CrackerJack Attack!

Allow me to introduce CrackerJack.


He is a seven year old Saddlebred gelding and is not only the class of my pasture but today became a genuine equine hero.

CrackerJack has always been an "all eyes on me" kinda fella. From the day he arrived here as a yearling just seperated from his mother he has always had a keen affection for the attention of humans. When I was teaching him to maintain and extend his gaits (he is a naturally five-gaited horse) I had no trouble keeping him in any selected gait so long as there was someone to see him perform. He's fairly polished now and is one very smooth operator. I have the sense he knows he looks good in his gaits as when eyes are on him his tail raises, his head comes up and starts that in-the-groove side to side nod. To call him "flashy" just doesn't do him justice.

Now CrackerJack has always been "my" horse. We spent a lot of time together in the early stages riding everyday so he would learn to trust humans and become bomb-proof. It's safe to say we're buds. In fact he loves me. There's not a doubt in my mind.

He'll let others ride him, but he goes his own way, argues with the bit, and seems to always let them "ride" him to where his muzzle is snuggled under my arm. Breaks my heart. This has always been the case. Until today.

Ya' see my youngest daughter is still nursing a heavy heart from the loss of her best pony friend , Fancy, back in December and today I convinced her to let me saddle CrackerJack up and lead him with her on him. Don't get me wrong, Isabella would saddle and ride bulls if I had 'em, but CrackerJack has a very high energy level - what I call a "Big Motor" and can be intimidating.
I rode him a bit to take the edge off and hoisted Isabella into the saddle for some direction on just how to drive the Ferrari. No jerks on the reins, smooth pulls across his neck, a little goes a long way, relax, sit up straight, shoulders back, look where you want to go, just tap him with the whip so he'll know you mean business.

CrackerJack was not impressed. This is, after all, the work of mares mules, and plowhorses, but as I led them around the ring a few times I could tell Isabella was relaxing, finding her seat on the bigger horse. CrackerJack was still not impressed.

"Feel like takin' him around by yourself now?"

"Sure." Whap! those cowboy booted heels came down in earnest and CrackerJack moved out, head down, sulky and balkin', but Isabella brooked no dissention and gradually, together, they worked out a communication. Two times around the ring and the heavy-hearted girl and the center-ring saddlebred become as one.

Two more perfect laps around the ring and she pulled up next to me. CrackerJack stuck his nose under my arm, but not to hide it this time. His ears were up and forward, his eyes bright. Isabella had a grin stretched all across her face and said, "Daddy, when can I start sayin' cuss words?"
"Never, Isabella. Ladies don't talk like that."
"Why not? 'cause I'm soo happy I could just yell out a cuss word! You know, like Woo!Hoo!.. and a cuss word."

I loved up on CrackerJack and patted my daughter's leg as she hugged CrackerJack's neck. I walked to the other side of the ring and looked back to see Isabella layed back over the saddle with her head on his rump. The Big Motor Saddlebred stood. Still as a stone. My Hero.

HOOTERS !

In response to the shameless exploitation going on over at Nate's Peep Paradise I thought y'all would like a gander at the 2006 Hooter's Calender. You'll have to scroll down; I wanted it to be workplace safe.






















Gotcha!

Farmer Tom Comes Through!

Sorta'... We're still workin' on the pictures of FT's personal tractors but I went ahead and found some stock photos to go with FT's descriptions. I will replace the generic pics with FT's when we figure out how to transmit them in readable form. Enjoy!

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Got a pic of FT's Oliver 880 through the ether just now:

I was mowing weeds with a Bush Hog mower and the 880 diesel, when I spun a main bearing. The engine is a 6 cylinder but only has 4 main bearings. I got it to hot I guess. That was 10 years ago. It is completely disassembled waiting for me to finish the 1600. If only I had more time and money and less stinking job to take up my days.

First is a 9400 4-wheel drive, 425 hp, used mostly to pull a 45 ft field cultivator in the spring and a 7 shank disc ripper in the fall. The field cultivator is probably small for the size of the tractor some guys pull 55 ft but the idea is to run a little faster and cover the acres at a higher speed. The dics ripper has 7 shanks and two rows of disc blades in front of the ripper. The shanks run about 12 to 14 inches deep, on all the acres that raised corn that year. The corn plant leaves a great deal of residue which the ripper mixes into the soil and buries some of it. A moldboard plow would bury all of ithe residue. By leaving some on the surface this greatly reduces the amount of wind erosion.

Second is an 8400. It is the tractor I probably use the most. It was rated by the factory at 225 hp, but at the first factory service check it was dyno-ed at 255 hp. In the spring it will pull the anhydrous ammonia toolbar 17 shanks, that puts on nitrogen for the corn. As soon as it is unhitched from the toolbar it will be hitched to a 6750 gallon liquid manure tank wagon. It is also used to pull a 750 bushel cattle manure spreader, a job that I will be doing again next week. In the fall it will be on the pit(manure) wagon full time as we need to haul nearly 2 million gallon. Some times it is used to pull a 650 bushel wagon when a field is so close as to make the 42 ft grain tractor trailer rigs cumbersome. I realize that this may sound bizzare but this is the most versatile tractor we have as it has lost of power and yet is easy to drive and handy to do different jobs with.

Next is an 8310 it is the planter tractor. Rated at 205 hp it will be pulling a new 24 row 30" JD planter with central fill hoppers this spring. It is equiped with a GPS system that tracks where each field is and what was planted there. When it is not planting it is the tractor that we use at the second farm for manure hauling, grain hauling, grinding hay in a tub grinder etc. In the fall it is likely to be on the 650 bu grain cart(auger wagon) or on a 20 ft stalk cutter that pulverizes the corn stalks.

The 8100 is the sprayer tractor in the spring. It follows the planter with the weed killer usually the same day so that the spray is on before the field gets a rain on it. Many of the weed killers sprayed at planting would harm the corn if it is sprayed on the growing plant so the chemical MUST be sprayed pre-emergence. In the fall it is used on the stalk chopper or the grain cart. The last few weeks it has been used to power the grain vacumn, picking up the pile of grain we had on the ground an in flat storage. We rarely take the duals off of any of these tractors, but when we have a lot of snow the 8100 is used to power an 8ft snowblower.

The 4240 is used on the auger in the fall. The auger is 70 ft long and has a 12 inch tube, it moved about 7500 bushels an hour. Currently it is pushing snow, and all the other things a loader gets used for. In the spring it wil be used to power the feed wagon on the second farm.

The 6410 is used at the second farm to load manure, load the feed wagon, run the hay windrower, bale hay, dig rocks etc. In the fall it will power the baler to make 500 cornstalk bales. Then the loader is fitted with a spear and it is used to pick up the bales and move them to storage. In my opinion it is underpowered and a 7410 or 7510 but I don't have sayso on tractor purchases.

"And now for something completely different.."

Great Tractor Pics and Info, Y'all! So, while we wait.... and wait... for some tractor info/pics from Farmer Tom;

MOTORCYCLES!

Y'all have probably noticed that We Three C's have been obsessing over our next motorcycle purchase and adventure since all the threads seem to degenerate into two-wheel talk these days. I have become fixated on the Suzuki DRZ400s with a few additions. See below:



As always your experience and unsolicited advice is appreciated.

Whereas Nate is leanin' toward the XR650L: