Learning as We Go

General

August 06, 2026•7 min read

Learning as We Go

When I went to bed last night, I had a plan.

It was going to be a simple day.

Find the diagnostic port on the tractor.

Run into town for a few parts.

Come back to camp.

Maybe even relax for a while.

The problem is...

I don't seem to do "relax" very well.

I woke up around 8:30 this morning, and as usual Wyatt was already awake, patiently waiting for me to start the day.

Every morning I ask myself the same question.

"Does he want to go outside?"

"Is he hungry?"

Honestly...

I think he just wants to play.

Like yesterday, I opened the front door, let him outside, climbed right back into bed, and waited for the hummingbirds to make their morning appearance.

Today they never came.

Or at least not while I was watching.

By around 9:30 I finally admitted defeat and climbed out of bed.

The first stop was the tractor.

Yesterday I'd discovered there was a diagnostic port somewhere on the machine, so this morning I spent about half an hour finding it and really taking the time to look the tractor over.

The more I learn about it, the more comfortable I become.

From there, Wyatt and I headed to Tractor Supply to pick up a few parts... and the obligatory dog treats at the register. He is so funny, he now associates every red vest with treats.

Back at Memory Lane, it was time to start experimenting.

Today I hooked up the back blade for the first time.

With several days of rain in the forecast, I figured this might be my best chance to smooth out part of the driveway before it turned back into mud.

There's one small depression that always seems to hold water after a storm.

Ideally I'd have a few loads of gravel.

For now...

Dirt will have to do.

It isn't perfect, but it's certainly better than doing nothing.

After making a few passes with the back blade, I decided to swap it out for the York rake.

As soon as I hooked it up, the DPF regeneration lights came on again.

This time, instead of worrying about them, I decided to let the tractor do what it was designed to do.

I left it idling while I went inside and took care of a few things around camp.

About twenty five minutes later I came back outside, and all of the warning lights were gone.

Success.

Now I finally understand how the regeneration process works.

Every day with this tractor seems to teach me something new, and today another mystery was solved.

After that I made my way over to the bunkhouse where several large branches had come down during a storm a couple of weeks ago.

As I picked up one of the heavier logs, I found something unexpected underneath.

An Eastern Newt.

Bright orange.

Tiny.

And absolutely beautiful.

Eastern Newts spend part of their lives in this bright orange "eft" stage, which acts as a warning to predators that they aren't good to eat. It's nature's way of saying, "Leave me alone."

Not wanting to accidentally hurt it, I carried it over to one of our old stone walls where there were plenty of leaves, moss, and places to hide.

It seemed like a much safer home.

Then it was off to the apple orchard.

Weeks ago I'd taken down several dead trees, but there were still branches and logs scattered throughout the orchard.

Trying to move them with my pickup truck had been frustrating.

The tractor...

Now that's a different story.

It already feels like one of the best investments we've made for the property.

As I continued cleaning up, I found two more Eastern Newts hiding beneath fallen logs.

Just like the first one, they were carefully relocated to the stone wall where hopefully they'll stay safe.

A little farther into the brush I spotted something else.

A bird's nest.

It appeared to be a bluebird nest sitting right on the ground among the branches.

I'm not sure if bluebirds normally build nests there or if it had somehow fallen from above, but the eggs had already hatched.

It was still pretty neat to find.

Eventually I worked my way over to the garden.

Without a working mower, the weeds have been slowly taking over.

I figured I'd see what the York rake could do.

Before getting started, I walked through the rows checking on everything.

The plants are finally beginning to produce.

The vegetables are coming.

But the real star of the garden right now is the corn.

There are already more than a dozen ears developing.

I can definitely understand why corn is such an important crop around here.

After about five passes with the York rake, I couldn't understand why it wasn't digging into the ground.

It just kept floating along the surface.

Eventually it dawned on me.

The gauge wheels were still attached.

Off they came.

I set them beside the tractor seat and tried again.

Huge difference.

Now it was actually doing what it was designed to do.

Later, I decided to rake the lane as well.

I've been told that repeated raking helps bring buried gravel back up to the surface over time.

After my third pass, I made another discovery.

The York rake actually has holders built right into the frame for those gauge wheels.

Apparently carrying them around beside me wasn't part of the manufacturer's design.

Who knew?

Every day I seem to learn something new about this tractor.

By the time I finished, the driveway looked noticeably better.

It's amazing what you can accomplish once you finally have the right tools.

As I was putting the York rake away, I realized something.

For the last couple of weeks, the mower has been broken, and the grass around Memory Lane has gotten much taller than I'd like.

It probably sounds strange, but I think I've figured out why that's been bothering me so much.

Every time I mow, I can stand back afterward and immediately see the progress.

The clean lines.

The freshly cut grass.

The property just looks cared for.

With the mower out of commission, the grass has slowly taken over, and even though I've been accomplishing plenty of other projects, it doesn't always feel like progress when I look around.

I think that's why I've been feeling anxious lately.

Not because nothing is getting done.

Quite the opposite.

I've been keeping myself busy every single day.

I just haven't had that instant visual reminder that things are moving forward.

Looking back, I think that's one of the reasons I've been so eager to learn the tractor.

Every chance I get, I'm finding another project it can help me tackle.

Hauling logs.

Cleaning up the orchard.

Grading the driveway.

Raking the garden.

Moving firewood.

Each one chips away at the endless list of things that need to be done, and each one gives me back a little of that feeling that we're making progress.

Maybe that's just part of restoring a place like this.

Some days progress is measured in freshly cut grass.

Other days it's measured in learning a new machine and finding another way to move the project forward.

Back at camp, I mixed up a full gallon of homemade hummingbird nectar and left it to cool.

While it cooled, I decided to channel my partner a little.

She has a way of putting together simple little snack plates that somehow always feel special.

So I cut up a few blocks of cheese, added some crackers, and got everything ready while I started a fire.

Before dinner, Wyatt and I made one of our usual patrols around camp.

I couldn't help but admire how much nicer the lane looked after being raked.

Sometimes it's the little improvements that make the biggest difference.

Back at camp I grilled a few chicken thighs along with carrots and Brussels sprouts.

While everything was cooking, I filled every hummingbird feeder around camp.

Every single one.

By the time I was finished, I'd used almost half a gallon of nectar.

I hadn't realized just how many feeders we've accumulated.

The best part came almost immediately.

Within minutes the hummingbirds began arriving.

They buzzed around me while I was still standing there, darting from feeder to feeder, sometimes stopping only a few feet away before racing off to the next one.