Our First Farm Toy!

Ladies and Gentlemen, may I introduce you to the latest addition to our Farm family? A Massey-Ferguson 2615! For the past few warm weeks, the grass around our house grew so significantly we started to joke that it looked as if a certain and quite unsavory former occupant still lived here. Armed with just a riding lawn mower, there was simply no way we were going to be able to tackle this farm task. Joshua and I hired a friend to mow things right around the house, but with so much grass around our farm house and in the pastures, it became immediately apparent that it would cost a few hundred dollars every couple of weeks simply to manage this growing fire hazard. We started pricing tractors, thinking that we might find a junker to cover the season, but we soon learned that tractors hold their value far better than automobiles. In the tractor business, even old junkers do not come cheaply, and if they do, you always have to wonder about the safety issue, particularly when Dad and Joshua may be way off in the pasture working by themselves while the girls are off on their adventures.

After looking around at tractors of all shapes, sizes, and colors (John Deere, New Holland, Kubota, and Massey Ferguson), we found a wonderful deal at our brand new local Massey-Ferguson dealer. The dealership is located at the corner of Highway 48 and Highway 33, making it only four miles or so from the Farm. They handle all service repairs and stock all parts for the tractor, and with the cost of gasoline, the proximity means that pick-up and delivery for parts, warranty work, and repairs will not be any added expense. Equipped with a front-end loader, our tractor is a fifty horsepower (enough power to hold a hay bale on the front and back), two-wheel drive red beauty. Enjoy our pictures!

Even the girls have to learn to drive!

Dad mastering the front-end loader...

Fueling up before our first ride...

We are legitimate farmers now!