Ok, so I may be going a little over board but hey, it could be worse!!

My quick hitch arm ends finally arrived for the 706.  I haven't installed them yet but I will most likely do so soon so I can put the blade on the tractor to regrade the driveway.....or just to play with it for fun!

Quick hitch ball ends for Farmall 706

So, I wasn't happy with the single light in the grill of the 706, so I ordered two more.  I love it.  Only thing I could have done different was move them down a little bit but then you would see the light itself and that wouldn't look as good.

Red LED lights on Farmall 706

I got the orange LED's installed on the Kubota and they look pretty sweet as well.  The one in the cab is just bright enough to light the floor but not so much that it is annoying.

Kubota M9540 with LED lights in the cab

I put one in the grill and it is perfect.  I don't think I need any more.  I know it doesn't look that good in the picture but it is hard to take a good night time picture with a phone!  I am probably going to add one or two more lights to the underside of the tractor just for looks.  I think it will look pretty awesome with an nice orange glow under the tractor when I am mowing or driving down the road!

Kubota M9540 with Orange LED in grill

SO, I didn't tell my wife about this one till I was done installing.  I ordered four blue lights for the truck as well.  I wasn't sure what it would look like so I put the two lights in behind the grill first and waited till dark to see what they look like.

2005 F350 with Blue LED lights in the grill

They look awesome.  It is so much better in person than it is in the picture.  I spliced into the light wire for the drivers side marker light.  So any time the marker lights are on the LED's are on.

2005 F350 with blue LED's in grill

I was pumped to see that you can see them even with the headlights on.  I have two more that I am going to put under the cab of the truck almost directly under the front seats.  They give an perfect blue glow under the truck.

2005 F350 with Blue LED's in the grill

I know it seems like I am going a little overboard but this kind of thing was just a dream to me as a kid.  They are pretty inexpensive and easy to install and use so very little energy that it is not a big deal to put them on.  I also looks really sweet and is fun.  I love when my stuff looks nice and runs like it should.  It also makes me feel good when people enjoy what I have created or done.

I am so excited and anxious for hay season to start it is driving me nuts.  I am longing for warm nights and T-shirts, and raking and baling, and fires, and all the fun stuff that happens when it is warm out.  I can't wait to see both tractors running at the same time and see how it affects the efficiency of getting the hay made this year.  I am also excited to see the many calves I have yet to be born and what those opportunities bring to us here on the farm.

It just needs to get warm and stay warm so I can fall asleep to the sound of nature with my window open at night!

Kenny

Hunting Morel Mushrooms and another baby calf.

I made my first trip to southeast Ohio to see my good friend Richard and go mushroom hunting.  Although finding is always much more fun it was still a wonderful fun filled day of tramping around in the woods looking for mushrooms.  My wife was sick this morning so her and Lisa stayed home and Alex and I went together.  It was his first time going south with me and he did an awesome job!  He is learning quick.

Morel mushrooms 2014, south east Ohio, Guernsey county. 

We found about 20 small Morels and brought them home for supper tonight.  While it wasn't a lot it was still a great reward for the effort and we are looking forward to doing it again next weekend but with the entire family.  We are going to make a picnic of it and have a little mini vacation!

My other reward for all of today's exercise was coming home to find another baby calf.  I saw it as I was heading out to feed the animals shortly after getting home.  So I rushed over to see how it was doing and what it was.  

Charolais x Angus Sire  and  Milking Shorthorn Dam  Heifer Calf

As you can tell it is white/brown/gray so you know the daddy is Thunder.  The best part about this one is this is Sally Shorthorns first Heifer calf to Thunder!  Her only other heifer is Frosty and her daddy is a registered black angus by the name of Bexter.  All the rest of her calves have been bulls.  I am very excited as I know that Thunder will not be with us for ever and I am very very impressed with his genetics so every heifer I get out of him is huge because I will retain his genetics through his daughters!

Sally Shorthorn with her new baby girl Socks!

So we currently have three heifers and three bulls for the year.  Two heifers and a Bull for Legacy and one heifer and two bulls for Thunder.  I cannot wait for more, bring them on!  

With the higher number of calves comes the opportunity to start being selective in who I keep and who I sell.   It also allows me another source of income in being able to sell feeder calves and breeding stock to people who are in the market.  It is going to be a very exciting year and I cannot wait to see how it turns out and what obstacles we meet and overcome along the way.  

I read an article from work last year that had a very good point in it.  The point of the article was that everything is temporary and that staying positive and happy comes in always knowing that every moment is temporary and will change.  So, if you are having difficult times, they will not last forever, they will change and there will be easier days ahead.  On the contrary if you are experiencing a boom and good/easy times they too are temporary and harder days are ahead.  So, knowing this, I am going into this great time and enjoying the fruits of the labors we have performed over the past hard years but still planning for harder times so that when they come I am already prepared and can get through them much easier.  You must always be sure to enjoy every day to the fullest so later in life, when you look out on your pasture and see what you have grown, you will have no missed opportunities or regrets. 

 I think of today's mushroom hunting and realize that while we didn't find many mushrooms we did find some great time with a great friend and some time with my son that could never be replaced.   I also know that the great times in the past of finding lots of mushrooms were going to change and there would be times when we might not find many at all.  I also know that soon there will again be a day of many many mushrooms and I want to be prepared to enjoy them to the fullest when that day comes!

Have a great week everyone.  Lots of rain and storms coming in.  While this will make work harder it will also make the crops and flowers blossom and make the mushrooms grow!

Kenny

Some project pics and calf number 5!

We are finishing up the area around the new house on the project I started last year.  Much more other work to do but we finally got sod down and I was able to put a final wash on everything and get some nice pictures.  The place is mind blowing and yet so simple.  Not too much but what is there says volumes.

West mountain steps with West mountain lay down material for walkway stone. 

The front steps turned out so awesome.  I have never seen anything like them before and I could stand and stair at them for hours and never get bored!

West mountain steps with West mountain lay down material for walkway stone. 

Here are two different angles of the fire pit.  It is 10' inside diameter and the patio is about 30' across.  

West mountain lay down material fire pit and patio.

 I am equally excited about the fire pit and how it turned out.  I have to admit I wasn't excited about using this material at first because I didn't think I would like the look.  However, after seeing it installed and the way it finished I absolutely love it.  I am working on a plan for a future house in the woods and this will definitely be used for a portion of the project!

I was very surprised to get a picture from Steven at work today of Fifty with a baby calf.  I wasn't expecting her to have one for a while yet!  As soon as I got home I went out to see him.  He was up and moving around but was a little stiff because it was chilly and just finished raining.  He is also HUGE!!!  He is probably in the top three of the biggest calved born on the farm ever.  

This is Thunder's second calf  for the year and our third bull.  Both of his calves this year are bulls.

Yeah for calving season!  Gonna be a great year.

Kenny

Legacy is on a Roll!

Came home at lunch to eat and noticed something going on in the pasture.  Ran out to find another baby calf.  That makes four so far this year.  Two heifers and Two bulls.  The mother is Candy Apple.  She has always had a red calf, never white or black, when bred to Thunder.  This calf is black as night from head to tail.  Apparently Legacy was on a roll and beat Thunder to the ladies a lot last year!

Withing a minute of me getting there to check the calf the HERD showed up to let me know I was not needed here.  Several of the mothers helped clean the calf up and everyone else stood guard to make sure no one got too close!

After I got home from work tonight I went back out and checked on him.  He was all cleaned up and ready to run!  I got him before he could get anywhere and tagged him so I don't have to chase him down later.  Plus, with everyone looking the same it will be hard to figure out who is who later if I don't tag them quickly!

Goodnight everyone.

Kenny

Legacy has another baby girl and LED lights for the new tractor!

I am very very happy to announce that Legacy's second calf is also a Heifer!!!  That is two in a row.  Even though Legacy and Thunder both had a shot at being the daddy I am certain that this one is Legacy's.  Koyuki has had a white calf to thunder every time and Thunder has only thrown three non white calves since we got him so I am sure this is Legacy's baby.

Koyuki with her Summitcrest Erica bloodline heifer out of Legacy

 I got online earlier in the week looking for an LED replacement lights for the Farmall 706.  The original ones are dull and the beam patterns don't match so I was gonna switch them over.  My wife didn't like the idea because she likes the original lights.  So I instead searched for a small add on light that I could attach with a magnet to the front weight to give me some more light for raking at night.

Well, while chatting with my buddy Steven the topic of colored LED's came up so I checked for them at the same time.  Turns out not only do they make such a thing now but they are very inexpensive and easy to install and use hardly any power to operate.  So I ordered a package of 4 long strips and two short strips.

LED light strips mounted on side panels of Farmall 706

I finally had time today to install and wire them all up.  Due to the very low energy requirements I simply ran some new wires and tied into the existing light power supply so they are all on the same switch. I still need to add a couple to the front grill as it is not nearly bright enough but everything else turned out exactly how I pictured it!

LED light under dash to light the deck on the Farmall 706 

 I put one of the short strips under the Glow Plug button housing to light up the deck.

Rear view of red LED's on Farmall 706

I put one long strip on each side on the bottom of the deck to light up the brake housings and the step to get on and off the tractor.

Red LED light strip under Farmall 706 Deck

Here is a view from normal viewing height.

Red LED light strip under Farmall 706 Deck

I also have one long strip on inside of side hood panels along the top of the engine.  It really gives the engine  a pretty sweet glow.

LED light strip under hood

Now, the main reason for all of this in the first place was an extra headlight right?  Well I got one of those as well.  Now, for $20 I wasn't expecting a lot.  Boy was I surprised.  If you look at the picture below you can see two different lights shining on the ground.  The white is the new 18 watt LED.  It is brighter than the 75 watt Halogen lights on the Kubota.  The yellow to the right side of the photo is the old PAR 36 light.  I am going to try a new bulb and see if that makes a difference, if not, I will be upgrading them to LED's as well.

18 watt LED center, PAR 36 right

 My last pic is from the side.  If you look closely you will notice that the under deck lights also shine through the holes in the back wheels and glow on the ground as well.  It looks awesome.  I cannot wait to do the same thing to the Kubota!

I already have the Orange LED's that I will be putting under the dash and under the hood of the Kubota.  I may order a couple more if I don't get the look I want.  When I ordered the front headlight for the Farmall I ordered 4.  I installed two of them in place of the two left hand original Halogens on the back of the Kubota tonight to be able to compare them.  WOW, hands down the LED's win.  The light is brighter, more even, and uses way less power.  I can run four of these new LED's with less power than one of the Halogens use.

I will post pics when I get the Kubota all lit up!

Kenny

Calf #3 of 2014 arrived today!!!

So, I came home from work today just in time to get my daughter off the bus.  She headed out to help with the chores tonight.  As soon as I got to where I could see the pasture I noticed something was different.  I did a quick scan of the pasture and noticed there was an extra black spot.  My daughter and I quickly headed down to investigate.  We found Koyuki with a new little calf who was maybe an hour or so old.  Ir is a little heifer!  She was all clean and dry but not up and running yet. 

Angus Dam, Summitcrest Sire, 

 I got her tagged and then proceeded to make sure she was able to get up and move good and then left them alone so the new baby could eat. 

Now, the exciting part is that Ever since we have had thunder Koyuki has had white calves.  This calf is black and doesn't look like Thunders other offspring.  I am pretty confident in saying this is calf number two in the Legacy line of calves.  The best part is that it is another heifer!!!!!

I am expecting to see two more calves very soon as two more are looking like they are very close to calving.  I am very excited to see what the rest of the year will bring us!

Kenny

Shiny tractor parts, 200+ year old tree, and project pics!

Well, I finally made it to the tractor parts store and got the most important upgrade for the tractor......a spinner for the steering wheel!  My wife was gonna get a pink one and I told her no way.  It had to match the tractor!  I also had both back wheel serviced this week.  Both needed knew inner tubes and the rims cleaned up and new calcium ballast.  SO, the only thing I have left to do is replace the hideous dented muffler with something either shiny....or jet black.  I am leaning toward an old school jet black muffler.  I know what I want now I just gotta get it ordered.  Hay season can't get here quick enough this year!  For anyone coming to the party this summer we will also be using this as the hay ride tractor as well!  Should be absolutely fun!

New steering ball for the Farmall 706

 Now, I was out checking to see if the morels were out yet yesterday after seeding the new field in the rain.  Unfortunately they are not fruiting yet.  But, while I was out I decided to go see my favorite tree on the farm.  It is located on one of my grandparents farms and is stunning.  It is right next to an old two room stone cabin, or what is left of a cabin, and it is growing right on top of a spring.  It is a hemlock.  We are estimating it to be well over 200 years old.  We think it was brought here by a settler back in the day because there is not another naturally occurring hemlock growing in the woods anywhere else here for it to seed from.  Plus the base takes at least three people to wrap their arms around and touch.  I think it is approximately 80'-100' tall.

200+ year old Hemlock

 The spring coming out from under it is very strong and flows year round.  There used to be a small pond that sat directly south of the tree but when my dad was a kid the dam broke and washed out.  It was actually a perfect setting and I know why they built here.  There is also a very large maple that is starting to fall apart, a bunch of vinca ground cover, and there was a Snowberry bush here as well.  The snow berry is now planted at my dads house and I have a division of it growing at my house.

The spring flowing from under the hemlock

 I put my hat by the base of the tree for a size reference.  I have only shown it to a few people and most people who see it from afar never really pay much attention to or nor do they realize the significance of it!
I hope that it out lives me and my grandchildren as it has the many many generations that have come and gone in its lifetime.  Sometimes I wish that trees could talk and tell me the history they have seen.  It would be mind blowing to know what all a tree like this has experienced in its time!

200+ year old Hemlock with hat for size reference.

 While I was riding around I went to the south end of the farm to look at the Chesapeake well pad sitting on the neighbors.   On the way back out I stopped at the crest of the hill and took a pic looking north.  When I was a kid and chopping hay for the cows and mowing and raking hay for baling this view was quite different.  Back then all you saw was trees and hay fields and two houses.  Then, when I was just starting college my uncle's farm in the valley sold into lots and houses were built on almost all of them.  The view is still pretty nice but it was much better as a kid.  I wonder what it looked like back when the hemlock was planted?  Could you see any of this or was it all trees?  Who cleared all the trees?  So much history and it is all locked in the landscape....silently watching as time passes by.

Looking north from Grandpa's other farm.

In the northern most part of the above pic is a faint wisp of a project I am working on from work.  I have been making great progress on it this spring with the awesome weather we have had the last two weeks.  I wanted to attach a photo of the front steps/walk that I just finished up the other day.  This stone from Scranton Materials in Pennsylvania is so beautiful and colorful!  I literally could stare at it all day and not get tired of it.

West mountain stone from Scranton Material in Scranton PA.

In other news I made one of my last two hay deliveries today from last years hay supply.  I have a few little bales to deliver tomorrow and the barn and the round bale storage area are all empty.....time to start the race to fill it all up before the snow comes again!  

Spending a day out in the woods spending time with myself and thinking really was relaxing and helped me refocus on what my goals are.  I grew the herd a lot, more than doubled, in the last year and a half.  I am excited to see what this year holds for us.  There is so much potential and growth in the near future it keeps me pumped and motivated to keep pushing for what is to come and enjoy what we already have!

I am really excited to get this hay year under way as well as see what calves are in store for us this year.  There is also still fences to build and pastures to create to split the herd for the summer....sooooo much work to do!

Have a great weekend everyone.  And if you need a break just go for a walk out in the woods and listen to the birds and sit by a tree and just relax and refocus.

Kenny

The fields are starting to green up!

Well, a few days behind last year but the fields are greening up and starting to grow.  Supposed to be really nice this week and now they are calling for cold and rain/snow most of next week.  Not cool OHIO!!!  It is time to be warm and fuzzy and happy.  No more cold please.  Just let us have our spring!

Well, Redballs and his ladies are still rooming together.  I will leave them together for a few more weeks to make sure they are all bred.  Then, once I turn the two feeder pigs out to pasture with them I will pen Redballs up so that he doesn't hurt them.  He is very gentle but the piglets will bug him till he get mad and one simple swing of the head and he can hurt them pretty badly.  So, I usually pen him up and keep them separate.

My Tamworth boar, berkshire sows, and one Duroc Hampshire cross sow.

The weather started out cold and rainy today and ended with brilliant sunshine and warmth!  So, I walked out to check the cows and found Eric and her momma soaking up the sun.  I got close enough that she stood up an went to walk away.  However, she noticed daisy at the fence and forgot about me long enough to get a picture of her!  Good looking girl!!  Can't wait to see her offspring!

Summitcrest Black Angus Bull x Shorthorn Dam

Well, I am anxious to see some more sunshine, Morels, and some nice warm T-shirt weather!

Have a great night everyone,

Kenny

Field clearing project almost done and a surprise addition to the farm equipment!

First off my new clearing project here at home made another big leap toward completion this week.  The excavator, Marcus Durley of Durley Excavating, brought out his new Caterpiller D5 to clean up the hillside and grade it all out.  His guy Paul did an awesome job.  There was a very steep part in the center due to a large dip in the center with a large hump on top of the hill.  Paul did a great job of smoothing it all out.

Hillside clearing job dozed off.

 All I have left to do know is to use Marcus' york rake to rough it all off and collect the leftover sticks and rocks.  Then seed it down and let it grow!  I managed to sell enough fire wood off the site to pay for all the time, fuel, excavator, dozer, and seed.  Having cleared this added a little over an acre of hay ground and will actually save me time mowing because the field is now a rectangular shape instead of a boomerang shape.  It will be much more easier to mow and much quicker/efficient as well.

The before shot.  

I will have to take a similar after shot.  I am trying to find a good before shot to match the one below.

View of the cleared area looking west.  

 So, I my parents brought to my attention that there was an auction yesterday afternoon about 7 miles from here and there was some really nice equipment up for sale.  So, I was going to go with dad to the auction to see if we could buy a ford tractor that was for sale and he wanted.  Well, between the enormous crowd, heavy rains, and other problems, we didn't make it.   However, my brother did.  So dad and I sat in my truck and did our bidding over the phone.  The tractor he wanted was a 5600 ford blue power special.  It is a diesel and is the mid size between grandpa's ford 4000SU and Dad's Ford 7700.   It is a low hour very clean tractor that was very well taken care of.  It should do him well!

Ford, 5600 blue power special with dual power.

 Well, in my research during the day for him on the Ford, I noticed they were selling a very clean Farmall 706 narrow front (tricycle wheeled) diesel tractor as well.  Since we were already on the phone, and my dad and brother both said it was a good looking tractor I decided to try to get it.  I have needed a second tractor for raking and such anyway and the opportunity arrived so I jumped on it.

Farmall 706 NF diesel

 We got it at a great price and I went and picked them both up today after the rains let up.  As you can see in the above pictures, they were quite muddy.  We had an enormous amount of rain in the last 24 hours and the fields where everyone parked turned to pudding.  So they used these two tractors to pull everyone out of the mud.  So they were quite a mess, but hey, that is what a good tractor is for right!  So as soon as we got them home I washed them off and took the opportunity for a photo shoot!

Farmall 706, Ford 5600, Kubota M9540

 The above pic is an awesome one and someday when Dad and I are able to get the rest of his tractors restored we will line them all up for a picture and it will be awesome.  To give you an idea his list of tractors, running and not, include; 674 international, Case 885, Ford 4000SU, Ford 5600, Ford 7700, Ford 8000, and a Narrow front John Deere 2510 (currently being restored).  I would love to see that line up all shiny and clean some day soon!

Farmall 706 Narrow Front Diesel

 Now, I do love my old tractors.  The older I get the more I miss them and like them all.  I really love my new Kubota and I will some day have a newer bigger one to add to the fleet but there is nothing that can compare to an old school open station tractor to rake hay with in the summer.

Farmall 706 Narrow Front Diesel 

Everything on her is good to go with the exception of a sticking seat adjustment latch and a bent muffler.  There are some missing decals and some beauty marks from the years of hard work but all in all she is a strong beautiful tractor.  The boys that help me here on the farm grew up on the old internationals and farmalls so they are pumped to get to drive it for hay season for me.  Personally, I want to add a similar size and age ford with the Narrow front to the fleet as well.  I grew up on the fords and just like my dad, if the opportunity presents itself and I can make it happen I will get one for myself.

Farmall 706 and my Kubota M9540

 I wanted a picture with both tractors together.  Old meets new and east meets west!  Two completely different worlds have come together to make it a great year for making hay!

Farmall 706 and my Sitrex v10 rake

 I wanted to see how it looked hooked to the rake....and I wasn't disappointed.  For anyone reading this who has ever raked hay they will understand why this is an awesome sight.  For everyone else I will explain.  When you are raking you are constantly turning to go back and forth across the field.  With today larger rakes sharp turns are not as necessary all the time but are still needed at some point.  A Narrow Front tractor will literally turn on a dime.  You simply crank the wheel and tap the brake and you are spun around going the other way.  This should make raking much more fun and easier as well!

Farmall 706 and my Sitrex v10 rake 

Here is picture of her from the back.  So different from todays tractors on a lot of things.  I do need to do some shopping for some upgraded steps to get on and some 3-point hitch arm ball ends for the quick mount system these tractors have.  

Farmall 706 rear end

 Here is a view from the seat.  So different when you don't have wheels sticking out on the front!

Farmall 706 Operators View

So, what I haven't mentioned yet is that when I made the spur of the moment decision to get the tractor I didn't have time to discuss and justify this to the boss, my wife!  Sooooo I had a lot of explaining to do when she got home from school.  Now, even though I had been thinking about a second tractor for almost two years now and I knew what I would spend and how quickly it would prove itself, I really hadn't had any of these discussions yet with her.  So, she was understandably upset when I broke the news to her.  But, after a long discussion she was ok with the decision and I got to keep the tractor!  Please thank her when you see her at the customer party this summer!!!

To make sure she was ok I put her on it when she got home today and had her drive it.  Now, that meant she started it and pulled it ahead 20 feet and then backed it up and parked it again but at least she drove it.  Then, I had her ride and I showed her how you can spin it in a circle and I think that sealed the deal!

Plus, she looks damn cute on it to boot!

My wife on the Farmall 706

Now, I just got to get her trained on how to drive it efficiently and safely so she can start helping on the farm when needed.


Now, I want to let everyone know here, and I will be sending and email and posting to facebook as well, that we will be having the customer party in July this year on July 5th.  My wife will be completely busy with work in May and June and having it in July will allow her to complete her work so she can cook her awesome food!  Plus, the added time will allow me to get a bunch of misc. project wrapped up so I can also enjoy the party more this year!

If all goes well I should have two full cuttings of hay complete, the lawn looking sweet with summer flowers in bloom, and maybe even a tree house for the kids to play in!  Let's all do our sunshine and perfect weather dance so I can get some work done for a change!

Have a great weekend everyone!