Repairs & Remicade
One day last week I looked back at the chain on the bale spinner as I fed. I thought, “Allan used to break that a couple of times a year.” Apparently, I called on the Law of Attraction. Yes, all I did was think about it two days earlier. Two little spins and the roller chain was split.
I dropped the bale in the pasture and headed for the shop. Rudy was at the gate, so I showed him my broken chain. Thank goodness for Rudy. It was cold and windy, and we were working without gloves. Neither of us have hands that work well. I didn’t have reading glasses with me. I can’t see anything close without magnifying glasses. Rudy’s vision isn’t any better than mine. We worked together, not like “the blind leading the blind”. Neither fell in a pit. Rudy removed the broken link ends and explained how to put the new one on. We managed to loosen the box that the sprocket was on and get the chain on. The fun had just begun.
It took tears (not really), teamwork, thanks and time, but I got the new pin link in. I’m sure that we used tools never intended for the job. The connecting link plate went on easily. The spring clip was another story. Tears were called for, but I didn’t cry. I did swear once. We were working by feel without working fingers with a wicked west wind. Wow - what an alliteration! When I did get the clip on, I was shocked. Rudy tightened everything up and got the grease gun. He found a zerk that was plugged and removed it. I stuck it in the vise, grabbed a hammer, found a nail and unplugged it. We get creative, and we get it done.
I returned to the pasture, picked up the hay bale and spread it. Then I let the cows out. You’d think that they were starving.
Later that day I had my Remicade infusion. We’re all in need of repair. Even Mister Ty is wearing the lampshade on his head again.
November 12th, 2008 at 7:04 am
Glad to see that life goes on! You wouldn’t expect something to break on a nice day when it would be a pleasure to be outside fixing it, would you? Those nice days are probably going to be scarce for a while! It is only a hundred and fifty or sixty days until spring now. Chin up!
November 12th, 2008 at 10:15 am
This is exactly the reason dear ol’ mom asked that I never become a farmer. I could do all the basics, but fixing any of the tricky stuff (the swather, combines, water pumps, etc) I was a total loss. She suggested that while grandpa a couple uncles had all lost fingers in farming that I would lose a leg or a head in the process. I could patch and make due, but fixing any of the big stuff was a no win game for me - I would have been the most broke (and probably the most amputated) farmer in all of Teton county.