That's Nice. That's Real Nice.

I'm ready to plant now. Yes, I am proud of my tractor and planter - John Deere 8120, Monosem NG+3.

And this is how my day ended:

Yes, I cooked. I love pork chops and potatoes made on the grill. I just love food.

I've Been A Real Crab Ass Lately

And I'm sorry. The weather, not planting, blah blah blah, are no excuse. So, sorry.

We're continuing to work in the shop. Put some new fertilizer gauges on my planter today. There went some more money. Found out the hydraulic drive on my planter is shit. More money. I've lost about $1,200 in repairs and parts the last couple of days. That's part of being a farmer and owning your own business. On the bright side, I did sell some corn for October/November delivery for $6.19/bushel. That'll help a fella out.

I'm hoping to be in the field Friday, planting by Saturday. Or Sunday. Or it might rain Friday night. Who the hell knows?

Restless

I can only work in the shop for so long. I'm bored. Even though I'm still not completely ready machinery-wise to plant, I'm ready farmer-wise. 

I don't mind tinkering in the shop, and I enjoy it most of the time, but we've been doing it for the last week and a half. It's time to get my butt in a seat. Dad could work in the shop all day, every day, but not me. He likes the shop, I like the tractor. I think that's why we make a pretty good team. 

I like the solitude of the tractor. I like plugging the iPod into an FM transmitter and playing jukebox hero. I like listening to the Scott Van Pelt show on ESPN radio, Dave Ramsey, and the occasional Royals game. I like moving dirt, killing weeds, and planting seeds. I like waving at the people that drive by. Mostly, I like dreaming - about the land I want to farm, the land I hope to own, a place of my own, an insulated shop, my next tractor, raising 200 bushel corn, what I'm going to have for supper, and a certain '81 GMC.

I'm hoping to be planting by the end of the week, but we'll see. We had more rain today. Hopefully the sun will come out and the wind will blow so the dirt will dry out. I have a feeling it's going to be another long spring, but besides complaining, there's not much I can do. It'll get done.

Nice Little Saturday

The last few days we've been puttering around in the shop. We put the tanks on Dad's tractor, put the tanks and duals on mine, messed around with the seat in my tractor some more (you've got to love it when you get a new part to "fix" something and find out it's broken when you install it), and some other things I've forgotten. Changed the oil in my tractor today, gave it a drink of antifreeze, and topped off the hydraulic oil.

I will say that Dad's new shop is a great improvement over the last one. There's s lot more room, the concrete floor is level, and the overhead door is wider. And Dad bought this sweet drill press off of an industrial sale a long time ago, but for some reason we never used it in the old shop. I used it the last couple of days, and holy monkey, it's the coolest thing in the shop. We went from some crappy drill press that was made to fit on a bench to one that has its own stand and was used in a factory. Yeah. Cool beans.

I'll try to take some pictures of some things the next few days. Hopefully, if it doesn't rain any more, we'll be planting this week.

I Was A Farmer Again Today

It was pretty dang nice out today, and we made the most of it. I finished putting the new closing wheels on the Monosem, Dad and I delivered seed corn to Grandpa, Dad finished fixing his air compressor so we put it where it belongs (to find out it has a leak - always something, as Grandpa would say), put the tanks on Dad's tractor, and worked some more on the confounded seat in the 8120. I do believe we have once and for all found the air leak, but I've said that before. I may say it again.

I was walking out the door of Dad's shop to head home and I felt something I feel once in awhile - I belong. Sometimes I feel like I'm just acting out this way of life, that I have no business being here and should pack it up and find a mundane job in town. Then there are moments where you're getting ready to go home for the day, your jeans are dirty, the sun is causing the grass to look a little greener than it has the past few days, you hang an arm out the window of your pickup on the way home. You pull up in front of the garage, grab a beer, baseball bat, and a tennis ball, release the dogs from jail, proceed to hit them some grounders and pop-ups, and realize this is it. I am where God knew I needed to be. There were a few detours on the way back, but that's alright. Radney Foster once wrote in a song "Half of the good things in my life came from half my mistakes." I get that. I live that. It's going to keep happening. If this was a mistake, it's one of the best I've made.

Sometimes

I wonder what it would be like to have a job that wasn't dependent on weather. A job where you got home at 5 every day and didn't think about it until the next morning. Because of this splendid weather, we'll be running balls to the wall once again this spring. They did lower the chances of rain the next few days, but there are still some 50% chances in there, and they're already saying 30% the first few days of next week. In my experience, when you don't want rain, those chances will go up. When you want rain, they disappear.

Really, though, who am I kidding? Yes, days like today drive me nuts. It was too wet to even mow the yard, and too cold to work in the shop. I hit tennis balls to the dogs until I thought I might kill them. I read about 38 magazines and started a book. Hell, I finished the laundry and put a roast in the crock pot for supper. I can't stand being cooped up in my own house. I can't imagine being cooped up at a job I didn't like. I'll quit bitching now. I just need to remind myself out loud once in awhile.

I'm going to tear out the flower beds and trim the hedge tomorrow. I might mow the grass. It's supposed to be 50 again (hallelujah) so I'm going to be outside.

I'm Getting Antsy For Planting. And a Call For Help

We had quite a bit of rain a few days ago. I heard anything from an 1.5" to 1.8". 90% chance of rain tonight, 80% tonight, and a chance every day and night through next Monday. I hope it doesn't rain on Easter - the old wives tale says that if it rains on Easter, it will rain the next 7 Sundays. As wet as it's been the last few years, I'm not beyond believing that. I'd like to be planting about... tomorrow. That's not going to happen. Hopefully soon.

I've been looking into restoring our '91 GMC pickup. I say it's ours, but Dad's name is on the title, so really, it's only mine because I'm the only one that drives it. Anyway, it's been in the family for a long time, and eventually Shay and I will need an extended cab pickup, so instead of buying a different pickup, I'd spend (hopefully) less money by making this one shiny and new. It's got a good engine, tranny, and transfer case, so it would be a cosmetic restoration. The only problem is basically every panel needs replaced. The doors are good, and I think the tailgate can be reused. Everything else is rusted out. 

Why do it? Because I'm a softy for family stuff. I bought a '98 GMC from my Grandpa Peters that he bought new. I sold it about 6 months after I bought it, and regretted doing that about 2 weeks later. Dumbest thing I've ever done (and it's a long list). I've seen that pickup around, and some dumbass kid bought it and beat the piss out of it. I keep hoping to see it in a parking lot so I can put my name and number on a slip of paper under the windshield, but usually I see it when the kid's foot is buried. Never should've sold it. Grandpa has a couple of John Deere 3020s that he's had for over forty years, and I'd like to restore them someday. I actually spent part of today looking up parts for them, for no particular reason. I like to dream, I guess.

The other reason I want to fix it up is because the drive train is solid, and I know where the pickup has been. Whenever I've bought a used pickup (which is every one) I'm pretty nervous the first couple of months. Some people don't care about their vehicles as long as they go from A to B. On the other hand, we take good care of our stuff. That GMC's odometer quit at 258,524 in the spring of '04. Shortly after, Dad put a new engine in. Dad and I drove a '94 Chevy that had 224,000 miles on it when Dad got rid of it. Dad says I drive like a grandma, but hey, when stuff lasts forever, I'm not going to change my style. I know where the '91 has been, and I've been driving it since 2000, so I'm confident it's not going to let me down.

I can't decide, though. Some days I'm all for it, and others I'm not so sure it's a good idea. Help me, followers.