Saturday, August 10, 2013

10 Things of Thankful . . .

I've decided that I'm going to try and get my 10 Things done well within the weekend this time, so I sat here, trying to get some sort of list together, and heard the sound of numerous tractors going past, and that gave me my thankful list:

1.   I'm thankful for our very first tractor, Cedric, an old 1952 Fordson County, that hubby bought to help with his work in the Forestry here  in West Wales. Cedric had a life of his own and, because the headlamps and grill looked like eyes and a smiling mouth, we had to give him a name J 

  1. I'm also thankful for the Igland Winch hubby fixed to Cedric, as it allowed him to move a lot more timber than using any others available at the time J  

  1. I'm thankful for the tractors that slowly rumble by our house every year, either taking manure to the fields to fertilize them, or groaning under the weight of bales of hay and straw at harvesting time. They are the lifeblood of our area, and the farmers would have a much harder job than they already do without them.

  1. I'm thankful that the yearly steam engine fair has just this minute finished! Don't get me wrong, I like to see the old steam tractors chugging by as they join the crowds of people going to the fair, but we are so close to the fields that it's held in, we quite often can't hear ourselves think because of the noise of the tannoy. It's great that so many people still go to these fairs, but it is a relief when they all go home again! J

5.   I'm thankful for the term Tractor, which is derived from the Latin word 'Trahere', meaning 'to pull', and is also a shortening of the term Tractive Effort (or Torque), which gives the power to pull a trailer, plough, or any other machinery used by the tractor. 

  1. I'm thankful that we now use the term Tractor, rather than Traction Engine, which was used until 1859. Although I must admit, I do love the term J

  1. I'm thankful to John Froelich, the inventor and builder of the first gasoline/petrol-powered tractor in 1892, in Clayton County, Iowa. His invention made the tractor a more manoeuvrable beast, and enabled it to be made lighter, so that it could cope with a better variety of terrains.

  1. I'm thankful that tractors improved no end by the 1920's enabling them to be used for a variety of different uses. I'm sad they totally took over the jobs of horses, though.

  1. I'm thankful for the skilled wood carver who made a wooden tractor for my daughter, when she was 3. It was strong enough for her to sit on and move around the house with, and she cried when she got too big for it a year or so later :) 


  1. I'm thankful for the many varieties of tractor available today. From farming to felling, from clearing snow, to helping to prepare the ground for building work, they've made life so much easier for people.

There are well over 16 million tractors being used in the world today :)


8 comments:

Lizzi said...

Your list just hit the #1 spot in a very SteamGeek section of my heart. I love that you have a tractor called Cedric, and I adore that you've put so many gorgeous facts and etymology (LOVE etymology) of the name.

And as much as I love tractors, I love the old Traction Engines soooo much more and am completely jealous that you get to live next to one, even if it's noisy. That would be my idea of heaven.

clark said...

very interesting list. I did not know (any) of what you have on your list, but enjoyed reading it immensely (being a clark, that is not, of course, surprising.)
good list...trying to catch up with everyone (Saturday being a work day...usually running behind.)

clark said...

hey... I thought I left a Comment earlier (but then again, Saturdays are fairly crazy for me).

I liked the list and the interesting things about tractors that I would never in a million years have cause to know...but, being a clark...I totally love learning things.

In sense I can relate (a little) in that I spent several years as a commercial fisherman and that involves having a large engine as a focal point of life. You mention the sound of the festival in your neighborhood...makes me think about the feeling at the end of a fishing trip and you tie up and boat and get ready to go home and you turn off the engine (the first time in a week) the silence is amazing. Still remember that feeling after all these years.
Glad I read your Post!

clark said...

hey... I thought I left a Comment earlier (but then again, Saturdays are fairly crazy for me).

I liked the list and the interesting things about tractors that I would never in a million years have cause to know...but, being a clark...I totally love learning things.

In sense I can relate (a little) in that I spent several years as a commercial fisherman and that involves having a large engine as a focal point of life. You mention the sound of the festival in your neighborhood...makes me think about the feeling at the end of a fishing trip and you tie up and boat and get ready to go home and you turn off the engine (the first time in a week) the silence is amazing. Still remember that feeling after all these years.
Glad I read your Post!

Dyanne @ I Want Backsies said...

I love to see tractors and combines working, too. My parents live in the heart of farm country (in fact, my father owned and operated a farm supply store until he retired two years ago). I love to see crops growing and have taught my kids to identify soybeans, milo, wheat. My grandfather used work horses and a plow and never had a tractor when he farmed.

You would enjoy seeing the Old Order Mennonites (think Amish) who live and farm near us.

Ouch Potato said...

Hi Dyanne :)

Yes, I probably would :)

We've had a couple of documentaries shown here in the UK on the BBC, and it was fascinating to watch some of their way of life - I would definitely love to have their ponies and traps! :)

My hubby and I often say that, if we were a lot younger and fitter, we'd love to try living the way people did before mechanisation - though I'm still city-kid enough to know I'd miss my laptop and the convenience of shopping online - and I'm sure hubby would miss using his tractor, too! Lol

Kate @ Another Clean Slate said...

Sometimes I would love to live on lots of land like you. I guess we both have our own kind of noises- city vs country :)

Ouch Potato said...

Hi Kate :)
Yes, although we don't have much land ourselves, we're fortunate to be living surrounded by farmland - yet only 1/2 a mile from the sea :)
We know just how blessed we are to be surrounded by so much loveliness :)