A New Chapter Begins

This morning started the way so many mornings at Memory Lane do.

I woke up around 8:00, opened the curtains, and looked outside hoping to catch the hummingbirds making their morning rounds.

Before long I reached for my phone to see if I'd missed anything overnight.

There was one message waiting for me.

It was from the gentleman I'd been talking to about buying his tractor.

The plan had been for me to look at it first thing this morning, but by the time I'd gone to bed last night I still hadn't received his address. Honestly, I figured he'd changed his mind or sold it to someone else.

Instead, there it was.

His address.

I got ready, headed out the door, and never did see the hummingbirds this morning.

The tractor was about thirty minutes away.

By the time I arrived, I already knew quite a bit about it. We'd talked back and forth, negotiated a price that I felt was more than fair, and assuming everything checked out, I fully expected to bring it home.

As with anything used, though, seeing it in person always tells the real story.

Overall, I was very good and well maintained for its age.

The tractor started easily.

The engine sounded good.

The four wheel drive worked exactly as it should.

The hydraulics operated smoothly.

There were a couple of disappointments.

One front tire was flat, and one of the implements had a cracked weld that will need to be repaired.

Neither issue was a deal breaker.

The tractor itself was exactly what I was hoping it would be, and even with those few imperfections I still felt like I was getting an exceptional value.

The decision was easy.

After looking everything over, I headed to the bank to pick up the money.

Then I called a friend who had offered to help transport everything back to Memory Lane.

A little while later he called to let me know he wouldn't be able to make it until after four o'clock.

That was perfectly fine.

By the time I'd driven to see the tractor, inspected everything, gone to the bank, and made it back to the farm, it was already about one in the afternoon.

It's amazing how quickly a day disappears when you're running from place to place.

Around four o'clock my friend called to say he was on his way.

We met back at the seller's property, loaded up the tractor and all of the implements, and finally made the trip back to Memory Lane.

Seeing it roll onto the property felt like another milestone.

Not because I bought another piece of equipment.

Because I bought another tool that will help us continue bringing this place back to life.

For months we've been working with what we had.

Now we have another piece of equipment that should make maintaining the property, moving materials, cleaning trails, grading roads, splitting projects into manageable jobs, and tackling new ideas much easier.

After getting everything unloaded, I headed back to the camper planning to make dinner.

But...

You know me.

Sitting still has never been one of my strengths.

I looked out at the tractor and thought,

"I might as well take care of that flat tire."

So back outside I went.

I pulled the wheel off and got it ready so I can bring it in tomorrow to have it repaired. As usual, Wyatt supervised.

One less thing to worry about.

One more step toward putting the tractor to work.

I've said it before, but every tool around here tells a story.

Some of them helped build this place decades ago.

Others are helping us rebuild it today.

This tractor may be new to us, but before long it'll have its own stories to tell.

I have a feeling it's going to become part of a lot of adventures here at Memory Lane.

And honestly...

I can't wait to get started.

oh and dinner wound up being a shimp burrito.

... and after a long hard day of supervising Wyatt settled in with a tall one...

~ Making Memories