Is this a pathology?

[Rod in Forfar]

Ever since I test drove a Kawasaki Mule on tracks I have been getting stuck in the still-deep snow on the farm in Leeds County, Ontario.

Yesterday I buried my friend's 4WD Polaris Ranger, and then bogged the Massey Ferguson 35 when I went with the winch to get the Ranger. After a nice rest in the sun, the 35 eventually worked its way up on top of 12" of snow as long as I crept along very slowly. It made it the remaining two hundred yards to where I could turn a sharp left and drop through the snow but get a cable on the Ranger and free it for further adventures. The Massey can wait for spring.

This evening the Bolens G174 pranced around neatly on the crusted snow until I tried to drive back up over a very smooth, almost invisible drift. The downside of chains on a tractor is how quickly things go south in a snowbank.

In the last week we have had visitors from South Africa, Arizona and Vancouver, with a guy from Amsterdam and a family from China due Saturday. They're coming to make maple syrup. But nothing is moving yet because of the snow. Will this stuff never melt?

 

[Looking4new]

You need chains on the front of that tractor, then you could get good and stuck.:laughing:

The snow will be gone by Labour Day.

 

[fxrs55]

Ok, I'm curious. If I may ask why do you have visitors from around the world?
And do you tap maple trees to actually make maple syrup?

 

[DFB]

Looks like you need a snow cat or dozer

I used to get in same situation with my JD and rear chains at my place in Maine.

Having a loader helped

 

[Rod in Forfar]

Ok, I'm curious. If I may ask why do you have visitors from around the world?
And do you tap maple trees to actually make maple syrup?

Yes, we hang 50 to 70 buckets to make syrup over a wood-fired arch in a 2 X 4' stainless steel pan with a smaller finishing pan. Why do visitors arrive? Graduate students at Queen's University in Kingston and their friends and family. The ornithology department seems to have latched onto our woodlot as home. They also drag along visiting dignitaries, including BBC4's Dr. Armand Leroi who was in town for a guest lecture two years ago. After a ride from the woods with six others in the back of a Polaris Ranger we fed him venison burgers fried on the arch and he responded, "You have a most civilized place to live." One of the regulars, Dr. Rosaline Dakin, had an eight minute segment on CBC Radio's Quirks and Quarks last Saturday and has an upcoming feature on The Nature of Things.

 

[fxrs55]

Well I don't feel comfortable typing my thoughts with a retired English teacher.
I hope you don't grade my work over the internet for everyone else to
see how I butcher the English language. Anyway that all sounds interesting
to say the least. Back in the 1970's I lived in central Pennsylvania south
of State Collage PA. I went to high school with a fellow who's family also
made maple syrup and also some of the best maple candy in the shape
of a small maple leaf. I remember they would tap the trees up the side
of a small mountain and the taps were connected to various color tubing
that all connected at the bottom to a medium sized concrete tank.
it was then taken to their farm for processing. You are lucky to
have the ability and the desire to entertain visitors that
come to your estate. It does sound interesting to say the least.

 

[Rod in Forfar]

You are lucky to
have the ability and the desire to entertain visitors that
come to your estate. It does sound interesting to say the least.

Saturday's visitors were a hoot. Dr. Xu Han, a young woman who has just completed her Phd. in biology, brought along her 11-month-old son, Larry (named after the St. Lawrence River) and her mother, Donghua Li. Her husband R.J. had to run the family shop. Anyway, Xu's mother had just arrived from Bejing to take her turn at raising Larry upon the return to China of Xu's mother-in-law. Donghua spoke no English, but we faced a happy barrage of Cantonese whether or not her daughter was within earshot to translate.

Donghua loves the air in Ontario, which she pronounced clean and good for her grandson. On her tour of the workshop she had to know the function of each of my many full-sized woodworking tools. Smart and self-confident, she had no trouble understanding what each did, and was particularly intrigued by how I used my shaper to make beveled panels in the house. She took a long look around the interior of our house (a 5 year renovation job) and voiced her approval to her daughter of my skills as a husband.

To Donghua maple sap tasted good, like cane juice, but the syrup was too sweet. She tasted it, grimaced, and promptly added water to make it more palatable.

As nearly as I could tell none of the three had ever touched a dog. Our resident English springer gradually grew on them, though the mothers were very worried when she barked a greeting that she would harm Larry. Larry decided that he liked this strange creature, even when she took his cookie and brushed his face with her tail.

Two years ago my first encounter with Xu and R.J. was again at sugar making. Xu was fascinated with the block splitter mounted on my tractor. She spit every block she could find around the sugar arch, even raiding the woodpile in my shop for more victims. But the fun really started when she asked if she could learn how to use an axe.

I have a crummy, plastic-handled model, so I showed it to her. All of the sudden R.J. jumped into the game, as well. They kept us in stitches learning how to split small blocks. What they lacked in skill they more than made up for in enthusiasm. My son's friends still talk about that afternoon.

In four years Xu and R.J. have learned English and prospered through superhuman effort and a great attitude. They bring a lot to the table.

 

[fxrs55]

I believe every person anywhere in the world has some interesting stories of things
from or about their life. If we take the time to listen we all have a story or two
of interest. I have had people tell me about things they have seen or done
and I always end up asking " who else knows these things " and Then
I'll suggest they write these things down so after we are gone others
can at least read about our lives. By the way, your stories are
interesting and now some of them are in writing here on the forum.
Thanks for sharing.

 

[fxrs55]

Back on the topic, When are you buying a Kawasaki Mule on tracks?

 

[CobyRupert]

A pathology? Let's see, what's that called when you keep repeating the same actions and expect different results?