As close to the dream property as I am going to get, at least for now

[CTM1]

I think I managed to save my entire thread from that other place. So I am going to try and duplicate it here over the next few days as a way of preserving memories.

As close to the dream property as I am going to get which I have named "The 66"

I have been on the look out for a larger piece of property for a number of years. The dream was to have at least 100 contiguous acres but the wallet was just not matching up with what various sellers wanted. Well back in Dec I stumbled upon this approx 70 acre piece when a larger tract was broken up, I closed last week .

Back in the day it was part of a farm, and the fact that four of the old fields still remain grabbed my attention. The tract it came from has been in the same family since the early 60's and they do not hunt. It is also surrounded by similar size or larger properties, two of which are 500 acres. It has a brook and a few springs at the front, and several nice old stone walls. It if off a really quiet road that sees very little traffic. The fields are set back from the road, and they are already screened well from would be road hunters. I know it will not hold deer but I figure if I could put out some groceries I could be the main attraction in this valley, which hopefully would pull in some cruising bucks. The one gamble with my endeavor is that the sellers have two other sections for sale across the road. I can only hope that they do not sell to a gun club. With any luck they will go to tree huggers and serve as a sanctuary, hey a guy can dream.

From my measurements it looks like I could have upwards of 8 acres of food plots, but that would be incredibly ambitious given I have been struggling to get in the few small ones that I have been doing at my home. The quad and my nightmare tow behind tiller are not cutting it. Time to search for a used tractor, tiller and hog. My wallet is screaming at the thought of it. The best part is it is only 14 miles from my house. Really excited about having my own little piece that affords me a little elbow room. Now it is just about waiting until the 2.5 feet of snow to melts.

Taken back in Dec before we really got dumped on with snow

 

[CTM1]

Now that I have purchased a tractor I can put the 2015 "plot plan" in action on the new parcel.

The two clover plots and the large brassica plot is my goal, but I have to do some brush hogging and some small sapling removal first. As mentioned in my first post this has been pasture land that has been sitting for over fifty years. Not really sure of what to do with the 2.3A area, maybe just some Winter Rye.

Should have my soil sample results back by Mon or Tues. I can only hope that it will not call for massive amounts of lime. My last hope of getting bulk lime delivered came up empty.

Waiting to hear back from a local Forest Management guy as I am hoping to get the property enrolled in the states "Tree Farm" program which can lower the tax burden.

 

[CTM1]

I walked the property extensively during turkey season and was somewhat disappointed with the lack of deer sign. We only found two small rubs, but there are well worn trails, you can even see a couple when we zoomed in with Google earth. Right now I think I have a piece that the deer move through to go to points beyond, but I am ready.

 

[CTM1]

Well I finally finished all of my backhoe work at my house and took the backhoe off. It took two hours because I had no clue what I was doing.

Now it was time to hook up the hog and drive the tractor the 14 miles over to the new property. Two of my neighbors offered to help. One drove my truck with a small trailer with the tiller on it and the other followed behind me. The first 9 miles was on rural main road, and the remaining 5 was on a back road. Never thought to take the camera on the tractor to take pictures of all the down state people who drove past me scratching their heads at what they were seeing. Farming is a dying thing near me so we do not see many tractors on the main roads.

We reached a top speed on 10mph but I swore it was 11. It took well over an hour to get to the property. Both of my neighbors were good sports for taking the time. They both do small plots and do not have tractors, so I can see some future tilling on my to do list for them as a thank you.

Right after arriving at the property. One of my neighbors who followed me in his van.

Here is a picture of the larger ~3.8A field (field 2) before I got into it.

Here it is after a few hours of hogging, and I am only about a third done.

Here is a before of field 3. Looking at the little tractor and the task at hand it seemed futile.

 

[boot]

Good looking piece of land you got there

 

[CTM1]

Good looking piece of land you got there

Thanks. It has been a long haul to get to this spot in life, and once I got here I realized the real work began

 

[CTM1]

Being new to tractoring there is a learning curve. I was to aggressive with the size of the saplings and hawthorn that I ran over and after about four hours the hog stopped working, so I called it a day.

The next morning I stopped by the nearest tractor dealer (they sold blue tractors, not orange) but they were good sports about it. After conveying what I had been doing the guy pulled out a bolt and grabbed a PTO shaft and showed me what most likely broke and how to fix it. I was back at the property shortly thereafter and sure enough the bolt was sheared and a new one was in. It took longer to figure out how to pull back the plastic guard than it did to install the new bolt.

I was back off any running for four more hours and decided to take an overdue rest. Well when I went to fire up the tractor I heard a horrific noise and the hog was shaking violently. I shut it down and saw that a bolt on the rear of the hog that holds three metal arms together had broken off. I disconnected the PTO and drove back to the truck to call it a day.

Well the next morning I was back at the Blue Tractor dealer and the guy was laughing and wanted to know if I was ready to trade the orange tractor in for a blue one. He hooked me up with a few bolts for the PTO and for the cutter arms and I was off. Well the bolt installation on the hog did not go well as one of the arms was now slightly askew and I could not get the bolt and the nut to tighten up. It did not matter anyway as the tractor would not start. I tried for an hour and it would not start. Another day shot!

One of my neighbors who drove my truck over on day one was a former electrician and he again volunteered to come over and take a look. He checked the voltage of the battery and that the starter was good. We figured it was the something to do with the ignition. Well we were wrong and it turned out to be a loose wire from the starter to the ignition. I assumed it got pulled apart from all of the sapling etc that I was running over. The tractor fired right up and I connected the hog shaft to the PTO to have at it again. Well I again heard this horrific noise and the hog was shaking violently. After shutting it down I discovered that one of the blades was MIA. Yep, one the hog blades had come off and is somewhere out in field "3". My day was done.

Thankfully I laughed more than I cursed the situation, and I cannot wait to see the blue tractor guy again to get a blade and some parts, and get ribbed a little.

Now that I can Monday morning quarterback, I should have followed my original plan and rented a skid steer with a hog and put all of the wear and tear on a rental instead of mine.

 

[CTM1]

FOR SALE : Buy the busted Kubota, the busted Tiller, the busted BrushHog for $250k and get the land free

Enter and read if you want to experience one man's hell on earth with a used orange tractor and implements.

I have often been told if it was not for bad luck I would have no luck. So I am not sure if I am just having a run of bad luck, or if this old farm is trying to communicate that it does not want to be tamed.

Sunday: So I make the 15 mile trip over to the property only to discover that I forget the iron bar which I need to muscle the tiller into place. Well it did not matter as I forgot the tillers PTO shaft as well. So I made the 30 mile round trip and am back at the property in about an hour.

1. So I muscle tiller on but the PTO shaft does not fit. The guy I bought it from did not cut the shaft short enough to install it while the tiller is mounted.
2. Remove tiller, put on PTO shaft on and re-install the tiller. FYI never drop the articulating PTO shaft gear head when trying to install it as it likes to crush fingers. The neighbor a half of a mile down the road must have heard me yell out in pain.
3. All hooked up so I fired up tractor and I am off for some hours of mindless tilling in field 3, NOT! As I am coming out of my first turn after making one pass the trator is not moving. Well the tiller shifted left and sheared the retaining clip off, so now one end is hanging off the arm and is dug into the dirt. So I dismount and spent the next hour trying to muscle the tiller back on while being attacked by flies. Sadly my efforts failed, so I called it a day in total frustration.

Mon: I load up the truck with every possible tool I can think of, including a Floor Jack as I do not want to make another 30 mile round trip because I forgot something.

So I figure I would start the day by heading over to Tractor Supply to get a replacement blade along with a nut/bolt for the Brushhog. Of course no one in my local TS has a clue about the stuff they sell and the computer is down, yet again. One guy hands me a blade for a 5' hog along with a nut and bolt and says he thinks it is the correct one, but he is not sure. He says "you can always return it", yeah like I want to make a 20 mile round trip to make a return. So I head back to the property and you guessed it the blade is the wrong one, as is the nut/bolt. So I shift directions and decide that I am done hogging and will to try to mount the tiller again.

Well the Floor Jack did the trick and I was up and running in minutes. I made about five passes when I noticed that the temperature of the tractor was rising a little. I make one more pass and the temp is even higher so I shut the tractor down and BAM! I hear gurgling and hissing and see fluid coming out from the botom of the left side of the tractor. I decided to call it a day again, and figured the guy who sells Blue Tractors will be getting a call to come get the Orange POS.

Thinking that the tractor is DOA I decided to mix up 24 gallons of Tractor Supply weed killer and hit field two. I have never had much luck with the throw and grow because of the thatch but I am getting down to the wire.

Tues: My neighbor calls early and asks how things are going. I convey the bad news and he says he wants to come over and take a look. So we make the trip over. He explains how to drain the tractor, flush it and refill it. Remember I am not very mechanically inclined and have never done anything like this. So it is off to NAPA for some radiator cleaner, some anti-freeze and some water. I also hit up Tractor Supply to get my money back on the hog blade/nut/bolt.

I am sorry to say but there is no one in my Tractor Supply worth a nickel when it comes to having any knowledge about the tractor stuff they sell. Finally the Manager shows up from places unknown and digs up the right blade on clearence, but says they do have the nut/bolt and that they most likely will not be getting them in again. WT heck! He spews something about a reset of the design. I tell him the hog is only a year old so how can they no longer have parts for it. He says the only way to get it is online.

So I am back at the property and I proceed to drain the coolant and add the cleaner with water and ran it for 15 minutes as the directions stated. I put in the anti-freeze and I am off and running. The tractor was still running a little hotter but not excessivley. So I spent the rest of the day tiiling and ripping out saplings and hawthorn in field 3.

Wed: I am back at the property by noon having at it. About 90% of the field 3 is done when I go to shift into reverse and the lever breaks off. Orange tractors SUCK! I take off the cover and of course I left the tiny ratchet in the plow truck and do not have a wrench small enough for the tiny nut. So I spent a couple of hours walking field 3 making a dozen piles of rocks through out the field so I could drive up to each one and load them into the FEL. When the F/R lever snapped off it did not leave me with a stub so I could get a pair of vise gripes on it. I managed to get it into forward with a little persuasion. Another FYI getting on and off the tractor and tossing rocks into the FEL takes a toll after a while (don't get old people).

Given I still had a couple of hours I figured I would go over to field 2 and till despite the fact that I sprayed it. $60 wasted on weedkiller. Well on pass five the tiller is no longer tilling. I look back expectly to see that it had come off the arm again, but it was much, much worse. The bolts that hold the tine shaft on all sheared off so one end of the shaft was hanging down.

So here I sit pondering life and wondering if my used tractor and used implements are just garbage, my bad luck is real, or if this property has its own thoughts and my plan is not meshing with what it wants. It has been sitting as is for fifty years when CTM1 comes along with his lofty ideas of transforming it into a deer paradise.

I am starting to wonder if I should have stuck to my micro plots at my house and contiued to pay to deer hunt in Ohio with an Outfitter.

Here is hoping that Thurs is a better day and that the Blue Tractor guy has the proper nuts and bolts to fix the tiller.

Pics of the saga to follow

 

[CTM1]

Pics of my saga
Broken F/R lever. See that little nut inside. Yep, no wrench to get it off.

Broken Tiller. I found a root wrapped around it, so I can only conclude that mother nature is stronger than steel.

Broken Hog, hole that bolt goes through.

 

[CTM1]

Maybe I'll build a wall

 

[boot]

Thanks. It has been a long haul to get to this spot in life, and once I got here I realized the real work began

Thats one thing about having property, no matter how much time you put it, it always seems like there is still something else to get done

 

[CTM1]

Thats one thing about having property, no matter how much time you put it, it always seems like there is still something else to get done

Isn't that the truth. Now I see why farmers had lots of kids.

 

[CTM1]

Part of Field 3
Before
There is the tractor from hell way in the back where the tiller came off the arm.

After

 

[CTM1]

I keep telling myself it is a marathon and not a sprint.

I visited with the guy who sells the Blue Tractors earlier today. I walked in with some broken parts and a camera in hand. He said "Oh no, you have a camera it must be bad". I conveyed that the shear bolts on the tiller sheared off. His eyes went wide and he said "but the problem is they are not shear bolts". He did not have the bolts in stock and sent me to the dreaded Tractor Suply store.

TS did not have the bolts, so the lady got Tarter on the line and they went over the diagram and after 10 minutes of trying to explain the bolts that were needed, the Tarter rep said we do not have them. The Tarter rep could not understand how they broke. To her credit the lady at TS ripped the guy a little by saying "we are selling your tillers and our customers can not get replacement parts." She went on to say this is the second piece of Tarter equipment that has broken on this customer in recent days and there are no parts to fix them.

Based on the TS lady's suggestion I hit up a local plumbing supply store and they had Grade 5 bolts, but they were slightly different. They did not have threads all the way down to the bolt head. I got them installed only to discover stress cracks in the tiller.

The tractor has an appointment next week to get the once over by the guy who sells Blue Tractors. The tiller will be there as well for some welding. The manager is still scratching his head about what I did to make such a mess of the tiller.

As I was sitting at the property around 7pm tonight I was thinking back on how they worked the land back in the day with no power equipment, and than I glanced up and saw two vultures circling overhead.

Again guys, thanks for all of the support and advice!
I will not be defeated

 

[CTM1]

Lots of rocks, and many stone walls. I even found one massive pile in the woods, I guess the farmer got tired of making walls. The tiller did whack a few that made me say wow, and one that almost gave me a hernia when I tried to place it in the FEL. I am now on my third rock gathering walk through in field 3. Just when you think you got them all they peer up at you.

A disc will have to be on next years list.

 

[CTM1]

Found a place pretty close for bulk Ag lime.
While it is $55 a ton delivered (not spread) it still beats buying it by the bag at $162 per ton on sale at TS.

 

[CTM1]

I pasted this one here because it cracked me up

Originally Posted by bhh
Lol, pretty sure CTM1 would taco a subsoiler in the first 5-10 minutes.

That is funny! I have decided to do what my Dad made me do when I was a kid. He had me pull a hand rake while my little sister sat on the rake. This broke up the ground and pulled the rocks up. My sister is a wee bit to big for that now, but thankfully she has a kid who just happens to be the perfect weight to act as ballast. The best part is that he is coming up for a week to spend time with his Uncle. The poor kid has no idea what is in store for him. His new name will be "Rockpicker"

 

[CTM1]

Saturday proved to be a good day as I felt a sense of personal accomplishment. It also proved to be a potential nightmare in the making.

Did you know that a Kubota L2250 tractor has metal screen behind the radiator that acts as a filter. I didn't until I discovered it. It was completely caked, it looked like a dryer vent that had never been cleaned but only the lint was dirty. While I could not figure out how to remove the screen, I was able to put a stick in there a clean it out. I also brought the generator and the compressor with me so I fired them up and hit it hard.

I also discovered that it has an air filter (as I said I am not very mechanically inclined), but right there were the words "Air Fliter". So I took that out and it looked like a mouse had set up house in there as I found bits of acorn shells. I cleaned that out and hit it with the air hose for a good ten minutes.

The tractor now runs as cool as I felt after accomplishing something that is commonplace and a no brainer for most others. What can I say I spent twenty years looking at contracts and a computer screen.

Now for the "nightmare in the making". On Friday I heard some noise down on the town road, so I wandered down to take a peek from a distance to see what was happening. Well it turns out it was the RE Agent and she was about to take a couple on a tour of the 84 acre piece of property that is still for sale across the road. My fingers were crossed that they were not one part of a gun club that would come in an lay waste to all gods creatures. and make my efforts all for not.

Fast forward to Saturday and I was working on the tiller and had the Kubota idling when some heavily tattooed guy walks up next to me. I almost leaped out of my skin. Certainly not something I was ever expecting and I never even heard their mini-van over the Kubota engine. As it turns out it was the couple who looked at the property the day before, and they wanted to get the skinny on the area from me. The guy was a retired Police Officer who moved upstate 20 years ago. He quickly asked about the deer hunting and conveyed that he had several kids and 10 grand children. Turns out my fear of a gun club moving in across the road might not have been so bad when compared to this guy. This guy heads up his own deer hunting club. He and his wife turned out to very nice people, so only time will tell what happens.

 

[CTM1]

Nothing like the sound of rain on the tin roof, especially after you just put down 200lbs of Urea and some brassica seed. I am liking the forecast as well.

With rain expected I worked hard to get one acre fertilized and seeded today.
4lbs PTT
2lbs Rape
4lbs GHR

Oh, I broke the tiller again, but thankfully it was at the end of the day while doing another "rock" plot

 

[CTM1]

My little nephew spent a week with me up in the country. It was way to hot to turn him into a rock picker so the little guy got a pass. So he practiced with his bow and we did a little fishing. We also hit the Fair and saw the smash up derby. He had a blast!!

The straight pipes some of these guys were running was deafening.
Thankfully someone next to me gave the kid some ear plugs.