Tractor Tuesday: SciFi

Back in 1955, the person who bought the Eicher tractor on the left must have been the envy of the village - 16 horsepower when just a few years earlier most couldn't afford a single horse. The New Holland 1270 baler on the right needs a minimum of 141 horsepower to set it in motion. The baler looks like some space robot, almost threatening. I wonder what the original Eicher owner would say if he saw it.

I am wary of giving details of the tractor as the plate on the motor didn't seem to match up with any of the data about Eicher. The plate says it is an Eicher ED1 built 1955 with 16hp. As such, there isn't a model ED1 but an ED16/1 and later ED 16/2 but the horsepower/years don't match. In 1955 the ED16/2 was being built with 19hp. A bit confusing.

A grey start to the day so set off to see my GP to get a few energy boosting jabs. Really ought to do it more often, haven't been once this year but was spurred on by the visit to the internist back in August who had carried out several blood tests and thought it would be a good idea. Iron in the arm vein and Vitamin B in the (appropriate) bum muscle and it hurt too for a second. Doc, a young lady, seemed very surprised at my "ouch" but then she hasn't, up to now, ever had to administer such pain-inducing medication to me and is not aware what a wimp I am in such matters.

Then to the agricultural merchants around the corner to get sugarbeet pulp, wheat and maize for various animals and a few bits and bobs for the tractor and implements - securing pins seem to give way with time and as happened recently, can be a pain when it happens in the middle of a field and no replacement at hand.

Angie busy trimming the top of the field the horses were last on - she reckoned she was faster on the lawn tractor than I would be by the time I had hitched up the mower. Yesterday I had the mower attached and asked if I should do it - no came the reply, so off it came and I raked and rolled the sand school. That was seemingly more important but women shouldn't be too surprised why men sometimes don't quite understand their logic. She then painted Luna's doghouse, a job I have been meaning to do since ......... OK OK, I take back the logic comment. She has been very active on the painting front of late. Luckily the green metal paint ran out last week so I don't need to have a bad conscious being confronted by more & more gleaming rails.

Finally, in the evening Farmer Franz came by to heave the last four glass panes into position on the rear side of the hen run. Boy, are they heavy, the last one needed Angie's help as it had to be lifted up about 50cm. Hope to get the panes firmly fixed in place soon and can present to the Blip world in all its glory.