Tonya Land – Jackson County Florida
Through my time on the farm, I have formed some normal attachments and some that are a bit different. Now what, you might ask, does she mean by that?
Well, there are the usual attachments to certain cows, barn cats, stray dogs and the chickens that always seem to understand my ramblings.
But then there are those not so normal attachments to farm equipment that I have grown quite fond of, and even named. I am sure there are others that have spent more time in a certain piece of equipment than you have relaxing at home on your couch and maybe can relate to such craziness. For instance:
**When in reference to said attachment you have bestowed a gender specific name based upon a favorite heroine in a novel.
**Giving it honor when telling a tale or story.
**Would rather sit inside of it and enjoy your lunch than conversing with a human, even if it’s your husband.
**You never think it odd when the boss has to spend an obscenely large amount of money on its maintenance and care.
**Critical of others operating ‘finesse’ when they operate your baby.
**Get flat out irate when someone else trashes the interior with styrofoam cups and honey bun wrappers.
It’s not as if I own this equipment, but I have laid claim to it anyway. Not long ago, the boss switched to GPS and two of the tractors were too old to be considered worthy of an upgrade. (The boss has six) So the boss sold the John Deere 4760. My pirouetting princess that could walk on water and drag a disk around any light pole was going to a new home. I became belligerent in vain. I pouted. I became silent.
They brought the used/new 8220 the same day they took the princess away. I can remember thinking, ‘yuck’!
But it had come from a big farm in Georgia that equipped it with anhydrous and the front grilles were broken and the hood was cracked. Dental work was needed. A new hood was ordered. And before long, I was hooking it to a new/used bigger disk and running really wide around the light poles and stayed farther from the wet holes the princess tiptoed through.
Later, I was given the task of programming the GPS for three of them and found a measure of gratitude for the responsibility. But it doesn’t compare. The princess took art. The GPS takes a button pusher. The other tractor, a John Deere 4960, was not sold and I get the privilege of operating it when we need it.
Okay, so I said it sounded crazy and now that I re-read this, I am hoping for a measure of understanding for the love of farming. Or you can just assume that I am a bit crazy. Either way, an attachment to a tractor can’t be something only I have. How about you?
Please tell me someone else has such an obsession!
