Three parts exertion, two parts stamina, one part ingenuity, seventeen parts luck, and 30 parts absolute insanity!

Once again this morning I caught myself playing the part of the silly, ol’ man. It's one of the few things I continue to get better at. I was perched precariously on the rear tractor fender, on tiptoe, clinging desperately to a handful of leaves on a hickory branch with one hand, while working feverishly to wrap a thirty pound choker chain around the limb with the other.  This was not done simply as recreation.  The limb posed a threat to tractor cabs during the haying process, and I was absolutely determined to pull it down. At the time, this seemed a remarkably good idea. It was at this point in the festivities that I recalled countless incidents of other silly, ol’ men found pinned in the wreckage of what seemed at the time a remarkably good idea.  Invariably, those retaining some degree of mental clarity will ask, what in the world were they thinking!  I’ll tell you.  Those of us, who are blessed to spend much of our lives on the farm, rely on an indispensable and time-honored recipe: three parts exertion, two parts stamina, one part ingenuity, seventeen parts luck, and 30 parts absolute insanity!  It’s how we’ve always done things. It’s the only way things get done. After sixty plus years of this, there comes a day when one or more of these ingredients just simply peters out. So here’s the thing; if you know any silly, ol’ men, count your blessings and enjoy ‘em while they last. Even if they’ve been insured, it’s hard to find parts.  ;) SC