44 Special blows up

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shooter
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Re: 44 Special blows up

Post by shooter » Tue Sep 21, 2010 11:09 pm

Thanks for the very amusing and informative post.
Ive always had a thing for tractors; even as a kid. I had a fancy red eraser shaped like a tractor (?made in taiwan; remember those) which was used to pacify me when i cried as a toddler.

I always used to clutch the old green coloured Rs 5 note as it had a picture of a tractor on it. (anyone remember that?)

As a small child, i am told i would only eat my meals if shown a tractor. On birthdays i would prefer a rs 5 note over bigger currencies. :stupid:

The first vehicle I drove was a tractor; my first accident happened driving a tractor.

I guess Im a country bumpkin at heart.
Eh tell me about it. we even have songs for tractors.

Here is one



Njoy

-Inder
Thanks Inder. A good one. Nice lyrics too. Very entertaining.

In India we have a festival 'Govardhan'. Its the next day after diwali.

In delhi the day is celebrated as Vishwakarma but in many parts of 'hindi-speaking-north-india' It is a day when farmers pray to oxen and thank them for the hard work and pray for a good yeild in the winter harvest to follow.

I remember that day one could see farmers bathing /washing their oxen in the lakes/ponds before praying to them.

Now a days people dont use oxen so they wash their tractors and pray to them! (seriously).

I have witnessed dozens of such ceremonies.
They apply 'tilak' and then rice on the 'forehead' of the tractor, offer prashad (offerings of fruits/sweets) etc.

Any other members seen it?
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kanwar76
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Re: 44 Special blows up

Post by kanwar76 » Tue Sep 21, 2010 11:14 pm

shooter wrote: In India we have a festival 'Govardhan'. Its the next day after diwali.

In delhi the day is celebrated as Vishwakarma but in many parts of 'hindi-speaking-north-india' It is a day when farmers pray to oxen and thank them for the hard work and pray for a good yeild in the winter harvest to follow.

I remember that day one could see farmers bathing /washing their oxen in the lakes/ponds before praying to them.

Now a days people dont use oxen so they wash their tractors and pray to them! (seriously).

I have witnessed dozens of such ceremonies.
They apply 'tilak' and then rice on the 'forehead' of the tractor, offer prashad (offerings of fruits/sweets) etc.

Any other members seen it?
Not only tractor but all farm equipment, our local farmhand use to do that. Don't know whats happening now as all local farmhands got replaced by labour from Bihar/Bengal.

-Inder
I am the Saint the Soldier that walks in Peace. I am the Humble dust of your feet, But dont think my Spirituality makes me weak. The Heavens will roar if my Kirpan were to speak...

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Re: 44 Special blows up

Post by xl_target » Tue Sep 21, 2010 11:47 pm

Timmy, great post! We also used a "sling" to get the hay bales into the bran. I don't remember whether it could grapple 8 bales or 10 bales at a time. They would raise it up and then slide it down the rails till it was over the right spot and we would yell "trip" from inside the barn. The youngest brother in the family and I (being the low men on the totem pole) were always in the barn. The older brothers would take a sadistic pleasure in running the sling in as fast as they could load it, especially when we had been out late the night before. I remember being hung over once and reeling into the corner between slings to throw up. You're perfectly correct when you say that everyone should have some experience on the farm. If nothing else, it builds character and teaches patience. I wish more of today's kids were exposed to those experiences. Living in a small town, we are closer to the land than most people living in the cities. When my daughter turned sixteen, I encouraged her to apply at the local seed (Pioneer Seeds) grower for summer work. There she got to do some miserable chores like weeding, de-tasseling corn, etc. In the heat of summer, with no wind between the corn rows, it can be gruelling. If she learned nothing else, she knew she had to go to college so she wouldn't need to work jobs like that. :D

Grewal Sahib, a John Deere in India? Awesome! I don't blame you at all for insisting on driving it. My favorite at the time was a JD 4020 with power shift. I spent many a day on that tractor. Now of course, some people's garden tractors have about as much power.
“Never give in, never give in, never; never; never; never – in nothing, great or small, large or petty – never give in except to convictions of honor and good sense” — Winston Churchill, Oct 29, 1941

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Re: 44 Special blows up

Post by timmy » Wed Sep 22, 2010 9:15 am

Mr. Grewal, thanks for your picture. It looks like your field really produces -- looking good! I can certainly see why you like driving your Green Machine!

XL: I recall the baling quite well: because of the old hooks, the method of packing bales on the wagons was set in stone even in the elevator days: Bales were laid on the wagon in groups of 5. One bale was placed longitudinally, and then two bales latitudinally on each side. 4 groups of bales were laid on the bottom layer like this. The next layer would have 5 bales, all laid longitudinally, in 4 groups. On the 3rd layer, the 1st layer's pattern was repeated. The 4th layer was a repeat of the 2nd.

This way, the hooks went into the 5 longitudinal bales first, and then the bottom layer, and they would stay together as they were hoisted. I was too young to work in the mow when this was used; I only baled with an elevator sending bales to the mow.

Actually, a layer of bales forming the 5th layer were all latitudinal, in groups of 4. This layer formed a "tie" for the bales underneath. Because a corner of layers 3 and 4 on the left side was missing (that's where the baler chute was), each wagon would hold about 90 bales.

I do recall that it took us 20 minutes to unload a wagon, with a 10 minute break before the next wagon came in. I recall that I would drink water for those entire 10 minutes, as much as I could, and would do it all again 30 after the next wagon. When I got older, I worked behind the baler, the hardest of the jobs in making hay.

I believe that you are right, kids would profit from a stint on the farm. Most folks nowadays have no idea about cows, pigs, chickens, sheep, or other forms of livestock. If a bomb hit, most people would be as helpless as drones. However, I do think you did right by your daughter. It's my belief that there is something most noble about wresting a living from the land. Not just anyone can do it, and do it well.

Let me close this post with a Montana story. My Dad was great buddies with a rancher, and this fellow (like many Montana ranchers) was quite a joker. One day I asked him: "Bill, I understand bees are considered livestock in Montana."

Now, if there's one thing a rancher will take pride in, it's knowing his business forward and backward.

"Yes, yes, I believe you are right," Bill said. "Bees are livestock here in Montana."

"Well, I'm puzzled then, I said. "When you are roping them, they have 6 legs, not 4. How many legs do you have to have tied off to consider them down?"

By this time, Bill was squinting at me with a decided frown. (In calf roping contests at rodeos, which simulate actual calf roping for branding and castration purposes, 3 of the calf's legs have to be considered tied for the roping contest clock to stop.)

I went on: "And when you've got them tied, where do you put the brand on the little devils?"

"You're kind of a smart ass, aren't you?" Bill said, glaring at me.

Unfortunately, Bill never had the pleasure of paying me back with some practical joke, as he died of a heart attack shortly afterwards.

-- Tue Sep 21, 2010 21:56 --

I would like to add that my own interest in farming is much more about grain than animals. The three staples of the world, wheat, rice, and maize, are actually fairly closely related. I especially love maize. The most amazing changes occurred in maize from only a few base pair changes in the plants chromosomes -- those ancient Native Americans must have really been farming geniuses to come up with maize from the original teosinte.

Yes, my love of maize does have to do with my farming roots, and it surely is related to being a New Mexican. I do love maize tortillas! I also love knowing where they come from.
“There is nothing new in the world except the history you do not know”

Harry S. Truman

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