I bought a new tractor a couple of months ago, trading in Little Red for a shiny orange model that is sturdier and simpler to use. Like its predecessor, it is considered mid-sized, doesn’t have a cab, and is small enough to slip under the many trees here at Three Geese Farm in order to mow. The first time I used Orange Crush, as I have named her, I mowed about half the side pasture. I was pleased with the result and eager to return the following day to finish the job, on a Saturday morning.
Three Geese Farm comprises 57 acres, approximately half of which is bottomland. It has been a mighty wet year thus far, leaving a chunk of it unmowable at the moment. The side pasture, however, has a long, gently sloped ditch that sends the overflow from Pancho’s Pond down to Wicher Creek near the highway. I was mowing the ditch, which dries out for the most part if it hasn’t rained in a while. I approached it perpendicularly, crossing over, turning around, and making another pass.
This proved unsatisfactory to my OCD brain. The grass at the bottom of the ditch was not getting cut low enough. I decided to straddle the ditch to get a closer cut.
On more than one occasion during the four years we have owned Three Geese Farm, I have questioned whether I have the necessary sense to undertake this whole hobby farm endeavor. This was one of those times. Orange Crush promptly sank into the ditch, which was far muddier than it appeared. One rear wheel and one front wheel were buried in the red-clay muck. I trudged back to the shop and got a chain and my 2001 Tundra, hoping for a miracle, that maybe I could pull it out unaided.
Nope. Not even close. The Tundra’s tires spun in the freshly mowed grass. I got a couple of boards and wedged them under the tractor’s tires. This accomplished nothing except that I now have two muddy boards.
It was discouraging to look out into a pasture and see a brand-new tractor that cost more than nearly any vehicle I have purchased stuck in the mud, tilting to one side, three days after it was delivered.
On Sunday morning, I called the wrecker service I used last year when I got Little Red stuck. (I know. It’s a pattern.) I was trying to get on the list for Monday morning. She assured me the service doesn’t charge a weekend premium, and the fellow on call was not busy at all. About 30 minutes later, a cheerful young man with a long flatbed tow truck arrived.
After studying the situation, he eased his tow truck down the old oil derrick road, hopped the ditch, and got in position in front of Orange Crush. He attached his winch to the tractor with a padded chain so as not to mar its surface and effortlessly pulled the tractor out. I drove the muddy tractor to the spigot by the shop to be pressure-washed later.
Getting his tow truck out proved a challenge. The gate to the side pasture is located directly across from our driveway, which features a large culvert at its end, filled with water due to the recent rain. He ended up getting the front wheel of his tow truck stuck in that ditch.
The poor tow truck driver ended up hooking a winch to a nearby sweetgum tree and pulling the tow truck sideways until the front wheels were safely on the concrete. It took a bit of maneuvering, but the tow truck was finally back in the driveway.
The fellow earned the $275 I was charged for my ineptness. I have been hyper-vigilant since, steering a wide berth around possible muddy patches. Eventually, it will dry out here at Three Geese Farm.
Until then, I must be patient, not my strong suit.