Ford 8N Snow Blade Trick

Found this trick on YesterdaysTractor site...Take a 4" piece of PVC and slit it lengthwise using a table saw. Then slit it again, about 1/2" or 3/4" (put a little piece of wood in the notch so it doesn't close up behind your saw). Then drill 4 holes along each side of the notch, 1 at either end and space out 2 more wherever you want. Then simply use bungee cords over the top, or rope, and secure it to the blade. Slides real nice on tar and even over grass so you never have to worry about damage. This happened to be a 5' piece for < $10 at Lowes.



Now I can push snow way back on my grass, and, stop any scraping damage to my tar driveway. I have a lot of cracking on mine and over the years have put down crack filler liquid and the blade was hard on that...

Fruits of my labor

That's what happens when you get an acre of rape/oats in and good growth. Looks like she's enjoying a good salad! She's looks like she's been eating well.

This bad boy is heading into the swamp behind me probably cruising for the ladies. Check out his flat back and huge neck. He's probably 3 1/2 yrs old. A solid buck.

Rape & Oats - update

This is what happens when you have proper PH, good rain, and mix together oats and rape. The deer are in this nightly.



You can really see the oats here. They do die off after frost, but are a great fall attracter.

Rape for the fall hunting season

Well I'm really happy with the rape so far. I put this down July 28 and added 50# of oats as a cereal grain first. I put down 100# of 19-19-19 and we had 3 days of rain after. I was concerned about too much rain, but my soil is somewhat light, and drains well. It looks great.




Here's another shot.

Extreme - small burnett and chicory

After fertilizing the Extreme plot, I'm shocked. It is very thick and much taller than last year. The 19-19-19 really has helped. (100#/acre).



That's a size 13 I'll have you know...

Berseem Clover

One last look at the rye before I disk it under. I put that in last fall and it's almost 5' now! It's beautiful. I noticed very little weed growth in it. Kind of a nice benefit. I'll turn it under for the nutrients and put in 25# of Berseem Clover. It's a hearty annual and will grow thick until frost.




You can see I prepped my middle acre by disking it and then rolling the seedbed firm with the cultipacker. It was too windy to seed today, so Monday I'll spread 25# of Berseem Clover and re-roll it with the cultipacker. It's a bit late but I'm going to let it grow until late July, and then turn it under along with the horse manure and put in rape/turnips.



The rye looks so nice I hate to cut it down.

8N Tractor Rebuild results

Well, it was a fun time, lots of work, but I finally got the 1948 Ford 8N rebuild done. New sleeves, rings, pistons, main and connecting rod bearings. The old rings were shot and installed improperly with huge end gaps. Plus, they were chattering all over, no wonder I had 70psi vs 120. New plug wires, and all new wiring, and we're good to go.

Here's a pic before of the motor...



Here she is after...


And a full side shot...



Started er up last night and it ran great. Have a few minor issues, but all in all a great success, thanks to Travis and Frank down the road. I figure I'll hand it down before it dies...Can you believe it, 60 years old?

Spring progress report

WOW-check this out- Extreme from Whitetail Institute is a combo of chicory and small burnett. After good rains and fertilizing with 100# of 19-19-19, check out the serious deer chow.



Here's a location that gets afternoon shade. It seems to relish the cooler spot.




Last fall, in the acre at the rear of my property, I put in rye. The deer came to it during hunting season. Check it out now; we're talking harvest here. That's about 4' tall.



Here's a good shot of the chicory. My soil isn't that great, but it really takes off. As a hearty perennial, it keeps coming back year after year.



So here's the plan for my middle acre. I have 5 piles of horse manure going to compost. Mid summer, I'll turn that manure under and plant rape and turnips. They are heavy nitrogen users and need that boost. That'll be my fall hunting plot. I'm putting it in earlier than normal, probably mid July. Here in MI, I have put it in mid-aug, and it was ok, but I'd like to see it produce more and the extra 30 days should take care of that. They aren't tasty till frost, I'm told, but I've seen the deer hit it hard prior.