Great thread. This is a topic that I've given a lot of thought. A lot of wisdom has already been shared here. I moved into a country "community" where my house is the only one on our mile stretch of road that isnt owned by the family that has lived and farmed there for 60+ years. My property got out of the family 30 years ago in a divorce. I have the luxury of looking out on a 30 acre hay field that I didnt have to purchase or pay the taxes on. I also recently bought a new 24 hp TLB. Luckily the family that lives around me is absolutely wonderful. THe first weekend we moved in, they had a family reunion and they INSISTED we come meet everyone and we were considered part of the family since day one. When my neighbor came down last sunday and asked if he thought that my tractor would fit under his barn, I literally dropped my shovel and said lets go find out. I spent an hour of my time and diesel cleaning a winters worth of manure out under his barn and then dug a hole for a calf he recently lost. After I loaded his his manure spreader he promptly asked where I would like him to dump some for my garden, came down with his PTO tiller and tilled my new garden spot and insisted that I borrow his small self propelled TORO to finish fluffing up the soil. I did borrow his tiller but I returned it in better condition than when I borrowed it. I feel incredibly lucky to live in the community that I do and I also feel the duty to go above and beyond in returning the favor whenever I can. That is why I will be taking days off work this year to use my tractor to tow a hay rake, and will be bushhogging some poplar saplings in front of my neighbors new house, and cut wood for 2 my elderly female neighbors that live next door so they dont have to spend $5.00 gallon to keep warm this winter. I also have a few good friends that I spent huge amounts of time and effort helping, because I had the time. And when I need them they have always been there and Im just starting to cash in those favors. I've found that I give people the benefit of the doubt to help them out at least once and see how they respond. I know this is not typical of many of your circumstances, and I consider myself incredibly luckly to have the relationships that I do. I actually look for oportunities to help my friends and neighbors, I dont wait for them to ask. Im the first one to lend a hand, but like many of you have said-I know how to say no and I have no problem saying it If I feel its not a good situation. My tractor is a tool, and I use it as a tool to help build a better community around me because I value that. The resource most lost when helping others is time. The fuel, maintenance, wear and tear are expsnsive but negligible to me because I look at it as entertainment expense because i enjoy operating my tractor. What is lost is the very few precious hours of the week that I don't have to sit in my office chair, that I can be spending workin on my own projects.
Sorry for the ramble on. I enjoy the treads about the nuts and bolts of the tractors as I do they other aspects of tractor ownership.
