Nothing Runs Like a Deere...

...Or so the John Deere company slogan states. But I'm beginning to have my doubts. The big green behemoth living below Ruffy's stall has spent most of this year idle with either hydraulic leaks, dead batteries, and lastly, a broken mower.

Now, with the manure pile threatening to creep beyond the fence boundaries, I'm envisioning myself shoveling the heap from now until May. Something has to give, and it may be my bank account when I go to buy two new batteries for the tractor--yes, it takes two batteries.

We spent all of Sunday, poring over the tangle of wires in the cold, dank barn cellar. Our friends Hank and Lili helped out, buying a new relay, and spending hours testing batter voltage and wires. They even called in their mechanic friend Jason--all to no avail. He felt it needed new batteries. There it sits, dead.

Here's a ditty that sums up Sunday's tractor woes (to the tune of I've Been Working On the Railroad):

  We've been working on the tractor
  All the livelong day.
  We've been working on the tractor
  And I've spent all last week's pay.
  Can't you see the snowdrifts piling
  Right up till the first of May?
  Still can't get the dang thing running,
  Guess I'd better start to pray!

  Tractor won't you go,
  Tractor won't you go,
  Tractor won't you work today!

So, what to do when it's too icy to ride and you can't get the tractor running? Go skiing! I had an awesome time on my telemark skis, which have been idle for too long. I carved turns on the pasture slopes while the horses watched. The hard-packed snow, solid enough to hold even the snowmoblile, begged for me to get on the skis and "tele like helly". I ferried some fence repair equipment in a bucket and practiced without ski poles. I got in quite a few runs--not too bad for an old bat who has not been on those skis for a number of years! I'm thinking I may just have to fork over $5 (if I can find it) for a day of skiing on our local Powderhouse Hill if we get some more snow this week.

The camera died this weekend, so until I can fix it, or save up to buy a new one, pictures may be few and far between in upcoming posts.