Making the plunge

This weekend was notable because I bought my first big farm implement (besides my tractor, of course). My neighbor alerted me to a disc & plow for sale that he heard about through the Okanogan Party Line. On Thursday, I gave the guy a call and left a message. He called back on Saturday. Apparently there was an interested party before me, but they backed out. I showed up that afternoon to take a look. It looked good enough to my eyes and the price was right, so we agreed that I'd come pick it up the next day. I wasn't going to take to the plow, too, but the package deal was better than just the disc. We've got so much ground to farm at this point, and some of it hasn't been farmed in quite a while, so I figured the plow would be beneficial as well. The problem is--it's a three-bottom plow, which will probably be too much for my mid-sized tractor. They tell me I'll be able to decommission one of the bottoms (sounds kind of funny, huh?) and be just fine. It's a big relief, knowing that I've got (some of) the equipment I need to get our hay ground producing well (still need a seed/grain drill, and I've got my eye on one). For the last 4 years we've been trying to make do with antique equipment and the kindness and generosity of our neighbors. This year hay prices are supposed to be much higher, so we can't afford not to invest in our own operation.

Next on the agenda: get the tractor up and running.