I Am Branwen

–We hope you all had a wonderful Easter!

When I was little the old guy came and saw me after I was born.  I was of course the first one out… after all I am Branwen.  The old guy picked me up and stuck his finger in front of my mouth and I wrapped my tongue around it and sucked it into my mouth….. bluch… yuck.. patooey!  I knew then this guy was gonna be trouble… sigh… this picture is taken right after he pulled his finger out of my mouth…..  rotten old guy….

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Then I got to come home after a few weeks.  We came running in and our whole litter was rolling and playing and fighting up a storm when I was pulled away and put into his arms…. the %$#$@#$ stopped my play time!!!!  Then they  put on my traveling hat and scarf for the ride home… I thought they were taking em away to feed me to the Chinese…. after all everyone knows the world revolves around me and also food!!!   Good thing he couldnt read my mind here…

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So, they give me this toy….  here I am trying to pick it up so I can batter the rest of the collies into submission…

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-Then I grew up and got a bigger toy and did batter the rest of the collies… muwahahahaha…

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Here I am after a spring shed trying to look like my old pops.. Trevor Forever…….  As you can see I am happy unless there is no food…. if someone is breathing my air…. invading my space…. touching a toy that is mine (they are all mine by the way!)….. or they are eating what I deem is my food…. or just annoying me by existing….. other than that I am a very happy girl…..

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Okay, you will have to excuse me…..  Hey, you.. ya you!!! Stop breathing my air!   You! Yeah you over there.. stop existing because you annoy me!  And you over there….. drop that toy .. it is mine now!!!  Ellen!!! Listen little sister I am going to sit on you at supper time and eat your food….  Lad.. stop playing with your ball….  Ginger plot in someone else’s universe!!!  Smoke….. I dont know just go away!!!  Old Guy I want those chips!  Rutherford you do not need that leg you have three others!!! Walter give me that football or you will not see the sun rise…. Mick…. go play in the road!!!  All of you.. get lost this is my

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Go Get Your Big Brother!!!

That will teach that squirrel to come in our yard!!!!  Yeah, you bring back your nutty big brother squirrel, he will get the bat treatment too!

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Snow BLues

The weather warmed up into the 30 degree range for two days, snowed and then is plunging down near zero again tonight.  But in two days it goes back up into the 30’s with a projected 40 with sunshine next Tuesday!  Nevertheless the collies and I played today and I then plowed snow, did some reading and then poured over listings for a tractor.

 

For those who read my blog and correspond with me do know I will pick back up on my email exchanges with you today.  My apologies to you all and thank you for your patience as I have endured this near three month illness I have had.  I am getting better by the day… and today with no snow plowing I know I will feel up to writing. 🙂

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-Waiting to chase their toys!

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-So, as some of you have noticed there have been a few days I have missed after years of not missing posts here.  My apologies we are not back on schedule to get back to our pace.  But, back to tractors.  As those who have read here for years know my littlest farm tractor, a 1944 Allis Chalmers B plows ours and the neighbors drives.  The tough 2,000 pound tractor gets it done and easily handles most of the snow dumps we get.  However, when we get a 20 mph west wind with 8 inches of snow our drive drifts the entire length from around 5 to 6 feet high.  Old Allis handles it, but she has to work a bit and while that is what she is made for I dont like using her like that for she is 71 years old and secondly I just do not want to put in a clutch or any other parts due to excessive hard work.  Plowing the light to medium snow she would probably never need another clutch in my life…. I hope… LOL…

 

-Um… is this going to take long?  If so I love the taste of Maple and I will chew up another stick….

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-So, after much thought and consideration I’ve decided that I want a “monster” to handle the big dumps we get here. What is a monster? Well, Old Allis is a 23 hp 2,000 pound tractor which is small for a farm tractor.  I’ve decided to go to a 6,000 pound area size tractor with near 50 HP.  I am not fooling around.  Three old tractors come to mind in this class.  A Allis Chalmers WD45 is one. I have a WC which is a 29 HP early version of the WD45.  Great strong tractors.  However, the clutch pushes like a brick wall and it is too far forward for the average size guy.  Plus I do not want another version of a model I already have.

The next choice is a Farmall M.  Big, burly, tough and the flagship of Farmall for years she is a good choice.  Problem is I am not a Farmall guy. But, at 35-49 HP (depending on the year) she is a choice and one I like.

My top choice is the Case DC.  With the chain rear drive, more low end torque and with 35-49 HP depending upon the year) this is my top choice.  I drool every time I see one.  But, they can be hard to find so I’ve decided although I am a Case guy I am going to buy a DC or a M, whichever comes first.

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-This a Farmall M…. my second choice…

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I tried to find a film of a DC plowing snow, but couldn’t. But I did find this film of a a Farmall M plowing. Now, if they had it weighted down correctly it would’ve pushed a bit easier and it does have a bucket on the front which is harder to push snow with than a blade…. however this tractor is pushing 4-5 foot drifts and she is getting it done despite  having obstacles to overcome… watch her and look at that snow and listen to her… can you figure out why I call them monsters?

 

 

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My Ball And I

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Hi, its me Lad!!!! Let me talk to you about my ball!

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Dad gave this ball to me when I was almost a year old….. that was almost 8 years ago. 🙂

It is a association football that the leather cover pieces fell off or were chewed off, the inner liner is now gone and it has had three bladders put in it….

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Dad had tried multiple times to replace my old ball…. but I whine, I throw  fit and I refuse to look at a new ball….. so he has accepted that this is the only ball I ever will want…. so he fixes up the Jesus Ball (its been resurrected how many times now?) or the Frankenstein ball as it is also called.   He says its mine till I die.  Then, he will bury it with me…. so I can play with it in the afterlife…

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Its ugly, its horrific, its terrible looking… but its mine…. and its all I have.  My only earthly possession and I love it….  Dad wanted me to tell my story about my ball and there it is.. I have spent countless hours  playing with it and it never grows old… my favorite thing is when I go to give it to dad and as he reaches for it I run away.. hehehehe…. love driving him crazy! 🙂  So, if any of you ever come around here you can play ball with me…

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ELLIE’S OUTRAGE

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–As she lay there watching the melee of collies playing with the usual frown of disgust on her face Ellie was in her way enjoying the day… she usually did this until she had enough and would get up and begin  by trying to tackle one of the other collies.  But, being half their size Ellie usually would not succeed…… But, today would be different.. as she lay there dad launched a toy high into the air.  All of a sudden he yelled, move Ellie,,,,, move!  But, she stubbornly glared defiantly at him until the soft toy landed right on top of her head.  Her defiant look instantly turned  to shock as the soft toy bounced off her head and then it turned to outrage.  Instantly she stood up and with a look of rage she stood there as the other collies stopped and looked at her.  Then she began to bark her outrage and the other collies looked on for a few seconds and then all of them joined in!  For a full ten minutes they roared and barked with Ellie racing around the yard telling the world.   Then, the outrage over they went back to their playing….

-There they go again…. hope he gives me something to be outraged over again… it gave me the power like I never had before…..come on dad drop that foam ball on my head again…. what do I have to do, put a target on my head?  Keeping this look of disapproval on my face is hard to do… come on throw that ball on my head again… COME ON!!!!!!

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Puppy Humor

even our puppies had senses of humor….. we think….

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The Collies Recommend These-

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-Is it time for Santa yet?

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We collies thought we would put up a few Christmas suggestions.

 

For Terhune fans, any of his books. We will post a list of them soon!

For Collie Lovers we suggest from the Terhune Memorial Society anything by the person who knows more about Terhune than anyone in our opinion;

Kristina Marshall.  We have her FOREVER FRIENDS and it is a thrilling and wonderful book about all the collies that lived at Sunnybank with the bloodlines coming out of Sunnybank!  This is a must have and just type in Terhune Memorial Society on Google to get more information or type in the book with Kristina Marshall’s name. 🙂 She also has several other book and all of them are GREAT!!!!

For Automobile Lovers;

A great read about the history of Henry Ford, his family through to the early 90’s, the Ford Company and the cars a excellent book is ;

FORD, THE MEN AND THE MACHINE by Robert Lacey

For the best biography about Henry Ford we have read and can recommend volume one of the three volume set by Nevins.  Volume one covers Henry Ford, his family life, Ford Motor Company, the cars and his other activities up to 1915.  It is fascinating to see the beginnings of the Ford Company and how they did all they could do to keep it going until it finally exploded into the beginning of the huge company it is now. This book is: FORD, THE TIMES, THE MAN, THE COMPANY

For Movie Lovers we recommend;

THE QUIET MAN with John Wayne and Maureen O’ Hara

HIS GIRL FRIDAY with Rosalind Russell and Cary Grant

For the men;

Any Three Stooges Films

For the Women;

Any movie with Katharine Hepburn

Hopefully this will help……

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I Ginger think the ultimate Christmas present is printing out this picture of me lifesize and putting it on your wall………

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More Plotting

-Okay, now that we caught big bird and killed him what do we do with his remains….. Where is Ginger she always has a plan…..What does she mean we are on our own on this one?

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Back to “Normal”

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Hmmmm… Where is the Hammock?  we are waiting!!!!

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yes, you go get a drink and your book and I will guard it for you…  you can trust me dad… Never fear Ginger is here… snicker….

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Let me see untie this rope too…. and that makes them all loose… heheheeh

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–I dont know which was better… the hammock falling apart and him bouncing off the ground or the drink going up his nose after he bounced… hehehehe…. well time to persuade mom to let me

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The Genius Who Missed The Boat

Harry Merritt walked through the door of Allis Chalmers  with one thought on his mind.. how to take this company that built fine tractors away from 10 years of losses and to turn it into a tractor building powerhouse.  One of his first acts was to take apart a tractor and go over it piece by piece and find ways to make it cost less while increasing quality.  The tractor price fell from 1895 to 1295 and was better than before.  Then he decided the Allis Chalmers needed a new color and while riding through the mountains of CA on a train he looked out over a huge valley full of poppy flowers.  He had his men get some of these and told the paint department he wanted this copied for the paint on the tractor.  The famous Persian Orange color was born!

Then came one of the first row crop tractors in America.. the UC which was followed closely by one of the greatest models ever build the WC/WD/WD 45 series which evolved over 25 years.  Rubber tires then became offered first on AC tractors and then the tires filled with hydrochrloide.  Thsi salty brine added lots of weight and gave the Allis Chalmers greater traction.

But, Harry Merritt was not done… he fullfilled Henry Ford’s dream of a low priced small all around tractor that cost under $500. The model B was born and Allis Chalmers rode the wave to become the third largest tractor builder in America!  I own a Model B and it is one fantastic tractor!

Harry Merritt kept looking for that last ingredient that would put Allis Chalmers over the top.  Unfortunately he had it in his hands and dismissed it.  The idea was the three point hitch that used hydraulics to lift and turn implements and were simple to hook them up.  A device that changed the tractor world was in his hands when Harry Ferguson offered it to Harry Merritt.  Merritt turned down the idea and Henry Ford latched onto it and the rest is history.

Allis Chalmers rose to become a tractor powerhouse and built many fine tractors. But, the heyday of the 30’s, 40’s and 50’s passed and they slid down the rankings a few notches.  The irony of it all is that the man who made Allis Chalmers a power house is the same man who also led them to their slow decline by not recognizing the the very item that would’ve led AC to the top  for having the Model B with the three point hitch would’ve had even Farmall chasing AC for years.

But, even with that Harry Merritt is still recognized as a genius who led a tractor company who was going to be shut down to become the third largest in America.  No small achievement at all…..

-the model B I own…

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-hmmmph… none of that means nothing I am a genius who didn;t miss the boat.. I discovered a little collie liquid down the gas tank makes that B scream like a demon…. just have to make sure the old guy never sees me jumping it over the other tractors…. muwahahahaah

 

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