Farm living is the life for me

 

We are reimagining the chicken living situation. This involves moving various things that have evolved into locations over the past couple decades. Random storage options have long term frustration effects.

It is now time to cut hay. The New Holland 1085 Stacker decided have a brake failure at the start of hay season. I have no idea how to fix it. 

I brought the stacker home from storage. The brakes worked reasonably well. I parked it in front of the shop and set the parking brake. 

After completing the yearly service I decided to go stack. The parking brake did not want to release. It is a hydraulic valve set up which releases a spring loaded wedge brake. The lever went hard. But it released. I backed up the stacker, right into the newly running 1966 F250. But since I had forgotten to lower the load rack when I hit the brakes and nothing happened it only popped the front tire.

I needed to pick up bales so I went and stacked. Dumping was a little dicy but brakes are kind of for sissies anyhow.

We have had a bit of rain so I decided to bleed the brakes. This was not the problem. In fact, if I bleed the brakes with the engine off and get the brakes to work with no power, when I start the engine the pedal goes solid and there are no brakes at all

I have replaced the master cylinder. Fixed the electric power booster, adjusted the main hydraulic pump to provide 2100lbs at the power steering gearbox and now have 250lbs at the brake booster (a little high) and still have no brakes. 

Not sure who to call for advice. Perhaps I don't really need brakes...

The old brake light switch was solid brass and lasted for 35 years. This new one is not quite the same quality.

We bought I new old truck bed at an auction. My nephew most likely will get it installed before too long.

I hate working on brakes. I hate being covered in hydraulic oil, brake oil, and dirt. And I hate not being able to think properly.

Did a little road grading and hook a culvert. When the Uncle was alive and owned this grader blade we forbidden to put it on anything bigger than 45hp for fear it would bend. I have been using it on 180hp front wheel assist. But grade in gear three at an idle. I hooked a culvert. It bent the cylinder.

Next week it is going to hit 90 and we are cutting hay with or without brakes.

I wish the teff would come up.

Have a happy day!

Every day in every way it is getting better and better

Today is the fifth of May. 

It feels like the fifth of June.

I feel like driving into Dad's Market for a fifth of something brewed by a Baptist preacher in Kentucky.

My facebook suggested a then vs now picture. Back in 2016 I was planting Barley in this kind of weather. It actually sort of worked.

Because it rained.

Yesterday I no-tilled oats into spots in the annual ryegrass field that drowned out last winter. We were not able to get enough more oat acres to redo the whole field so I planted the worst spots. But the whole field needed to come out.

The annual is only about six inches tall due to being under water all winter. If it would have rained last week as predicted, it would have looked completely different.

We cut alfalfa yesterday. It is going to rain next week. Or not...

We have like a hundred acres of crappy hay to do. Since it is not growing we might as well start now.

Predicted prices on everything are crap anyway.

I do not always drive straight after dark

Just driving around the field and filling in blank spaces

I wish I could get a good country western station on the radio. AM Country is even dead nowadays

A least I don't work for those idiots at the University. Which brings up the one funny spot in the week. 

I started getting texts from former coworkers wondering what happened to a guy in Utilities who suddenly disappeared from work. Since I was just driving around in the tractor and needed a laugh I inquired.

There are different stories but...

The University always goes into panic mode when they get the enrollment stats for next year. They are having problems attracting students and the ones they get tend to go on academic probation, then disappear over break.  Of course the Uni is incapable of tracking and supporting marginal students because they think they are the freaking Brown University of Cosine Creek and don't need to do no stinking student support... 

But, I digress.

My friend, who is the guy who fixes your refrigerator, dishwasher, various handyman tasks, came back from the town hall meeting where they were told jobs and departments would be cut, and thought he would have a little fun.

So he put a LU coffee mug on a local Facebook auction site with a caption to the effect of buy this cheap as when the school goes broke it will be collectable.

They were not amused.

Since he is a favorite of the department head he was supposedly given the retirement buyout which is four months pay. 

I was laughing about this with a neighbor who is Alumni and whose student daughter is essentially running her workstudy department. He had a lot of pretty good stories as well. We had a good laugh.

Then the former president called me. This was bit of a shock. I thought he wanted to talk about the school but we just talked about life and God and how once a Baptist, always a Baptist. He is producing Jazz concerts in the Caribbean and living the good life. Life goes on...