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Saturday, November 3, 2012

An Eventful Day....

Well - actually - it started a few days before......

Long about Tuesday, my BIL sent me a text message that he would be off work on Friday, so we could work on the last rim for my F-20. I needed help with this one because it is a "split-rim" with a locking ring on it. If it doesn't lock into the groove just right, it could snap back out at you when you air it up.

More on that later.....

So, since I have been wanting to get that rim on - and have been battling it - for over a month, I couldn't wait until Friday got here so I could finally be done with it.

Then, my lovely wife tells me that her and her mom want to can pumpkins on Friday. Since those little devils are HARD, neither of them are able to chop them up to manageable size. So - I had to cut them up for them. In order to ensure that I got an early start on them, we stopped by her mom and dad's house Thursday evening to get the things so they would be waiting for me on Friday.

So, I'm up before dawn, and in the kitchen, fighting pumpkins. The little beggars make nice bread, but I can't stand pumpkin pie. Like I told Deb's parents "There's NOTHING you can do to make pumpkin pie edible....". I was about ready to open the door, and let the chickens have the whole lot! Luckily, both they, and I survived the ordeal, and Deb and her mom finished getting them ready to can.

Meanwhile, I get the milk machine ready, and head out the door toward the barn. I figure I can JUST get everything done, and head over to BIL Mark's house by 8:30......

As I am wheeling the cart carrying the milker into the barn, I look out and notice Clover laying in a heap a few yards away - her tail up at an odd angle, and her giving out groaning sounds.

Well - now I was SURE my 9:00 (ish) appointment with Mark was out the window......

The stupid cow was in labor.

Thursday evening, I had noticed Clover had gone "slab sided", and checked her that night. She had acted COMPLETELY normal. I had expected her to calve any day, but hoped she would be nice and let me get my rim fixed.

Stupid cow.

I kept a close eye on Clover while I milked and fed everyone else. Since this was her first time, all bets were off, she could be in labor 10 minutes, or 10 hours. I was hoping for the former. Deb's mom arrived just before 9:00 to find Deb and I outside, watching the cow. Clover was up, down, up, down, and didn't seem to want us real close, so we hung back. Pretty soon, we saw legs sticking out, then a nose.

At that point, I think Clover had had enough - she accepted my hand on her nose, then scratching her neck. Then she did something totally unexpected - she turned to rub her side down my arm until her back side was toward me. Then she backed up to my hands, as if to say "GET THIS THING OUTTA ME!"

I grabbed the legs I saw, and gently pulled as Clover pushed. Together, we got a nice heifer onto the ground in a few seconds of trying. Since the wind was a little cold, we got some towels, and I carried the newborn into the barn, where mom could take care of her in a bit warmer environment.

I made sure things were going well, then got myself cleaned up, and headed for Mark's. THAT is when I found out that Deb's mom had hit a deer on her way over - or actually - the deer hit HER! The passenger side door and front fender of their Suburban was dented up pretty bad, but, thankfully, no one was hurt.
Deer Strike

It would have been nice if the deer could have gone in the freezer, but he disappeared into the brush.

When I got to Mark's, we straightened the lock ring as best we could by hand. The things are STIFF, so that was not an easy task. We got it "sorta" good, then wrapped a couple straps around the rim and tire, then added a little air. At about 6 PSI, I saw the ring coming out, so I tried to tap it back in. This caused the thing to pop out entirely.

Thank God for the straps....

At that point, we decided that we were men, and we have welders.

We blocked the tire down with wood, and Mark tack welded the ring in place.....

It will work great, hold the tire, and not cause any problems. If I need to change the tire, I just have to grind those welds off first.

At any rate, we got it done, and I FINALLY got it installed on the tractor this afternoon. Afterwards, I decided to take the old girl for a spin, park her in the front yard, rinse the dust off, and take a few photos.

Out of the Barn

A little touch-up paint, some decals, and a few minor details - and she will be DONE!  Then it's on to the next project!



1 comment:

  1. Congrats on the new heifer. That tractor is a treasure, good job.

    ReplyDelete