Relative Something

Today the diesel tractor is to be picked up for a hot date at the service department of a nearby implement dealer. I hadn’t fired it up all winter, so yesterday, I figured a pre-check was in order before sending it off to the mechanics.

To my surprise, there was enough life in the battery to turn the engine over. It started without a problem. After wiping away cobwebs, I took a little time to remove all the acorn fragments piled up in the fuzzy grass seed debris trapped against the radiator screen.

Looked like a cozy spot for a rodent to hang out.

I’m sure tractor mechanics have seen that kind of thing before but I would rather not have our machine appear entirely neglected when they start digging into the working parts to do what they do. There are fluids to be flushed, fittings to be greased, and thingamajigs to be ameliorated.

Maybe they hydrogenate the hydraulics. I don’t know.

What I do know is that the grass on the sunny side of the barn is already in need of a trim. The mowing season ended late last fall and is starting early this spring. Color me not surprised about that new reality.

The labyrinth will need a visit from the lawn mower soon, too. In two weeks and two days, it will be World Labyrinth Day. It is always held on the first Saturday of May. We are on the verge of preparations for hosting an open house type of event that day. More of an “open labyrinth,” really.

If you are looking for an excuse to visit Wintervale, mark May 4th on your calendar.

Sprucing the place up in preparation for visitors is something I know how to do. The freshly maintained diesel tractor will be used to create a new batch of wood chips out of some of the endless piles of tree limbs stacked throughout our woods.

I won’t have any trouble trying to find something to do around here for the next couple of weeks, that’s for sure.

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