Well, February sped past with lightning speed. We had a lot of great weather, and we were able to have a couple of work parties down in the future blueberry field which was a huge blessing! Those were days when we could see a lot of visual progress, which was balm to my soul. Richard came over with his chainsaw and pitched in, and Mom brought meals, which was a HUGE load off my shoulders after a long day working in the field! Friends brought over tarps and fencing, and helped haul out some of the wood.
Tim has been here since the first of the year and has helped us out tremendously with many aspects of the farm, from an extra hand in grunt work to the mathematics involved in measuring out rows, to sorting out our taxes. He and I got the kitchen garden mostly covered in wood chips from the upper meadow. Can I just say that my family is wonderful? They have been such a help and encouragement!! We might've died of discouragement without their help!
We have not been able to finish the clearing of the meadow completely, as many of the branches were just too wet or muddy to chip when we had the attachment on the tractor. Or else we were busy down below, or it rained on the weekend when Eric was home, or whatever. So it still looks pretty rough up there. No matter, though. Mom brought over some wildflower seeds that I think will be beautiful up there once things are cleaned up, raked, burned and tilled. I may even plant some up near the gate. That area has been ugly long enough!
After much wrangling with the neighbor about the property lines, we finally had to get the survey done, and it proved favorable for us as we thought it would. We went ahead and put up the fencing along that side, and accounted for the culdesac in the easement which actually makes it easier for the neighbor with turning around his trucks, but he is not happy. He will be less so when we take down those disputed trees on our side of the fence, but it can't be helped. Could've bought a nice lot of hedging shrubs with that survey $, but now we'll just have to wait. Bummer! I am very disappointed in the way our neighbor has behaved himself, after all these years of relatively peaceful co- existence. I am thankful it was unflappable Eric who has done all the dealing with him and not me.
Last Saturday was a red letter day, as Eric removed 10 stumps, cleared some brush piles and dug the first trench along the perfectly parallel line Tim marked out for the row. I sat in the front and moved the tractor forward along the painted line at intervals while Eric used the backhoe to dig 2 to 21/2 foot wide by 12-15" deep . He moved all the soil to one side as he went along, so that it can be mixed thoroughly with amendments before backfilling over top of the logs. It was thrilling to see how quickly the thing was completed! (How I would have loved to have had this tractor for past projects! It does so much work in so little time! ). It was a gorgeous May- like day. I was elated, and anxious to start filling the trench with branches and wood. I began to think we might make our deadline after all! All was well I my world.
And then it happened. Eric noticed a strange sound in the engine while moving brush. I couldn't hear anything different, , but I know nothing about engines. When he turned the engine off, he heard it grind to a stop, like there as some metal scoring against metal. NOT a good sign. As we all know, engines are NOT self-healing. One thing leads to another. You can't keep running it or it will break down altogether. Eric was extremely sober and disappointed. We have less than 100 hours on the tractor. It should run for 5000 hours. Because it was after hours on the weekend, Eric could not even call the shop to talk to someone, so was feeling pretty grim. The only bright spot is that we know that it is still under the 2 year manufacturers warranty....but how long will it take to be fixed in the shop, after we get it there, that is? Because we don't have the truck or trailer to haul it, we either have to borrow one or else pay $100 for Kitsap Tractor to pick it up. Ugh. And wouldn't you know it is a gorgeous, sunny streak right now? Perfect time to work out there.
Eric left for VA yesterday morning on shipyard business and won't be home until Wednesday. He called the shop from there this morning and explained the problem and they said it might be a MONTH before they can get it fixed, depending on their mechanics' schedule....Oh! This is depressing indeed. Even if I hadn't come down with an achey cold last night, I'd want to crawl under the covers today! As it is, I feel pretty down and discouraged.
Our friend Jim from our Sunday Night home group has offered to haul the tractor for us when Eric gets back, which is very sweet of him. Eric was encouraged about that. Oh, if only the mechanic will be available to get right on the job so we can get it back soon! Otherwise it looks like we may have to rent a tractor to meet our deadline.....and there's so very little wiggle room in our budget. Ugh. Praying for God's provision and for wisdom!
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