So, yes, I bought another tractor.

No, I didn’t get this:

Instead, I bought a 1977 Kubota. It’s a good little tractor, but it sure is a shock to go from the 2001 JD to this old one!

When we went to take a look at it, Atlanta kept asking: why do you need another tractor?

When an answer is so obvious, it’s hard to put it into words. My response: Um, I want to use it to work?  Somehow, that wasn’t specific enough, so let’s get this straight — the nice newer JD is great, but it doesn’t have a front end loader.

A: Oh, what do you need that for?

Me: Uh, to work with?

A: To do what?

Me: Uh, to move stuff?

A: To move what?

Me: Er, stuff that needs to be moved.

So, it just seems to me that it’s hard to explain what I *might* need to move until something comes along that I need to move.  I’m sure this whole idea would make much more sense to one whose back is frequently engaged in erratic spasms because an object-to-be-relocated has too deep an affection-for-gravity to be persuaded by Sisyphean indulgence.

Me: I don’t think I actually stated what was in my head at this point — ‘how many tractors do I need?’, ‘that’s ridiculous’, ‘how many pair of shoes do you need?’

And so it went. However, Atlanta & Willow did come along to check out this tractor and they even liked it. And, I even managed to secure approval to add this tractor to the family.

But, alas, I finally have an answer to her question:

I need this tractor to move EVERYTHING!

In this particular case, it was to put my newly broken plow into the pick up to bring for repair — too heavy for a mere mortal like myself to budge.

While the Kubota performed admirably, the previous JD 4700 with loader and backhoe is just waiting for you to put a bright, red Christmas bow on it!