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Dairy Farm Tractor Issues

    I had some tractor issues this past weekend amongst the rest of a very busy week-end.  I will proceed with the story.
    I had a very busy Saturday planned as I had several things to accomplish.  First I had to get to the bank and make a VFW deposit, get back home and feed before going to Rogersville to pick-up my Granddaughter "M" for the evening.
    Tractor started right up as it was warm from being able to plug it in now that the electric line is repaired.  I let it warm up good and drove out to feed.  Fed one bale from the shed I was in and headed across the fields to another shed to get two more bales because the weather was predicted to get bad.  Coming through the lot I fed one of those bales and as I was backing the tractor into the shed it started to sound funny and would not rev up.  I turned it off before it died, sat there a few minutes and retried it.  Roared right to life again and I proceeded to finish backing it into the shed but it again started to die but I had it back far enough for now.  I thought that the linkage had fallen as I had hit a few big bumps on the frozen ground.  I got off and checked but no, the linkage was fine.  Anyway, no time to worry with it now as I had to get to Rogersville to get the granddaughter.
    I had a very pleasant drive to Rogersville and arrived there shortly after noon.  Francis was working on the house and Jenny and "Little Ike" had gone to town.  "M" was packed and anxious but I stayed and visited with Francis a bit before "M" and I headed back to Norwood.
    We arrived home safe and sound and found two more grandkids waiting for us. I was beat so sat down for a rest before I had to head out to chore.  I would have to milk by myself because Glinda had three grandkids to watch and it was too cold to have them at the barn.
  Finished the evening chores and got back to the house about 7:30.  Glinda was preparing supper and getting the grandkids fed.  I retired to the computer room and relaxed online for a while.  Glinda made a pallet on the floor in front of the TV for the young ones.  Glinda went to bed about 10 and I put in a movie to watch with the Grandkids.  We watched "1 and 1/2 Cops" starring Burt Reynolds.  I fell asleep about halfway through.  Talking woke me up around 2 and the two girls were play arguing.  Glinda and I both told them to hush up and go to sleep.
    Sunday morning I got to chore by myself again because of the grandkids presence and it was cold.  Ed came over while I was finishing up and brought the Sunday paper and I mentioned the tractor troubles to him.  He advised me to change the fuel filter on the tractor as it likely had water and sludge that wasn't allowing the fuel to move through fast enough in the cold weather. Finished up and went to the house to warm up and get a bite to eat. I headed out around 9:30 to check on the tractor.  I was first going to try to just clean the fuel filter out as I did not feel like going to Mtn Grove on a Sunday and trying to find a fuel filter.  It is a spin on filter like an oil filter and I figured I could just spin it off.  I had before.  I tried bare handed  and with gloves on but could not get it to move.  I went around looking for my filter wrench but could not find it.  I tried to improvise a wrench with pliers and wire but that didn't work either.  I knew I could get it off by punching a hole in it with a screwdriver but I didn't have another filter so that would not work.  I finally gave up and headed to O'Reilly's in Mtn Grove to get a Wix fuel filter #33351.  While I was there I picked up a gallon of oil and a filter wrench.
    Arriving back at the shed I tried the filter wrench, but alas, I had purchased one that was too small.  My fault for not checking the size of filter.  Oh well, I have had better days.  I finally used a long screwdriver and punched a hole in it catching the spilling fuel in a pan and got it off.  I spun the new one on and opened the bleeder valve and then went around back and opened the fuel line from the tank so it could fill the filter.  Watching the bleeder nothing was happening so I took the filter back off and there was nothing coming out.  I went around to the fuel tank and shook the line some and started the fuel flowing.  Turning it off once again I respun the filter on and again opened the valve.  This time I could hear the fuel flowing into the filter.  When it was bled I turned the bleeder off and picked up tools.  I climbed aboard and tried starting the tractor but it just ground and ground.  Simply would not hit.  I waited a little bit and tried again.  Somehow in all the dirt on my hands I noticed that blood was flowing.  Using a dirty rag I tried to find where it was coming from but wasn't having much luck. I went to the truck and found a cleaner rag and was able to see I had sliced my left index finger and it was bleeding profusely. My hands were so cold I didn't even feel it.  I started looking for some ether, I figured that if I got the tractor to hit it would draw the fuel into the injector pump, but I could not find any.  About that time Glinda came down and took the grandkids to Mitzi's and told Brandan of the trouble I was having.  There was no either available at either of the two quick-stops in Norwood so he called his friend Bob R to see if he had any.  Bob didn't have any but he called around and found a man with a lot of equipment that had some and he went to get it for us.  We were trying to get the plug out of the block so to be ready when the ether arrived and I thought I will try the tractor again and to our surprise it roared and started.  We waited and listened and it seemed to be running properly so we let it warm up good and went to Mitz's to celebrate "Lil"s second birthday while the tractor ran.  Drove the truck down there so Brandan could help me load the air compressor and get it back to the shed since we now had electric service there.  Bob and his family drove up while we were loading and he handed me the can of ether. I thanked him for a job well done.
    After "Lil" opened her gifts Glinda and I went to feed and everything worked great.  Put the tractor back in the shed and went and enjoyed ice cream and cake.  Got everything done in time to chore again.  It had been a long cold day.
    Hope it starts again in the morning when I go to feed and the temperature is supposed to be 6 degrees.
   

Comments (0) Permalink January 4, 2010


Babysitting Robin for Mary

   I have had a rare opportunity to babysit the little dog, Robin, of my sister-in-law Mary..  It has been quite an experience and let me tell the tale. 
    Mary and my wife were going gambling west of Joplin in Oklahoma on December 1 and planning on staying the night.  Mary, not wanting to leave the dog at home needed someone to watch Robin, her little white cute bachon dog.  The plan was for Robin to stay with Jake and Amanda but the rendezvous was missed and I received the privilege.  Things were going great as I had to stay in the house anyway and wait for a repairman to come and fix the washing machine.  I took Robin outside three times in the morning and afternoon but she failed to want to do her 'thing'.  Instead she would run around the house and get with my two dogs and run and play a bit.  The first time I had to catch her to get her back inside but after that she would come when I approached the door and called her name.  I tried to get her to eat and drink but to no avail.  Because Jacob and Amanda were not home I was going to collect two children when they got off the bus and watch them until choretime. Finally it was choretime and the repairman had still not shown up.  I called him and got his answering machine and left a message that no one would be there until after the evening milking and then I went to milk.  The kids and I headed to the barn, they were going to stay with Mitzi until Jacob and Amanda returned around 8:00 p. m.   Mitzi had to go to the schoolhouse to pick up "Flossie" from basketball practice at 4:15 p. m. and so I went in the house to watch the other five that were there while she was gone.  Milked by myself so took a little longer than normal.
    Evening chores done and past 6:30 p. m. I headed back to the house.  I thought I should give Robin a chance to use the outside for a bit but I was concerned about it being after dark.  Immediately upon opening the door she headed out and around the corner and I lost sight of her.  About then the repairman showed up and I had to let him in and escort him to the washing machine so he could get started and I went out to try to call Robin.  I could not call her or my two dogs (I think they were off chasing something) .  I looked around and called and called and finally I called Mitzi for help.  She sent some kids out to help and she came outside with them.  Surely she would be in the garden or calf lot that is between the two houses.  Mitzi finally spotted her in the road and I headed down the road from my house but Robin turned and headed back to Mitzi's.  (Remember it is dark - good thing Robin is white).  Again she gave us the slip and we searched and called and searched and called.  I am starting to get mighty frustrated with the adventure.  The repairman was done and had Glinda's washing machine running again so I had to stop and thank and pay him and see him off. Finally Mitzi or one of the kids spotted her again.  She was under an old mulberry tree that has the branches down to the ground beside my stock dog that has to remain tied.  The other two dogs had appeared  and Robin was reluctant to leave the relative safety of the tree and dogs.  I got up close and pounced on her and got bit  three times for my trouble, but I did not release my grip on Robin.  I held her close and tight and took her into the house where she promptly run and got back in her kennel she has for sleeping and traveling.  I examined my wounds and found I was bleeding in three places so I washed up good and tried to stop the bleeding.  I let Robin out in the house once more and tried to get her to eat or drink something but it was no use.  I was not mad at her because she was just scared and doesn't really know or like me.  I thought I will try again tomorrow.
    I got up at 3:30 a.m. and headed to the barn to chore after morning coffee.  When I was able to return to the house I again made a mistake and thought I could let Robin out this morning in the daylight and she might not run away but when she hit the door she went in a straight line to the southeast of the first field, crawled through the fence and kept going along the fence until she reached the back forty where she again went through the fence.  Good thing she stopped to rest and I was able to get her in sight again but when she saw me she slipped through the fence and out onto the road.  I called Amanda to come assist as by now we were near their house.  I crossed the fence and got in the road and the little varmint crawled up the embankment and back through the fence and left me in the road.  Again she is out of my sight so I hustle after her trying to get her in my sight once more.  I spotted her heading west and in the second field again so I follow behind.  She goes right on into the first field again and heads towards the house and I am over a half field away but then I see Amanda drive in to the driveway and let two of her dogs out and they pursued Robin and got friendly and she slowed down.  Amanda and I followed until we kinda had Robin in a corner and Amanda was able to approach and grab her.  Robin is back in the house with me now and Amanda and her two dogs have gone home.
    Many thanks are extended to Mitzi and the young ones who helped me last night and to Amanda, Sadie and Harley who assisted me this morning.  I could not have caught her without your help.
    Robin - I do not believe she likes me.
Cheerily
IJK

Comments (0) Permalink December 2, 2009


Thoughts on the "Berlin Wall'

    I was ten years old when the Wall was built and it came to represent the evil of communism and the Soviet Empire to my young impressionable mind.  I remember the "Cuban Missile Crisis" of that same time period and how President Kennedy stared the evil in the eye and never blinked and the evil retreated from the nearness of our shores but the "Berlin Wall" still stood.  My Mom and Step-Dad got married in 1964 and we moved to Long Beach, Ca (he was serving in the US Navy) where my brother and I were enrolled in school.  I can remember having drills at school about what to do during a nuclear attack.  The "Cold War" was very real for my generation and the "Berlin Wall" was a symbol of that time period.  I can remember reading about the many Germans who tried to escape East Germany and how they were shot down trying to get over the Wall.
    Today we mark the 20th Anniversary of the fall of the "Berlin Wall".  I believe it was  Monday.  I had just started calling bingo for the Mtn Grove VFW and we came home from bingo on that night and turned on the television to catch a little news and unwind before bedtime but the story that was playing out live was mesmeriseing.  We sat staring and watching the citizens climbing the evil wall and tearing it apart piece by piece.  Tears welled up in my eyes as I thought about what that meant and those that had perished in their attempts to scale that wall and how it meant that the end was coming for the great evil of the Soviet Empire.
    Take a few seconds in silent genuflection on this day and think about those who were so desperate for freedom that they would rather die than live under communism and thank the millions of American servicemen and women that stood as a human wall during the "Cold War" and kept the evil of the Soviet Union from enslaving more of the world. The War in Vietnam was just a prolonged battle of the "Cold War" and although the media tells us we lost the Vietnam War, in reality we did not, for it bankrupted the Soviet Union and led to their defeat in the "Cold War".  The spread of communism was halted without another nation succumbing to it.
IJK

Comments (0) Permalink November 9, 2009


Logging?

    Glinda and I had the opportunity to travel to Rogersville and assist our oldest son with cutting down a tall pine tree that was threatening his house and leaking sap on his automobiles.  We arrived at 9:00 a. m. and started by cutting a wedge out of the side of the tree in the direction we hoped it would fall.  The tree was much too huge for our small chainsaws so we took another wedge out of another side before we began the main cut.  Once we started the main cut it was only moments before it was on the ground.  By golly, it had fallen the way we intended.  Yippee.  Does this make us loggers?
    It was 10:10 a.m. when we were finished and all the mess cleaned up. The slide show above shows the progress we made in a short 1 hour and ten minutes. Then we had a great lunch of homemade deer stew and took a walk in the woods and visited a bit. It was a beautiful day in the Ozarks. The photo below shows what GrandMa got to do while the rest of us were working on the tree.
    This is the first time she has had the opportunity to hold "Little Ike" while he was sleeping. 
    The video below shows my son leveling off the tree so they can set a plant pot on it next spring. That is 'plant pot'  not  'pot plant'.


Comments (0) Permalink October 10, 2009


Dairy Barn Issues

    It seems that there are always issues to be faced around a dairy farm and esp the barn where we milk.  September issues were:
    I walked into the barn at 4:30 a.m. on Sept 11 and the agitator was turning.  No big deal as it is supposed to come on and stir the milk periodically.  I happened to look at the temperature gauge and it said 75 degrees.  That is much too hot as it should have been 39 degrees.  I opened the tank and sure enough the milk was turning to butter.  I checked to see if the cooler unit was on and it was.  I flicked breakers and tried all I could but to no avail I could not get it working properly.  I called the local repairman and got him out of bed and said "help".  He assured me he would be right over.  I tried calling my field man but could not raise him. I opened the valve and dumped the milk on the floor and down the drain.  At least I could get it washed and ready for when it was working again. 
    I gathered the cows and waited for Steve S. to arrive.  He finally got there and started checking it out.  He found a small freon leak that had suddenly gotten worse and I had lost all the freon and that was why it was no longer cooling.  A small 1/4 inch copper line had been against a screw and the vibration had worn a hole in it until it was big enough to lose all the freon.  Steve S. repaired it and filled it with freon and we thought we had everything going great.  He did not have enough freon so he headed home to get more and I started milking.
    Everything was working great when I got done and since I had to get to Mtn Grove I headed out.  Going down the road to Mtn Grove I get a call from Steve S. that he was back at the barn and that the compressor had blown up and he was headed to get a new one.

Old Compressor New Compressor

Finally $1170 later I again had cold milk.
    Moving on the the next issue.  My hot water heater in the barn had started going out and could not keep the pilot light lit back in July.  I had tried to get the servicemen out but they had been too busy but they finally told me how to clean the burner myself.  So I ventured into the world of hot water heater repair.  My hot water heater in the barn is a large commercial type because it takes lots of very hot water in a dairy barn.  I took the thing apart and blew the burner out and all like the man said and got it back together and it worked fine for over a month then it started the same thing.  I tried cleaning it again and it worked for 24 hours.  I was able to get the repairmen out this time and I guess they thought I did not know what I was doing because they cleaned it again.  Of course it didn't help, then they put a new thermo-couple on it and assured me that was the problem but it wasn't either.  Finally they ordered a new control box.  When it came in a week later they came out and put it on and now I have hot water,  $353.00 later.
new control in place has been

Comments (0) Permalink October 5, 2009


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