Blogs

Repair No. 1

Sometimes just getting the truck home under its own power counts as a suitable roadside repair. The venerable SQHD rear axles were bulletproof behind the 220 Cummins engine and the 6-71 Detroit engine which were the standard for power when the SQHD showed up.

I’m not a social media genius, but ever since my kids set up a Facebook account for me nine or 10 years ago, I dabble regularly in the medium. I now have Instagram and Twitter accounts to accompany my profile in Mr. Zuckerberg’s kingdom.

One of my earliest memories was listening to Coast to Coast AM with George Noory. I was in the backseat of a pickup truck, forehead pressed against the cold glass and listening to stories of alien abductions, Bigfoot sightings and government conspiracy theories.

Earlier this year, I spent a week in the Sunshine State visiting with ranchers and farmers and gawking at the landscape that was vastly different than my Idaho home. As I asked each one what was the biggest challenge to production agriculture in Florida, the answer was always the same: urban sprawl.

’Twas a bright sunshiny day, so this happened sometime between the snow seasons. I-84, westbound a few miles east of Biggs Junction, which is about a hundred miles east of Portland, Oregon, Leo and I were on our way to the Portland area, each driving a truck and trailer loaded with hay.

I haven’t had time to do very much farming this summer, but I have spent a lot of time on a zero-turn mower trimming and maintaining the farm. Here at the house, I decided to take a different approach to taking care of the yard this year instead of the twenty-plus-year-old Craftsman 50-inch-cut riding mower.