Who wants a go on my tractor?
By GreenMoo
@GreenMoo (11834)
January 15, 2013 3:38am CST
Our first proper tractor arrived last night :)
It's not very big, just 22hp, but it's got 4wd and it small enough to get into all but one of our patches yet strong enough to do some of the forest work. It's also very old, very tatty looking and probably not very impressive at all in the great scheme of tractors. But it's ours, it's paid for, and it's going to to make our lives so much easier.
I think it's a peculiarly male trait, to want to jump on a tractor and roar about. My partner is out there now, practising. He looks for all the world like a little boy with a new toy! When he arrived back with it last night all the guys rushed out and wanted a go, my littlest boy has already climbed all over it and my eldest has posted photos on facebook.
I've not driven it at all yet! I'll let the boys have their fun, then show them how it's done later 
Would you be out there clamouring to have a go, or does a new bit of kit like this leave you cold?
Have you got any new tools for your work recently?
Would you be out there clamouring to have a go, or does a new bit of kit like this leave you cold?
Have you got any new tools for your work recently?3 people like this
12 responses
@Janey1966 (24170)
• Carlisle, England
15 Jan 13
This reminds me of that woman in 'Last Tango In Halifax' that was on the Beeb before Christmas. She reminds me so much of you as she always driving about in a clapped out Land Rover and tractor in her part.
There are lots of tractors in Cumbria, as you can imagine and a firm that makes (or sells them) in Carlisle itself. Rather impressive but deadly looking machines, some of them.
Mind you, I like old cars so no doubt I'd love your old tractor too. It will have character, that's for sure.
Hope you have fun with it!
1 person likes this
@katsmeow1213 (28716)
• United States
15 Jan 13
I've never driven ours. My oldest uses it the most these days. Once I caught him giving the youngest a ride and of course I freaked out about that! I'm just a bit over protective with my littlest.
1 person likes this
Why do you have a tractor? Do you have a really big garden at your place?@katsmeow1213 (28716)
• United States
17 Jan 13
Well, we have a riding lawnmower because our yard is pretty big.. would take hours to do by hand.
@dragon54u (31634)
• United States
15 Jan 13
I love tractors! I remember when I was a child my grandpa would take me and my brother for rides on the tractor and when we were older we would stand on the back and drop seeds into the furrows he plowed. My boys got to do the same thing, once, much later when my dad was still able to plow his fields. They still talk about how much fun it was. One of the stinkiest jobs was when grandpa would attach the manure spreader--we'd spend a whole day mucking out the stalls in autumn and the manure would fertilize the fields. Grandpa raised pedigreed Herefords, beautiful cattle, and the hard work of cleaning out the barn was rewarded with a tractor ride to spread the fruits of our labors to help grow good food. That was the best corn I've ever tasted, as well as other tasty things like potatoes, beans, peas, and much more.
You'll find that tractors can be a lot of fun!
1 person likes this
@lovinangelsinstead21 (36850)
• Pamplona, Spain
15 Jan 13
Hiya GM,
What a great thing for you then. You deserve some help like that. A new tractor I would feel like getting into the drivers seat at least.
But you´re right let the men have their fling on it and then you can sneak on to it and like you said show them how its done wink wink lol.
We have lots of tractors here that work at night an awful lot is it the same there?
One I know has a very old tractor but I would say its easily as good as the others he is often up and down the road with it too.xxx
@GreenMoo (11834)
•
20 Jan 13
I suppose having the vehicles working 24 hours with multiple crews makes the most of the investment, and it sounds like these are big costly ones.
It's awful they've had to leave crops to rot. Heartbreaking for the farmers who have put so much work into them. I guess that's because of the weather?
1 person likes this
@lovinangelsinstead21 (36850)
• Pamplona, Spain
17 Jan 13
Hiya GM,
Could be that they also have another load of work to do during the day. Also could it be to do with the amazing amount of dust from the field?
They might also have a day job in a factory that happens a lot here.
Oh the tractors here have loads of lights on them lol.
Loads of fields this year have had fully grown crops left in them to simply rot away good for the ground I suppose but not for their pocket I would say.
xxx
@luckyelric (16)
• United States
15 Jan 13
You know I actually live in on the outskirts of a small town, and still the only tactor i've ever seen, is when the county cuts the fields once a month.
Ofcourse when I say small, I mean, a stretched out town of 10,000 people. I've seen much much smaller.
1 person likes this
@GreenMoo (11834)
•
15 Jan 13
Where I live it's hard to go on any journey without seeing a tractor of one sort or another! On one end of the scale are the big ones that the wood guys use in the forest for hauling logs out, or the ones the local council use for road edge clearing, then there are loads belonging to individuals ranging from quite large through to little tiny motorcultivators with hairdryer engines which the old guys stick trailers on the back of and use to putter about in
1 person likes this
@peavey (16936)
• United States
15 Jan 13
I love old tractors. When I was a teenager, I drove an old Farmall tractor in the hay field, first as a head raker then as a mower. I get nostalgic about that now and then!
I would probably do as you're doing - let the guys have their fun, then go out and do some work with it later.
They'll soon have to go do something else... @wolfie34 (26771)
• United Kingdom
15 Jan 13
You said it right big boys with their toys. Yes I'd love a go on the tractor to, sounds like fun to me, and the little boy within me would certainly be in the queue to use it. I've never had a ride on a tractor. My little nephew loves tractors and combine harvesters, he said he saw but couldn't pronounce it and said corbine when it was going through the fields, bless him.
@MsTickle (25180)
• Australia
19 Jan 13
Not so much now. I learned a long time ago, that I wasn't in the race. When my kids were little my dad let them ride the ride on mower, he helped them learn to ride the pony he got for the purpose, he let them ride on and later drive the tractor and he let them ride the motor bike. I didn't get to do any of that stuff.
These days, I'm pretty handy with most hand held tools but the power tools for some reason scare me a bit. I'm afraid of damaging something, hurting myself or that the plurry thing won't work at all and I will have wasted my money...maybe 3 of the reasons why I put off some jobs.
I recently bought a new hand tool for the garden - quite expensive and too ruddy flimsy for the job. Before that, I bought a petrol whipper snipper and I can't even start the thing. I tried to re-sell it and couldn't even do that.
These days, I'm pretty handy with most hand held tools but the power tools for some reason scare me a bit. I'm afraid of damaging something, hurting myself or that the plurry thing won't work at all and I will have wasted my money...maybe 3 of the reasons why I put off some jobs.
I recently bought a new hand tool for the garden - quite expensive and too ruddy flimsy for the job. Before that, I bought a petrol whipper snipper and I can't even start the thing. I tried to re-sell it and couldn't even do that.
@GreenMoo (11834)
•
20 Jan 13
I can't use our brushcutter strimmer thing because I'm just not physically strong enough to use it for long enough to make it worthwhile. And the rotovator I can only just haul about, let alone use! I'm sure I could use the chainsaws, but to be honest I'm scared of taking my legs off. I'll stick with an axe.
1 person likes this
@BarBaraPrz (47125)
• St. Catharines, Ontario
15 Jan 13
Congrats on the new acquisition. Let's hope it does make things easier and that with everyone trying it out, it doesn't go on strike before you put it to some actual work.
@p1kef1sh (45681)
•
15 Jan 13
I bought a new gel pen for work. Does that count? Actually I would be the first there and would spend so much time fighting off the others that you could slip behind us and be the first! I met a tractor this morning on the road, it was about the size of a small house and festooned with high powered lights like a fast spaceship in the gloom.
@bounce58 (17387)
• Canada
15 Jan 13
There's a new show on TV about some teenagers having a fun time in the country. They go riding on tractors among other things. They would go on mud pits and and rough terrain just shouting and having fun.
I think I would like to do that if I had a tractor too. All the more if it's new.
We did have a new machine delivered at work late last year. And the programmer we have also looked liked a little boy when he went about testing the robot arms of the new machine.
