SUBSCRIBE TODAY Smiley face  Get updates via email! 




We Are Flying Solo

February 28, 2015

You Know That Day You Were All Like “Imma Be A Hero!” Pt II

Here Come The Awesome Points!

After meticulously clearing spaces around all levers & pedals, I slip the tractor into 4x4, put the transmission in (s)low gear, & begin the crawl towards my road.
 
Snow, hay, it all drags, right???
Hold on to your panties, because…it’s working!  I keep the drag teeth adjusted at just the right height so they don’t reach the fragile, saturated soil beneath.  They break up the tire tracks so there is no risk of creating packed ice.  I move to the side of my path every few minutes to lift the drag, dropping accumulated snow so it doesn’t get too heavy.

Richard’s house is very close to the street, our driveways connect, so as I turn (about 20 mins later…I wasn’t kidding about slow) onto his section to make my entrance as Epic Rescue Neighbour, I see him with snow shovel in hand, having just cleared the edges of his carport.  He waves & walks down the hill, so I stop & switch off the tractor to chat.

Begin Subtraction Of Attempted Awesome Points

I excitedly point to my Ingenious Solution & proudly announce that I could finally repay him for…at least 1% of all he’s done.  Richard grins & replies.   

*insert trademark NC retiree accent here*

Great!  I was just about to start up the skidsteer.  I was just gonna plow a quick loop around our driveways up here by the pole barn & the street so it’ll get down to that black surface & melt faster.

Oh, yeah, he also owns an industrial skidsteer to which he added a 5’-wide bitey bucket of his own.  And a 10,000-lb excavator.  And pretty much anything else you can think of (except a drag!!).

Aww, Richard!”  You’d think I’d have learned my odds of success whenever I start to think I’m awesome.  “Dang it, now you ruined it!  How am I ever going to be helpful when you own every toy in the world??!”  I’m laughing at the same time, so it wasn’t as heartless as it sounds, hee.

As Richard is also the trademark, old-school southern farmer-type (of the best subspecies in that genus), with a heart of gold & an enormous Compulsive Helping complex, he, also laughing, insists that, no, no, my Ingenious Solution is still helpful.  ROFL.
 
Stubborn Woman Will Help You Whether You Like It Or Not

And once she has started, she’s not stopping just because you can swoop around 30 times faster on your all-terrain tracks & clear everything better than a snowplow because you have 80,000 hours of experience.  Nope, she’ll follow you around with the drag, breaking up & smoothing the skidsteer tracks.  Hey, it looks prettier & it will increase meltage even more.  Go team!!

Naturally, Richard’s Helping complex also kicked in, so when he finished his loop, he proceeded to polish off my entire driveway, including my tractor path back to the run-in.

Endgame

Me = 100 points for good intentions, 10 points for actual usefulness

Richard = 1,000 more Awesome Points to add to his already uncountable total, all of which are also 100% actually useful

TL;DR:  My personal slogan may be something like, “Dang, I tried to help,” but I am possibly the luckiest farm owner ever when it comes to neighbours.

Just for pretty factor, our much more well-behaved snowfall from January, which melted in two hours, like proper NC winter should!
shadowfx01's Jan 2015 Snowfall album on Photobucket

20 comments:

  1. Replies
    1. Moving in next to Man Who Owns All Equipment? Yes, yes it is! ;P

      Delete
  2. Ugh.

    I moved next door to an extra helpful (at least in the offering help, leering and expecting something in return departments) farmette neighbor. In the plus category, he has a well maintained tractor with bitey buckets etc. Minus category - he recently ended one (extremely) long-winded tractor offer conversation with some personal details about how long it had been since he'd...

    I don't have to spell it out, right?! ( boy did I have to concentrate on what look I had on my face as his words sunk in)

    You are so the winner in both helpful neighbor categories. Living next door to you would be AWESOME, even if the neighbor on the other side (love me some old-school southern farmer types) has you out gunned in the implement department. :D

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Oh dear, that is NOT the good subspecies!! Blech, sorry. I run into a fair number of those winners during field work. So, so wrong.

      Delete
    2. I vote that you run over Calm Forward Straight's neighbor with your drag, because it sounds like he deserves it. Plus, it will be a very entertaining story. Don't worry, we'll all be your alibis!

      Delete
    3. Hehe, if it weren't for those danged assault charges!

      Delete
  3. hmm, why have I never thought to use my drag in that way???? Give yourself extra points for giving me an idea.....

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Yay!! I'm always in need of points! In the spirit of Horse World, I pass on an Ingenious Solution in the way of the Great Ones who have passed on others to me. ROFL.

      Delete
  4. I kept thinking the story was going to end with a broken drag and links scattered precariously in the ice and snow.

    You do have an awesome neighbor! I think you deserve some extra points for enthusiasm.

    ReplyDelete
  5. Lol points for trying! And prettying it up definitely counts in my book haha

    ReplyDelete
  6. I agree, points for trying! It's always the thought that counts!

    ReplyDelete
  7. I, too, thought t was going to end in some sort of epic disaster. Subtract points from my tally for being ever-so-slightly disappointed that the end was just "meh" and not " I accidentally ran over Awesome Neighbor with the drag and he now resembles Freddy Kreuger (sans knife-blade hands)".
    I'm actually glad everything is fine, even though story-wise a disaster would have been a more exciting ending. ;-)

    ReplyDelete
  8. And now I discover that, just like at work, a reputation precedes me without my even knowing it!! ;P Sorry to disappoint by lack of disaster -- there may be more exciting stories if we all lose our minds in ice & mud and go on a rampage...is that better?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Better story-wise cuz it would be an exciting read, but I definitely don't wish disaster to descend upon you! Although, some sort of rampage would probably be satisfying for you in the short-term!

      Delete
  9. These two posts were entirely hilarious and oh so relatable

    ReplyDelete
  10. You both have good neighbors. And I'm impressed that your lines in the snow are so straight. A+ for good snowmanship.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Yessssss! If there's anything I don't want to lose, it's prettification points!!!!

      Delete
  11. It actually did work, so you're welcome to those of you who can now drag snow like a pro! ;P And the entertainment is just a free bonus around here...

    ReplyDelete