Call me "Oliver"

   / Call me "Oliver" #1  

old gaffer

New member
Joined
May 20, 2013
Messages
6
Location
roan mountain tn
Tractor
none
Greetings All.

The title is a reference to the television show "Green Acres", which for those of you old enough to remember, was about a guy and his wife who moved from the big city to a farm; well, I'm that guy.

I've spend the past umm, too many years, living in and around Washington DC, and now I'm on a small farm in the mountains of East Tennessee. What I DON'T know about farm life will fill several books, none of which I have yet.

I have learned that mowing a couple of acres of ground that used to be garden plots is NOT a job for a riding mower - my lower back is still hurting from bouncing over the furrows.

Other than that, I'm still in teh very early stages of what I'm sure will be a long learning curve, and [hopefully] DW and I will stay in this farm (that used to be her parents) for many, many enjoyable years.

I can tell you it already beats the heck out of living in DC's suburbs.

Cheers,
Rob
 
   / Call me "Oliver" #2  
I can so relate to your circumstance! I left the city and a career in computers behind, now having 110 acres and no real clue what I'm doing - lol. It took very little time to learn I needed a tractor, a UTV, a slew of implements and a barn in which to store everything. Getting started has been a steep learning curve and financially expensive. After 2 years, I've begun to make a little progress and gain a marginal degree of confidence. Still, I am quite the newbie and am forever soliciting advice. All in all, it's been an interesting and entertaining transition. Plus, I will never have to worry about becoming idle and lazy during retirement!

I wish you well as you move forward and hope you enjoy your new life as much as I do ... so far - lol.
 
   / Call me "Oliver"
  • Thread Starter
#4  
DW has threatened to make me put on my tux for a photo op - something to send my friends in the city...I may just accommodate her on this one :)
 
   / Call me "Oliver"
  • Thread Starter
#5  
Wow - 110 acres, I don't even have a feel for how much land that really is. What implements do you find most useful? Do you have a PTO-mounted boom pole? How useful is it? I see they're cheap enough that if it's worth having one, it falls under the "why not?" category.

and thank you for your kind well-wishes!
 
   / Call me "Oliver" #6  
DW has threatened to make me put on my tux for a photo op - something to send my friends in the city...I may just accommodate her on this one :)

I've actually been to Roan Mountain, there used to be a big horse ranch there...Eagle's Nest Ranch.
 
   / Call me "Oliver" #7  
My property is a mix of pasture (88 acres) and wooded (22 acres). It was in somewhat of a state of neglect, so much of my chore has been in cleaning up downed tree debris and pasture weed control. My first purchase was a cabbed Kioti DK50 HST. I should have gone a little larger but I've been mostly satisfied with the capability. It came with the FEL bucket but that has proven to be the least useful implement. BY FAR, a grapple is my most used implement - essential in moving large logs and piles of limbs. Pallet forks have proven to be quite handy and I just took delivery of a new stump bucket - for popping up small trees and digging out a few stubborn rocks. Since I have the pastures cut for hay, I've not needed a 3pt rotary cutter. Instead, I purchased a tow-behind Swisher Trail Cutter, which I hook up to my Cub Cadet UTV, for cutting the perimeters that are under the tree line. I also hope to eventually drag this through some of the wooded areas to create a walkable path. I will eventually pick up a 3pt tiller and establish a nice garden.

My wife has been wonderful in all of this. She says - Without good tools, it's just work.
 
   / Call me "Oliver" #8  
   / Call me "Oliver"
  • Thread Starter
#9  
I've actually been to Roan Mountain, there used to be a big horse ranch there...Eagle's Nest Ranch.

there's still an Eagle's Nest over in nearby NC - I think it's mostly high dollar homes serving the ski crowd now :/

If there's' a ranch nearby, DW will know - she's the rider in the rider in the family - I don't get on things that are smarter than I am
 
   / Call me "Oliver" #10  
Welcome old gaffer. Tell us about your property and we'll be better able to help you spend your money on implements. :)
 
 
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