Thanks for the help guys! It seems I have a lot to think about.
George2615, thanks for the heads up on the fairgrounds show, only 10 miles from my house! My wife and I are doing a road trip down to New Orleans from Feb 9th to the 24th, but I may be able to convince her to come home a couple days early so we can attend the show. It would be useful to have a bunch of tractors in one place to look at. It seems most of the dealers close around 5 here, and it's tough with my schedule to get there before they close with the exception of the one close to work.
I did make another trip to the dealer near work and my Father in law met me down there. I drove the 1726E which I think is comparable to some of the L series models you guys were recommending? Dealer was pushing the 26 for emissions reasons. I didn't love it and it didn't seem to fit me if that makes any sense. I'm a small guy 5'5" and my feet didn't even touch the floor. I will say it was way easier to operate than the ford! It was also way more maneuverable than I expected.
Anyways, Ideally I would have 2 (or 3) tractors of various sizes at some point in the future. I do use that little craftsman lawn tractor most days, and it feels like it's on its last legs, but I know a smaller tractor won't do everything I need it to do.
In regard to buying wood. yeah it's way cheaper, but most of the wood I get is from trees that fall on the property and need to be cleaned up anyways, or from trees that we've decided we don't want anymore.
Thanks again for the help.