Well I know that many say that a loader doesn't work well on and N, and if you don't use them enough they are kind of a pain to have on the tractor ... but some days they are kinda handy to get a hold of ... Today was one of those days: Had a couple of yards of crushed rock that needed to be distributed onto some patio areas around the house, and 10 yards of mulch to get over to the treeline, and a yard or so of topsoil to clean up near the house where we were getting ready to put some new sod in... So I knew one of my neighbours had a small ford with a loader and went over to reaquaint myself with him and his tractor... It's a little ford diesel 4wd (1700?) with a 770 ford loader on the front and a bush hog hanging on the back. 3 gears f, 1 reverse and 4 ranges for the tranny, man it's cool to have some slow gears for a change ... After taking a break to fix a flat front tire, all the work needing to be done was done in about 3 hours ... way better than the wheelbarrow alternative ... As much as I liked the loader, wasn't so impressed with how noisy his little diesel was .. had to use earplugs and still got a headache ... He gave me a ride back over to my place after I dropped off his tractor, and watched as I put the crank to my N and started her on the first flip.. He was some impressed with how smooth she's running and how quiet she is compared to his diesel ... We had a brew and BS'd for a while, he may drop over and borrow my 48" finish mower to do his yard, he's been using this old bush hog, but it doesn't make a very nice job on lawns. Worked great on some 3 ft tall grass behind my barn though ... I'd almost forgotten how much fun it is to play with a loader for a while .. Takes a bit to get in the rhythm with the bucket and loader controls, but sure made short work of the material I needed to move around the yard ... All in all, one of the good days ... And yep, My N's rest is over, gotta put the rear blade on her and level out some of the crushed rock I used to build up a couple of low spots in my driveway.... One of these days I'm going to get that darn starter working again, but kinda like the fact that for now, the kids can't start or move the tractor without me around. Final note: when I walked up to his tractor the rear 3pt has this 5 foot wide and 6 foot long heavy hog hangin in the air ... reminded me that my fall project is to do the hydraulic pump and lift on my N before winter snow removal season ... I timed 5 minutes doing a leakdown test with my finish mower and that was generous ... have a good one guys ... Lyle.
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