Finally

 Those of you who have faithfully followed this blog over the years will surely remember that the one thing that has always been on the top of my want list has been a shinny new backhoe.  Well, I finally got one.  It isn't new nor shinny but it works like a dream.  It is an 80's Mitsubishi Satoh Buck.  It is a 3 cylinder, 18.5 horse diesel.  Other than surface rust on the loader arms; there is nothing wrong with it.

No longer will I need to turn the compost by hand.  No longer will I need to dig out stumps with a shovel.  No longer will I have to cut sod and dig trenches by hand.  No longer will I need to hire someone to burry a horse. 

Every day I've been doing something with it and I've only wrecked one wisteria arbor, which I will get around to fixing one day.  I've also dug a trench to burry a water and electric line to one of the pastures.  I cleared over a hundred feet of berry vines that were obstructing a pasture fence line.  I've turned the horse manure compost pile twice and leveled another compost pile.  I pulled a near death spruce treee out of the ground.  Soon I will re-stone the driveway and then I plan to add some drainage tiles and stone and then top coat the round pen so we can exercise the horses during the rainy winter months.

After working on this tractor for several hours yesterday I came away with the feeling that I had an excellent day and I feel I will have many more to come.