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Adventures on a Deere


Yesterday, I jumped on my newly repaired tractor, revved it up and proceeded out to the back 40 (OK, the back 4) to mow down more of the head high, gnarly grass overwhelming the property. I was cruising along nicely, making good progress, inch by inch, foot by foot, when --- whoa! I put it in reverse and nothing happened. The back wheels were spinning in the mud. No problem, I surmised. I'd had this happen before. Just lock the back hubs and power out. I tried it. The machine wouldn't budge. So I slammed the Deere into full four wheel drive. Still no go. Hmmmmm.... The front wheels were spinning too, but they did not seem to actually be touching anything. Turns out I had run them over a ledge, hidden well by vegetation, below which was a hole at least three feet deep. I tried a trick the tractor dude had taught us, whereby one lowers the loader to the ground and beyond, using it to lift the front wheels off the ground. When dropped all the way, the loader touched nothing. In fact, there was still at least a foot of air below it. My only recourse was to tow it out. I went to the hardware store and bought a chain adequate for pulling several thousand pounds and two bad-ass hooks, one for each end. I drove the SUV out to the site, hooked everything up and gave it a firm but gentle tug. As I looked in the rear view mirror, I saw the tractor budge, then roll. "Yay!" I said out loud to nobody. That elation quickly turned to dread when I realized that the Deere was on a slight slope, angled downward toward the SUV. I went from "yay" to "oh shit" as I saw the tractor, in neutral of course, keep on rolling toward the rear end of the Trooper. There was nothing I could do but sit there helplessly and wait for the impact. Bang! Luckily, the slope was gentle and the tractor rolled pretty slowly. The only damage was a nice scratch on the spare tire cover at the very back of the SUV. The tractor sustained no injury at all. After it was pulled from the hole, Lucy decided the Deere must be sitting out there for her amusement. She had a great time climbing all around. Here she is, sitting on top of the tiller (above).
I watched the annual Na Hoku Hanohano awards Wednesday night. They can best be described as the Hawaiian Grammies, although the real Grammies now have a Hawaiian music category. The Na Hokus recognize the best in music from the Islands. Watching the show renewed my appreciation for the music here. They often choose cheesy-but-popular over good when it comes to airplay. But there are plenty of talented artists around, making beautiful music in both Hawaiian, English and instrumental. Three of my favorites were big winners. Nathan Aweau won as both a solo artist and member of Hapa. His voice is simply beautiful and he plays a mean bass guitar. With Hapa and Barry Flanagan, the harmonies and strings are no ka oi as they say here. Da bes'. Jack Johnson, who has won national acclaim, took home a couple of awards too. Jack's awesome.
Last night I was blown away by the National Spelling Bee. Did you see it! Unbelievable! I couldn't spell half of those words. I was surprised to see that two of the words were of Hawaiian origin. I could spell those. Those kids renewed my faith in the youth of today. Those were some smart puppies with great, competitive spirit.
Earlier in the week, I scored some cheap lumber to build a raised vegetable box. My theory is that, although it rains a lot here, if I can encourage good drainage by raising everything up I can grow something besides fruit. I picked up some discarded siding boards from Home Depot's junk bin at 50 cents each. I built the box today. It's not perfect, but it's functional. Now I have to get some compost, soil, manure and sand to fill it up. The place I plan to put it is currently occupied by a big, dark toad. He was hiding under a piece of plywood that was laying there. I lifted the board and there he was. I tried to shoo him away, but he wasn't in the mood. I decided to wait and let him move on his own. Now that I've rousted him from his daytime hiding place, he will likely find the bright light and sun beating down on him a little too much to bear.
Yesterday, not long after the tractor fiasco, we (the dogs and I) saw an 'io, or Hawaiian hawk, soar overhead. It was spectacular, especially considering that the 'io, like many birds in Hawaii, is endangered. It's endemic to Hawaii and I think, to Hawaii Island.
As I type this, Crawford is lying next to my chair. I just looked down. She is fast asleep, having one of those rabbit-chasing puppy dreams. Her paws are wiggling like crazy. I think she's gonna catch him! That scwewy wabbit!
Until next time, aloha!

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