler properly running.
With the snowfall and sudden deep freeze, I worried about everything I cannot control.

I tried to get Rich to give me an answer as to whether or not he'd go back to Pulmonary Therapy. He keeps hmmming and hawing and issuing complaints that feel awful similar to a child not wanting to go to school. Meanwhile I have to monitor the new meds that were changed.
And I wonder if his reluctance to go is apathy or is he really having something else going on?


I decided missing CrossFit was not doing me any good so I went. I needed that. I needed to work out. I'd missed it for days while arranging for the truck to be towed and finding a shop I felt I could trust to do the work without ripping me off.

I set a trail cam up on our corner. I've done this before to monitor the traffic and watch animals that like to play on the road in front of our mailboxes. I set it up too for another reason. I'll get into that at another time.
I like trail cams and ordered a new one. My old one is over 5 yrs old and only takes black and white shots now. But still works well.

I like to 'see' what goes on around the farm when I am not looking!

So as the sun went down last night, I did chores. My stomach had given me a large revolt during the afternoon and I was sick as a 'dog'. I think it was my body's way of reacting to being a worry wort and then finally getting a release of that emotion by working out.
I'd slept most of the afternoon.

When I came in from chores, Rich announced that DeLap's had called and the truck was ready.
The little coiled line that went to the rear left brake had split, so it was replaced as well as the one on the right side. They'd checked out the brakes and they were all fine. Everything was good, and I should notice a huge difference now that it had brakes.
Hmmm.
The cost? $187

I'd gone to the one little shop in town where I could speak face to face with the owner. In the past I'd dealt with his father who I didn't care for, but this guy was kind and respectful and told me that no questions regarding a vehicle were stupid and not to feel bad if I didn't understand the workings of a vehicle.

The Truck Saga is over for now and it looks like I'm back in the business of being able to haul feed and...take stuff to the dump or scrap yard!
Doing the happy dance all the way to town this morning.

Moving right along

Oh happy Day!

Mike, the Tow Truck Man showed up in the late afternoon. No apologies needed as he tows for all over our county. He'd told me on the phone he'd try and get to me first thing ... but all it would take would be a phone call and that would change things.

I watched Mike back up our driveway as the places we use to turn around would have been too soft for his heavy truck and our truck on the flat bed.

Chris or Mr. DeLap will call sometime in the next day or so to let me know what the 'damages' are and what needs fixin'. I'm okay with fixing the truck and running it for a few more years. As Mike the Tow Man said, "Hard to run even a tiny farm without a good truck!"

I can't believe how considerate and decent these guys have been to me. [Of course I haven't heard what the costs are yet either.] I've been treated with respect so far. And that goes a long way.
Not like my experience last year where I was treated like 'a Dumb Woman' and ignored until I walked into the shop and stood toe to toe with the manager of the shop.

While waiting on the tow yesterday, I set up what I call the 'winter' fence. It keeps the mules closer to the house, yet they can get into the woods. This serves two purposes. I can usually spot them easily and keep an eye on them...AND during Deer Gun season they are near enough to the house so as not to be mistaken for a Mule Deer. [Insert a crossed eyed emoji here]

Snow!
I woke up to the lovely beautiful white stuff coming down in gobs! Mica and Sunshine were surprised when I led them out of the shed.

Charlie didn't want to venture out at first.
Chores are done.

The snow is coming down hard and it is calling me into the woods!

I am not a mechanic

So with the stall safely done and the mule gals figured out, I moved on to the next project.
Well, actually, today I am not doing much in that department.

I learned how to hook up the 'Trickle Charger' to the skid steer and the 4 wheeler to keep their batteries alive all winter.
My neighbor came down to borrow the fence pounder and he gave me a quick lesson.

He also looked under the Truck. He pointed out to me that the horrors of rust and degradation I was so worried over...were just the dust shields.
WHAT?
I had no idea what that thingy was that I was looking at that looked busted up.
[not my photo...that is a dust shield and it looks funky to me even when it is in good shape. I thought it should have been whole. The ones under our trucks are rusted of course and nasty looking. But pretty much in the shape that this one sort of looks like. But hey, I am NO mechanic.]

I told my neighbor I thought those things would fly off the truck while I was driving it and the whole wheel would fall off. He smiled and said ..."No it won't. They just function to be there and ward off dust...as if that can be done on a gravel road."

He also said that vintage trucks [tongue in cheek with the word vintage] will indeed be rusty underneath. The truck is a 2002. He felt it was worth having it repaired by some experts and perhaps it wasn't as bad as the rust looked. He then showed me some brake things that he had that were nasty rusty looking.

So I'll be talking to a couple of owners of local repair shops hopefully today. I want to do it face to face. And perhaps we can get it arranged to have the truck towed in to their shop.

I've had one person tell me to just put in brake fluid and drive it in. Um. Not an option. I mean what do I do on the highway if the brakes are gone?

I am slowly learning the 'jobs' I always deferred to the husband.

Sigh.
If I can get it fixed, then good. I have a truck to haul feed and bedding for the indoor stall. Also a truck to haul 'stuff' to the dump or to the scrapping place.