I’m not what you’d call a shiny farmer. Never have been… and if I’m being honest, I don’t see that changing anytime soon.
It’s not something I’ve ever really thought much about. There’s just always been more important things to worry about than whether the tractor looks like it just rolled off a showroom floor.
Yesterday was my first trip down the road this spring with the tractor. I had just pulled it out of the shelter… and it showed. All winter that sandy silt has a way of blowing around the countryside and settling on everything, and this thing had a full season’s worth of it baked on.
I was heading out to apply some fertilizer on an overwintered triticale field. One of those mornings where it actually feels like the season is starting to turn a corner.
I swung into the co-op yard to pick up the spreader and product, and while I was sitting there, the phone dinged. Figured I’d better check it before I got busy.
It was Dave.
Now Dave… he’s one of those friends from high school. The kind where you don’t talk near as much as you used to, but somehow nothing really changes. If he called and needed something, I’d be there. No questions.
But him and me… we’ve always been a bit of a mismatch.
Dave’s a car guy. Not just a casual one either. I mean spotless, polished, parked-in-a-building, barely-driven kind of vehicles. The kind you’re almost afraid to lean on.
Me… well, I’d probably need to watch a YouTube video just to figure out the settings on the car wash in town.
So when I opened his message and it said,
“Just passed you on Tupperville Road… you need to wash your tractor.”
I had to laugh.
Wasn’t even surprised, well maybe a little surprised he actually said it out loud… but he knows me well enough to know that’s not exactly high on my priority list.
I texted him back, “Yup, you’re right.”
And for a minute there, I actually thought about dragging out the pressure washer when I got home.
Then I remembered my roots… the way Dad washed all his equipment. A quick check of the forcast showed I was in luck.....
Left the tractor sitting outside when I got home last night.
Raining now.
All sorted, Dave.
Thanks for the nudge. 😄
Farmer Rod
