Chickens & The Merc

For a few days last summer our '62 Colony Park station wagon was parked in front of our 100- year-old rock barn. While playing with the color swap mode on the Canon Power Shot The skirt pressed the shutter on this whole mess of, station wagon, tractor and chickens. I know sharing this photo with you puts us at risk of comparisons to The Egg & I. That's the reason's I took the shot, it looked like the homestead of the "eccentric country bumpkins." It was a temporary, but authentic moment and now I own it.

By the way, we have very happy chickens and they lay a dozen big, beautiful eggs every day. Want some?

Ford Golden Jubilee On the Farm

Found this slide of Bob's grandparents working with their Golden Jubilee. Like most small farms across America, having a multipurpose hard working tractor like the Golden Jubilee allowed farmers to get so much more done in a day, which of course translated into more profits and less heartaches and perhaps a few less backaches for the average farm family. Bob remembers his father telling him how important the tractor was to the family. We're glad we can keep her going.

Grandpa Howard and Grandma Hattie hooking up the sickle-bar mower

Western Montana circa mid-'60's

Watch Our Garden Grow

We planted 90% of our garden on Sunday. Held off on the tomatoes and peppers because they were forecasting a freeze watch for last night. Now we begin defense mode.

This video shows Bob using the Golden Jubilee fence post driver.

Plowing the Field With a Golden Jubilee

We love vintage tractors as much as vintage cars. Last September we acquired a Golden Jubilee. The Ford had been resting comfortably inside a Montana barn rarely used for the past ten years or more. We planned to put her to work tilling our garden and grooming our gravel drive. This winter we bought an old Maletti tiller off Craigslist. And after a few repairs and modifications tractor and tiller were ready to go. The tiller needs paint which we're gonna do soon now that the soil is tilled.

John Deere Model "H" with Buggy Top

Eight summers ago we sold our house in the big city of Tacoma, WA and looking to get back to our rural roots bought six acres in Spokane Valley. Before we even finished unpacking we saw an ad in the NickleNic for a 1946 John Deere Model "H". We weren't looking to buy a vintage tractor, but our interest was peaked. We decided to drive north to Elk, WA just to have a look and a scenic drive. The tractor came with several attachments and a seldom used buggy top. The tractor is one of our favorite possessions. Bob uses the "H" a couple times a month to maintain our gravel driveway.

These days the attachments are used primarily by our cattle as scratching posts.
The farmer we bought it from preserved all the manuals.

Hope you enjoyed the pictures.