Ralph;

That appears to be a standard tread tractor? Non adjustable front and rear axles? The standards had a shorter wheelbase than the row crop adjustable tractors making them harder on brakes when turning. Old neighbor had a 930 western and he was always complaining about the brakes. Front axle mounted under the radiator so gave less leverage to turn.

A guy from Missouri has an early model 970 with a bad transmission, broke a shaft and went through the bottom of the housing. It has all the sheet metal I need for mine. He wants my loader and hope to make some kind of trade. May just haul the loader out there and take my toolbox and strip it down. He wants to keep the engine, front axle. seat, cab and rear wheels. Don't really want the carcass here, but be nice to have all the parts I need.

Temp is 53 degrees with sunshine and a light wind blowing. Good day to help with drying. Changing oil in the truck.

Gene

Gene, yes standard treads are about the only type of tractors we see here although I did once see a 930 with the long wheelbase , adjustable front axle and small fenders.
We are still struggling to get out of the high 20s by day so there is a little melting in the sun but nothing in the shade . I have spent a few hours pushing some of the snowbanks out of the yard so that when it does start to melt the water will not turn the driving areas into a muddy mess. Supposed to warm up next week they are saying now. Took this pic yesterday.

The 53 degree day that Gene had last week finally got here yesterday.  Bright sun most of the day.  It has been a long time coming.  Not scheduled to get as warm today.  We have partly sunny and expect 46 by mid day.  Then the never ending NW wind will gain strength and chill us to 25 by night time.

The weekend was not bad.  Saturday was better than Sunday.  Nice days to get out and do a few small chores.  It was a surprise to find enough dry, solid ground to drive the old Cushman to the water hole with a load of picked up branches from the yard.  By picking my route, it never even left a wet footprint in the grass.  We have had some rain and some snow since then, but with the almost constant wind and some sunshine tossed in, the soil drying should be progressing well.

Hope you men are doing well.

Charlie V.

Charlie, you are doing better than me. Our temp can't seem to get up to the thawing mark most days. Snow melts a little in the sun and freezes in the shade. This morning we wake to the depressing sight of snow falling and half mile visibility. And of course still freezing in the 20s. I took this picture earlier this week when two deer wandered into the yard to sample the grass I had uncovered with the tractor and blade. For all the talk I hear of deep snow starving deer, these two looked quite normal and healthy.

We are still faring pretty well in Ohio. About 55 right now. Had a couple days that approached 60 degrees with sunshine with mild wind. Seems spring may come. Amish are trying to plane oats. They just pull a heavy drag over the plowed ground to knock down the tops and then plant. Guess that is why their fields are so rough. Have seen a couple tractors with fertilizer spreaders go by. Probably top dressing wheat. Forecast for mid 60's for the weekend and then rain for most of next week.

Been working on the 970. Boy, what a neglected tractor. Floorboard completely rusted out and rust everywhere. Got the loader off on Wednesday. It had some rusty bolts, but basically looks alright. Pulled the air filter out yestarday. Was twice as heave as I thought it should be. Had a date of 1987 on it. The wing screw was rusted and had to give it 2 shots of PB Blaster to finally get it loose with vise grips. Some former person was real helpful and had the clamp turned outward where it couldn't be reached without removing the hood. Next time it will be accessable through the panel on top like it is supposed to be. Looking forward to getting the donor tractor so I can get serious about repairing it.

Our deer here are looking very healthy. Been a lot hit on the roads. Too many of the critters since last years hunt was so light.

Gonna take a walk through the field to see if it is dry enough to get a tractor and spreader on the wheat.

Gene

Yikkes!!!!  With a strong wind and some mixed Sun giving a "blast furnace" effect, we hit 72 today with no snow or rain.  Things might be looking up.

Charlie V.

Yikkes!!!!  With a strong wind and some mixed Sun giving a "blast furnace" effect, we hit 72 today with no snow or rain.  Things might be looking up.

Charlie V.

Good for you Charlie because things are looking down here. Sitting beside the gas heater to stay warm. Windy from the Northeast and still snowing as it has all day. My driveway was already blown in from the southeast after Fridays storm. Didn't bother to open it and now it is most likely filled in from the Northeast. Its two steps forward and three steps back here in Sask.

Good for you Charlie because things are looking down here. Sitting beside the gas heater to stay warm. Windy from the Northeast and still snowing as it has all day. My driveway was already blown in from the southeast after Fridays storm. Didn't bother to open it and now it is most likely filled in from the Northeast. Its two steps forward and three steps back here in Sask.

Hope it will change soon up your way, Ralph.  That darn NE N NW wind blowing out of Canada and across cold Lake Ontario has been our downfall until now.  It finally went SW last night and today up to 45 MPH.  Major change for the better.

Charlie

Hope it will change soon up your way, Ralph.  That darn NE N NW wind blowing out of Canada and across cold Lake Ontario has been our downfall until now.  It finally went SW last night and today up to 45 MPH.  Major change for the better.

Charlie

No doubt you have all seen the latest snow blowing pictures I posted at image shack and on the old atis forum so I won't repeat them here. Yes, our weather changed. We have now broken some old low temperature records. Down to just below zero the past two nights. Mixed precip coming tonight, tomorrow, again on the weekend, etc. same old.

Wet and soggy here in Ohio. Have had at least 4 inches of rain since Wednesday afternoon. Saturday through Wednesday afternoon was ideal spring weather. Tuesday and Wednesday we reached low 80's with winds making it hard to keep my hat on.  I plowed my front hayfield on Saturday and disced it once on Sunday. Was a little too wet, but turned nicely. Monday and Tuesday I did a custom plowing job for my Amish friend. Plowed about 15 acres that had been in sod for 20 years so plowed pretty hard. Finished that on Tuesday evening. Wednesday morning had a light shower, so didn't get on to my ground till mid afternoon. Got rained out about 3:30. Tractor is still sitting in the field surrounded by water. Have to wait till it dries to get it to the house. Looks like the whole eastern half of the northern  U.S. is getting rain. We were a little dry, but I was hoping it would hold off for a while till I got the oats and alfalfa seeded. Have standing water and a stream running through the field now.

Been running the 970 on the disc. Engine runs good and has a lot of power, but only pulling a 13 foot disc. Power shift seems to be a little weak in PS 1 and P S3. Will have to check that out. Hope it isn't worn clutches. Was a little low on transmission oil, so went to CIH dealer yesterday afternoon and got 5 gallons of Hy Trans oil. Hope that helps.

See Ralph reached 32 degrees today, but still snowing and drifting. Sure hope it lets up soon. Charlie seems to be getting some of the rain we got Wednesday night. We have had a light drizzle all day and not much change till Saturday.

Gene

Almost ready to fall off the front page here.    We hit the jackpot here the other day (Monday) with a high of 73 F, warm, bright sunshine, and only a very light breeze.  It doesn't get much better than that. Some really heavy rain on Tuesday coming out of Canandaigua, but not so much here, although we did get wet. Just below freezing yesterday morning, then up to a high in the 50's.  Today we started started in the 40's, but looking to go into the 70's with some south wind.  I'll tell you what.  The grass is about as green as grass can get and starting to grow.  I really need to steal the battery back from the Farmall M and put it in the John Deere 316 so I can fill the roller with water and pull it around for a day or two.  That makes the trips on the zero turn just slightly smoother for the rest of the summer.  It would be great to have a wider, heavier roller to work with. but for only once a year use it is not too sensible to lay out a pile of cash.  

The Case sounds pretty good, Gene.  Thanks for keeping us posted on your progress.  In spite of the undesirable weather Ralph has been getting, I am guessing it won't be long now before he is riding along in the tractor cab.

Charlie

Grass mowing season officially opened here at Mockingbird Hill. Really rank and getting out of hand rapidly. Was a little too wet in spots and the grass was also wet, but knew it couldn't wait for another rain. Started the Gravely at 2:30 and finished at 7:30. The wet grass really built up in the mower deck and had to clean it out twice. Really packed it in. Worst part was the airstrip where the grass is fescue and really likes the cool wet spring weather. Plan to get the JD 240 out and hook to the roller tomorrow. It is a 4 foot roller and I have it permanently filled with sand and used oil. Figure about 1000 pounds total, so does a decent job knocking down the bumps. Have a bracket bolted to the back of the JD and mount a Case slab weight on it to have enough traction to pull it. Also have a 25 pound steel plate on the front to help steer it.

Have had about 7 inches of rain the last 8 days. Still have a lot of water standing in the fields everywhere. The 970 is still sitting in the field with the disc still hooked to it. Only a few feet from getting it out of the field, but too muddy to get it out. It was 81 degrees here when I started mowing this afternoon. Strong wind made it hard to keep my hat on while mowing. Hopefully it will help dry the ground.

Had my semi-annual physical this morning. All lab work and all other signs look very good. Looks like I will be around for a few more years.

Gene

Gene, good to hear that 970 has still got some life in it too. Charlie, I have spent some time in a tractor cab (pushing packed , melting snow off the driveway) and then trying to fill the ruts I made in the mud to get there. Its slow progress with daytime highs of maybe 34 degrees if we are lucky. Fields are still 90% white with snow and you could drive a snowmobile anywhere.
Spent yesterday at a farm auction, watched a nice 730 Case (gas) sell, took some pictures and video, came home with windburn and headache.
We are getting further behind with each passing day.
You have likely seen the video at my youtube channel but here is a still photo I took at the sale from on top of a combine.Notice the white fields in the background.

Its official. We have had the coldest March and April in over a hundred years. STruggling to reach the freezing mark today. I am wearing as many winter clothes as I do in January and still got cold trying to work out in the shed. Not even worth thinking about field work. Most machinery is still buried deep in snow or inaccessible. I have never seen such a cold late spring .

Ralph;

Keep checking to see if you get above the freezing mark. Think you are having a perpetual winter. All the snow reflects the sunshine and won't let the air warm up. We are having a very wet mixed spring here. Have 3 or 4 warm dry days, then rains and turns cold again. Rain this morning is running off the saturated fields and flooding the local streams. Some street underpasses in Bellefontaine are flooded and water running in a river in my front field. Stayed dry enough till Tuesday afternoon that I was able to roll most of my lawn and the airstrip, but about 2 inches of rain this morning has changed all of that. Wish we could send some to our friend out west.

Did see some corn being planted yesterday in the Urbana and West Liberty area. They are much better drained than we are here with gravel subsoil.

Gene