The parts for the tractor arrived yesterday. Josh went out after to breakfast to put them on and just came in to say he was done. I’m listening for the sound of the engine now. We are very impressed with how quickly the parts arrived and how easy the company was to deal with. We placed two orders in as many weeks, and everything came quickly – the last in a matter of days – all the way from Indiana.
The company is called N-Complete and they carry pretty much everything you could need or want for repairing or restoring any Ford N Series tractor (or any old Ford tractor made up to the mid 1960's), and their prices are competitive too. The customer service is outstanding as well.
It will be good to have the old tractor running again. Josh wants to restore it to original so we can take it to tractor shows, but we’ll have a working set up too. The original horizontal muffler turned out to be impractical - I’m sure that is why my dad removed it - so we’ve put on the vertical muffler for use around the farm. I’m used to using the tractor without a muffler, but Josh just couldn’t stand how loud it was. He is right of course. It does need a muffler.
We’ve replaced a lot of things, from the engine wiring harness to the exhaust manifold. A few more small repairs to do, but not a lot left to fix outside of a couple major things. We definitely need a new radiator, and a new paint job would be good too.
The old tractor has certainly been a reliable workhorse. My dad bought it new in 1946, along with several implements, some of which we still have and use. It was the primary tractor around the farm until the late 80’s or early 90’s, and was still used for working the garden spot in the spring and other small jobs. I’ll have to find and post some old pictures of my dad using it. I can remember riding on it with him when I was a child, sitting on the seat in front of him while he pretended to let me drive. I don’t know how I never noticed that he lightly held the steering wheel as it jerked my arms this way and that with every bump in the field. He must have, otherwise we would have been off on a wild ride!
These days I can control the steering wheel much better, and it doesn’t seem to be the one in control like it did when I was a kid. It will be good to get back up on that familiar seat and grab the steering wheel, hear the familiar purr of the engine, and turn the rich soil in preparation for planting. That is, if I can get Josh to give it up.
I hear the familiar rumble, and there it sits in the driveway. Lots of smiles!
Sunday, March 7, 2010
Saturday, March 6, 2010
Spring has Sprung!
It is only the first week of March and we’re already several weeks in to spring in the Pacific Northwest. I feel a little guilty when most of the country has been slammed hard with winter. I’m envious too. We didn’t have a winter to speak of here. A light dusting of snow around Thanksgiving and that has been it. The brief cold snap did nothing to the bug population. We were outside in the evening last week with mosquitoes already attacking. This probably doesn’t bode well for controlling the garden pests either.
I do know it was enough cold for the spring flower bulbs. The Snow Drops are already spent, the Daffodils in full bloom, and my Hydrangea is already leafing out, as it the climbing rose. The Irises look well on their way to producing a bouquet of beautiful blooms. I see the pink Peony is already sending up shoots and everywhere I go the ornamental fruit trees are blooming. One of the Rhododendrons is starting to bloom too. The lawn out by the orchard needs mowing but the ground is still too wet. We’ll have a hay field by the time it is dry enough.
Depending on what follows the “el Niño” the lawn will then be dried out by the end of July. I’m hoping this will not be the case. I don’t want to have to water the garden half the summer. The lawn can dry out, but the vegetables need adequate water. I’ve seen my dad grow tomatoes and other vegetables when the soil was so dry it felt like flour. I’m just not as confident in my skills as that. We’ll see.
Also hoping the extremely early spring doesn’t mean the growing season is going to be off kilter too. The weather has been beautiful lately, so perhaps the ground will be workable earlier than usual too. We’ll either have an early fall or an exceptionally long growing season for this area. I’m hoping on the latter and am going to try some things that don’t usually do well around here – cantaloupe, eggplant, peppers, and maybe even a watermelon plant or two.
We’re growing a nice variety this year. The usual suspects of tomato, lettuce, cabbage, cucumber, carrot, squash, pumpkin, corn, potato, pea, and bean are planned, as well as some heirloom varieties of tomato and an unusual squash that is supposed to good grilled – the Musque de Provence. It is similar in size and shape to what is known as a Cinderella pumpkin, but doesn’t turn the bright orange and I understand have a slightly different taste. Also putting in blueberries, strawberries and asparagus this year, but probably not have more than we can use ourselves this first season.
Looking forward to working outside this afternoon – so much to do!
I do know it was enough cold for the spring flower bulbs. The Snow Drops are already spent, the Daffodils in full bloom, and my Hydrangea is already leafing out, as it the climbing rose. The Irises look well on their way to producing a bouquet of beautiful blooms. I see the pink Peony is already sending up shoots and everywhere I go the ornamental fruit trees are blooming. One of the Rhododendrons is starting to bloom too. The lawn out by the orchard needs mowing but the ground is still too wet. We’ll have a hay field by the time it is dry enough.
Depending on what follows the “el Niño” the lawn will then be dried out by the end of July. I’m hoping this will not be the case. I don’t want to have to water the garden half the summer. The lawn can dry out, but the vegetables need adequate water. I’ve seen my dad grow tomatoes and other vegetables when the soil was so dry it felt like flour. I’m just not as confident in my skills as that. We’ll see.
Also hoping the extremely early spring doesn’t mean the growing season is going to be off kilter too. The weather has been beautiful lately, so perhaps the ground will be workable earlier than usual too. We’ll either have an early fall or an exceptionally long growing season for this area. I’m hoping on the latter and am going to try some things that don’t usually do well around here – cantaloupe, eggplant, peppers, and maybe even a watermelon plant or two.
We’re growing a nice variety this year. The usual suspects of tomato, lettuce, cabbage, cucumber, carrot, squash, pumpkin, corn, potato, pea, and bean are planned, as well as some heirloom varieties of tomato and an unusual squash that is supposed to good grilled – the Musque de Provence. It is similar in size and shape to what is known as a Cinderella pumpkin, but doesn’t turn the bright orange and I understand have a slightly different taste. Also putting in blueberries, strawberries and asparagus this year, but probably not have more than we can use ourselves this first season.
Looking forward to working outside this afternoon – so much to do!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)