Tractor day!

Published February 17, 2009

So, David the tractor guy finally came on Sunday. 

Big excitement around here. 

And you know, he was a nice a guy as you’ll ever meet. 

He brought a very big truck with a small tractor on the back, and all sorts of attachments that I don’t know the names for -- the disc thing, and the digging thing, and the spiky part.

He showed up, said hello, and was at work five minutes later.

And he really knew what he was doing.

He should -- turns out he’s a sharecropper who farms 1,000 acres west of Austin.

You’ve gotta love Craig’s List -- how else could I have a real farmer out here, tilling my yard, in exchange for food?

And the coolest part was when his wife showed up -- all four of their young sons and three puppies!

My boys were in heaven. A Sunday spent with four boys, a bucket of action figures, three puppies, and fresh dirt and a tractor? Does life get any better?

David and his wife were really nice people. I can’t imagine that what they do is easy. He grows cotton and corn for feed, and they raise beef with no hormones or antibiotics. At some point, I’m going to buy a side of beef from them and put it in my freezer -- mostly to be able to say, “Yeah, I’ve got a side of beef and an organic garden” and I’ll sound like I really know what I’m doing.

I asked David what they did for water, and how they irrigate the cotton -- he’s starting to plant it his week.

His answer? “What do we do for water? We wait for rain, and when there isn’t any, we get on our knees.”

Apparently, prayer is an important part of farming.

They don’t even own the land they farm -- they work it, and give the owners 25 percent of the profit.

Anyway, the tilling is done. Quickly and efficiently, and it looks good. On Thursday, Dirty Dylan comes with a helper and he’s going to turn this freshly tilled dirt into garden beds.

I’ve put a call out for help on the homeschooler’s list. I’m hoping we’ll have a lot of strong backs show up.

 The boys apparently think a pink, fuzzy blanket will protect them from the tractor noise...

The official "before" photo. Perhaps it will be a lush, green sanctuary for deer.