Thursday, October 13, 2011

Country driving

The other day, a fav blogger of mine (MerrilyMarylee) did a post that involved two hooter-like round bales of hay in a wagon in front of her car.  They looked quite rude, not to mention hilarious. That got me thinking about all the wild and whacky farm vehicles I get stuck behind, living and driving in the country. Growing up in Toronto, I never saw such exotic vehicles, but here they are a dime a dozen, especially at harvest and planting times.

When we were out and about last Monday (Thanksgiving in Canada), we followed several interesting vehicles and of course I feel compelled to share!

Here's our least-favourite vehicle to follow...


The SH*T-SPREADER!


Nothing says "country" like a farmer spraying vat-loads of liquid poo all over his/her fields!


Fortunately he quickly turned off the road, leaving only a soupçon of manure stench behind.


Farmers aren't supposed to leave a mess on the roads but sometimes they do anyway. Further along, we drove through a long stretch of filth-covered road where another farmer had been trundling along with who-knows-what falling off his tractor...



Later, we came across a precariously-stacked load of round bales, nowhere near as amusing as Marylee's, since among other things they were stacked side-on!



We don't mind getting stuck behind farm vehicles. It's part of rural life. You just wait until the way is safe and pass them. They usually pull over as much as possible to give you space when it's safe to pass.

Later, we saw a load of freshly-harvested soybeans being taken away...



We have soybeans in our fields that will be harvested any day now. They are destined for Japanese tofu. Eventually our farm will be turned into a pollinator and waterfowl sanctuary. Ducks Unlimited is putting an acre-wide pond in our back pasture next year. It's the start of good things to come. (They won't be hunting on the pond, just making duck habitat and giving us funding for it!)

Anyway, back to vehicles. Monday was a banner day for interesting sights. Here we have...


...drainage pipe for tile-draining fields! Our fields are tile-drained, so they are better for growing things and get less soggy.



We turned the same way he did.


He pulled over to let us pass.


Crazy lady taking pictures of farmers!


Gordon stopped at the Apple Hill post office to check his business mailbox, and while he did, the tile-drain guy passed us again!


So we passed him once more.

Life is never dull in the country!

11 comments:

  1. Call me a vicarious farm girl. I sure do enjoy your pics!

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  2. Anonymous8:28 pm

    I've often been behind "Sweet Pea's" septic tank service truck. What a misnomer!

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  3. Ah as a confirmed suburbanite I find tractors an imposition but then I don't live in the country so I can kiss my own butt!

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  4. Nance, enjoy! And since I don't have Smell-o-rama on my blog, you are fortunately spared the odours of freshly-spread manure! I was a city girl for many years (lived downtown in Toronto and Montreal, grew up in the 'burbs) but I am now one with the sh*t spreader.

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  5. TTPT, hahahahaha! WHat an excellent name for a septic service company. Which reminds me, our tank needs pumping.

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  6. Jams, everyone knows everyone around here, so you'd never dare flip the bird to a tractor! ;)

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  7. My father-in-law used to say that the smell of fresh manure on the fields helped you sleep at night. It always made me laugh when he inhaled deeply and smiled.

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  8. Neat farm equipment for me to admire in your great photos, but I sure wouldn't want to be stuck behind them. All I see around here are mostly propane trucks and honey wagons in the way of large vehicles. I need to get back to posting again... maybe November? Thanks for commenting on my blog.

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  9. Anonymous12:09 pm

    Ooooh. . . big time hooters! And the sh*t spreader... I had no idea! Miss Piggy takes care of that for us.

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  10. Growing up and working on our dairy for over 30 years, I drove a lot of those vehicles. And yes, even the spreader once in a while (but mostly that was reserved for my brother - don't drive like my brother).

    I don't do that anymore.

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  11. Evlyn, that's hilarious. Next time I can't sleep, I'll go visit my neighbour's cattle barn and breathe deeply.

    Callie, they are pretty good about moving over and letting you pass, so I don't mind too much except I'm not keen on following stinky manure spreaders!

    Marylee, I will educate you on country living. ;)

    James, I can't IMAGINE why you wouldn't want to drive a sh*t spreader anymore... hahahaha!

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Thank you for all your comments, which I love to read!