Have we made it?

 Have we made it through to spring 2021? I'd like to think so. In fact, we're counting on it. 

Getting a snowfall in March is not uncommon where we live. Getting one that drops more than an inch or three is a bit rare. Just a couple of inches is an annoyance, not an inconvenience that restricts my travel. 

The time has come. The snowblower is coming off the John Deere 1023 and the loader and bucket are going back on. 

I'm willing to roll the dice this year. 

We'll just have to wait and see how it works out. Maybe I'll get a video of the removal procedure. Something else we'll have to wait and see about. 

The Lady of Holly Tree Manor

**Update - the video didn't happen this year. The man spewing out curses in the middle of things isn't something I want recorded for sharing. Maybe next time.**

Getting ready for snow at Holly Tree Manor

 

According to the Farmer's Almanac, a publication my grandfather set a lot of store in, we're going to get walloped by a big snow in February. This isn't as dire a prediction as one may think. It was the second week of February 1983 when I had my first taste of being snowed in at the Manor. Thirty-six inches of snow fell in two days. Luckily, I obeyed my grandfather when he told me to park my car in his driveway, closer to the road. It was two weeks until enough snow melted that I was able to get it back my lane, but I was able to walk in and out to the car and back home. 

Cars quickly passed and SUVs became my vehicle of choice. With four-wheel drive, I'm able to break open tracks in the lane and get in and out without much problem. 

Then one fateful day, the spousal unit and I decided to purchase a sub-contract tractor with several attachments, including a bucket, a backhoe, and a snowblower. Here on the Manor we're not afraid to sing "Let it Snow!" Heck, I even traded my trusty Blazer in on a Charger, which, if you know cars, does not go well in the snow. (I drive the partner's pickup when it snows.)

The caveat to having this handy piece of snow moving equipment is that every year the loader and bucket need to come off the John Deere 1023 and the snowblower needs to go on. I'm sure it was a MAN who designed how the snowblower mounts up. 

Today was the day we decided to make the switch. It's always easier to do this before it gets bitterly cold but after we no longer need the loader and bucket for outside work. November is the time, generally over Thanksgiving weekend. But today was a balmy 60F and the ten-day forecast across next weekend is for cold and rain. So today it was. 

My partner can no longer get on the ground. More precisely, if he gets on the ground getting off the ground may not happen without someone calling for a lot of help. I'm the one who crawls under the John Deere 1023 and shoves the shaft over the sprocket and seeds the coupler. I don't like that job but it's not too difficult.

It normally takes about an hour to do this task. Today took longer. I'd not yet blown the leaves out from under the carport where we park the tractor, so I had to do that once the 1023 had been moved out. The old Craftsman mower had been parked where we rest the loader and bucket over the winter and when I tried to start it, it refused to fire and needed to be pushed out of the way. The 1023 needed to be fueled. The Colorado needed to be moved as I'd parked it too close to the shed to swing the tractor through the doors. Yes, we were an unorganized mess. 

In the end, tempers held, experience worked, and the job was accomplished. The 1023 and the John Deere 370 mower are both fueled. The pin is in the backhoe, and the loader and bucket sitting on level ground. We even called for carry-out for dinner so no one had to cook. And you know what?

Let. It. Snow. 

The Lady of Holly Tree Manor

Tractor Time - the 200 hour service

Being able to afford a compact John Deere 1023E has been a godsend here on the manor. It's a sturdy little machine and perfect for the size of our property and our needs. It may not have all the whistles and bells of larger tractors, but our needs are basic: a bucket, a backhoe, a snowblower, and a set of recently added pallet forks. From cutting firewood, to digging out stumps, to clearing our long lane of snow, the John Deere 1023 has worked for us.

This weekend past, we finished the two-hundred-hour service on the tractor. It's taken us six years to put two-hundred hours of use on the tractor but we can't measure the amount of back-breaking labor it has saved us from. 

 A couple of weekends ago, we changed the coolant and the oil. Getting off the ground is difficult for him, so I crawled under the tractor and did it. This time, for the hydraulic fluid, he decided he needed to be the one under the tractor. 

I lowered the outriggers to raise the rear of the tractor, shoved blocks under the rear tires, and set John down. Setting it on blocks was safer on relying on the outriggers to hold. Once the job was finished, we had to get him off the ground and back into his power chair. That was the worst part of the job. Every move needed to be carefully orchestrated and executed or else we would have needed to call for help. He made it and we went on with our day. Even Deuce was happy to have the job done.

We try to always be self-sufficient, and frugal, here on the Manor. His many years of experience as an auto mechanic has served us well. His mobility is limited but not his brain. I know enough about engines and equipment to take direction well. It works for us. Will it continue to do so? One can only hope. 

It may be another six years before we need to perform the four-hundred-hour service on the tractor. As the year 2020 has taught us, a lot can change in a short time. I hope I'm still living on the manor when that time comes. 

The Lady of Holly Tree Manor