One of The Farmer's favorite things about farming is driving his tractor. Besides the obvious boys-and-their-toys reason for enjoying the driving in circles the tractor brings him, the tractor seat provides a time to think, imagine, and plan. Often after a day of tractor driving, dinner includes a conversation that begins, "So as I was driving, I had a thought..."
Driving tractor also provides The Farmer scenery that most of us never see, or rarely appreciate. If those dinner conversations don't begin with a plan devised from the tractor seat, they frequently begin with commentary about what he saw during the day. And to the locals...The Farmer has said on more than one occasion that the neighbors have no secrets with him around. You are forewarned.
As silage season drew to a close two weeks ago, The Farmer took his camera along for the ride to provide a glimpse into his life on the tractor seat.
Enjoy the view...
During the mornings of silage, The Farmer cuts the grass with a large mower. Don't we all wish we had a mower this big?
After mowing, The Farmer comes back over each neat and tidy row of cut grass with the forage chopper. Here you can see the forage chopper and silage wagon, as seen when The Farmer looks backwards while chopping silage (yes, he was driving, looking backwards, and taking photos). The grass is chopped from a size of 2-3 feet to 1/2 inch pieces, then shot through the red arm-thingy (technical term of The Brunette) into the wagon towed behind his tractor.
And the view looking forward (though I am amazed at how much The Farmer is glancing backwards while driving tractor...then again, he is driving a mere quarter of a mile per hour)...
As you can see, The Farmer has a ways to go to finish this field. He also knows how to drive in straight lines and make right angles with his tractor. I'm impressed.
Here comes the second wagon.
The hand-off.
Often The Farmer sees wildlife from the tractor seat. Sometimes that wildlife is a bald eagle...just hangin' out.
These guys aren't quite as majestic. These ravens are searching for mice.
Bambi!
She didn't leave the field because she had a fawn in the brush she was protecting. So more accurately...Bambi's mom!
And these gals aren't quite wildlife, but they sure are cute.
When The Farmer comes in for lunch, he drives past the silo. The dozer is pushing and compacting the silage to begin the fermentation process.
The silo as seen from the field.
And as seen from a farther-out field. And that hillside? That's Oregon.
And the "I can see Oregon from my front yard" is even more spectacular of a statement when a ship goes by.
This was one of the naval ships that was a part of the Rose Festival fleet.
This is a bulk freighter headed upriver. The green doors are the cargo hatches.
This is a container ship headed downriver.
And an oil tanker. And yes, these all went by in a single afternoon.
And finally, it was time for the last wagon to leave the field.
And this is The Farmer taking one more glance before departing.
The day - and silage season - is done.
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