A very busy day here. In the middle of it, I went and met up with Pete who was over at Andre’s, talking tractor. I got there late, the two had already decided on which tractor was ours. It was a no brainer – the Steiner wasn’t what we were looking for – but the Kubota 2230 was.

You can put what I know about tractors between your two fingers. This is zilch. I know there are big tractors, and little tractors, and green, red, and orange tractors. And I know that older tractors have metal seats that both hold your butt in place and have a bit of bounce. And I know that most tractors have

implements, like tillers and backhoes and the like. I also know that tractors don’t fall apart, as do cars; otherwise, you’d see them in dumps.

But I saw this orange Kubota tractor that Pete had decided was ours, and I thought, this is a good, sturdy tractor, it will serve us in good stead. I was told that it was a 2011, and only had 185 hours on it. So I deduced that it’s a fairly new tractor.

When I asked about the price, I felt weak kneed and disappointed, because we do not have that much money. Furthermore, we’ll have to come up with $3,000 down. We do not have $3,000. I did not say this because by now the guys were engaging in tractor talk – a language that I don’t yet speak. I say don’t yet because I am going to speak it. Pete was talking like we were going to buy it, so I guess that I will speak it, eventually.

I did sit in the seat and looked at all the knobs and levers. There are a lot of them. Andre showed me where the gas and break are and also how to raise and lower the bucket. I figured this is a good start.

I will put it in a slow gear and take things from there.

I wondered if we’d be able to get the tractor in time to do work on the new compost facility. Andre, bless his soul, said that he’d come over on Tuesday and give us a hand with leveling the ground and moving out the now big pile of manure, finished compost, and brush. This was awfully nice of him.

The guys continued to talk – and talk some more. And talk some more. I got a little restless. Finally, I took some photos. Then I began to think again about the possibilities – we might be able to till the field we have fenced – and next spring grow grass. How cool is that?

Tractor talk: Maybe I can get a book on the subject.

Next: 261. 08/26/12: A Visitor