Category: Farm

  • Accidental Field Fire

    A spark from a welding torch started a recently cut grain (barley) field on fire. It was a little breezy and picked up very quickly. The field is next to our barn, which contains the hay stored for the beef cattle for the winter, and our tractors. Needless to say, it was an instant adrenaline…

  • Hauling Hay with the 4020, 3020, and 4230

    Over the weekend (July 13 2013) we were hauling some hay (alfalfa) from the dry farm to the barn.  These videos show the John Deere 4020 and 3020 loading the hay, and the John Deere 4230 hauling it.

  • John Deere No. 5 Sickle Mower

    My grandpa gave me a John Deere No. 5 sickle mower that he used to use on his farm.  He spent a lot of hours with it mowing alfalfa with his dad while he was growing up.  Since I’ve got the machinery to pull it, I thought it’d be a lot of fun to take…

  • The Story of the A

    I had intentions on writing up a photo-book story of the restoration process of the John Deere Model A.  I’m having a hard time finishing it, so I thought in the meantime, I’d just throw it up here.  If there are any major spelling/grammar mistakes or things you’d like added, please use the comments field…

  • John Deere Model A Drilling Photos

    As I mentioned in the previous post, I had the opportunity to go drill (plant) oats with my 1947 John Deere A.  I had a great time doing it, but forgot to take some good photos afterwords!  So, yesterday I was able to go out with the Canon 5D MK II and spend a few…

  • Planting with the John Deere A and LL-A Grain Drill

    This year I took the opportunity to have a little fun with planting oats in one of our smaller fields.  I used the 1947 John Deere Model A that I recently restored, as well as our old grain drill (aka planter, late 1950s).  It may not have been the quickest way to plant the oats,…

  • Feeding Cattle & Spring Update

    Sometimes feeding cattle can be more than just driving out to the cows and dropping off hay.  For instance, watching hawks fly by and Sandhill Cranes walk around the field looking for some leftover food (grains) left over by the cattle. This spring has been an interesting one.  Although the snow is gone in the…

  • We Used to Get More Snow

    Winter is starting to wind down with a few signs of spring starting to pop up.  In other words, the road in front of my house that is usually covered with snow for about three months of the year is now bare.  We still have quite a ways to go though before it is all…

  • Shuffling around the Classic JDs

    I had to get something out from the back of the barn, and that meant pulling out all of the classic tractors…  Since I had them all out on a cold wintery day, I thought that would be a good opportunity to get a quick little video of them running.  What you can see is…

  • Plowing with the 1947 John Deere A and No 55 H plow

    less than 18 months ago this tractor was a ‘fence line tractor’. I dragged it down to the barn and the engine, brakes, and clutch were seized up. The radiator cap was gone and the cooling system was completely full a junk. A mouse nest was in one of the cylinders… I looked it over…