(800) 853-2651
SHOP NOW

Strangest thing seen while in the field

A

Anonymous-0

Well-known Member
What's the strangest thing you've seen while doing field work?
Several years ago I was raking hay with my 1942 H and a B-17 bomber flew overhead. It was fairly low and had to have been at the Reading Pa WW2 weekend. It made me wonder about the odds of two different machines from the same era still out earning their keep.
 
2 weeks ago , there was an air show at Lost Nation Airport in Willoughby Ohio..Man those 17's have a sound that just makes my ears perk right up..I'd love to go up in one..I heard the price is $ 475.00 for 20 minutes of actual flight time..
 
I was at an airshow in Abbotsford, BC once and they had a Lancaster bomber there. 4 Merlin engines, what a beautiful sound.
 
The "Sentimental Journey," a Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress Bomber from WW II, is scheduled to be at the Waterloo, Ia. Regional Airport Aug. 4 - 7. Flight opportunities cost $425 per person, tax deductible, with a minimum of 5 people per flight. The flights will average 45 minutes. Can't wait to see it.
 
What's "strange" about a little "suntanning"?

(They WERE on the sunny side of the brush pile, right?)
 
Back in the late '50's I was raking hay and a KC 97 tanker flew over refueling another plane. I had a neighbor in the Air Force that operated the refueling boom in one of those. In the 60's dad and I were baling straw near a ditch I saw a couple snakes (probably some kind of racers) moving along with their heads above the stubble. Once when I was loading bales on the wagon behind the baler the front part of a snake crawled off the front of the wagon after it went through the baler. Glad there aren't poisonous ones around here.
 
I used to see few B52's fly over doing some sort of low level runs Impressive ! Or , was running combine one day and they were swapping a missle out od a silo with a newr style ,,pretty cool !
Eastern North Dakota , Uncles farm
 
Back about 1973 while plowing with a 4020, the Goodyear blimp went right over the field. This was in rural Central Michigan. Never did figure out where it was headed. Looked low enough that you could have hit it with a rock, and sure was moving quite slow.
 
Had a hot air balloon land in the little one acre hayfield behind the house. A man knocked on the door and my wife answered and he asked if it would be okay to land a balloon in the field. She asked when, and he said "right now!"
 
I was doing some field work or other, can't remember what once and the CAF B29 FiFi flew over quite low. I waved and they wagged a little I think.
Had a hot air balloon go over low once as well. It landed next place over. The cows acted like aliens had come to get 'em.
 
I'm not sure what it was that I saw just about an hour ago! I was loading round bales and saw something square in the sky in the distance. Guess it was a huge banner being towed by a small plane. Too far off to see what it was all about. Saw a hot air balloon come right overhead one time. It came down hard in the trees in the fencerow on the edge of the field.Saw a blackbird riding piggyback on a hawk pecking him on the head one time. Too many odd things to mention if I was to think about it a while.
 
Condom and wrapper. Neighbors house was right next door to my hayfield. Neighbors daughter and boyfriend had a roll in my hay.
 
afour engine bomber,one engine dead,one engine smokeing,thought it was coming dowm on me.It made it to local airport,where it stayed for a number of years.Finaly was repaired ,and I watched it fly away.It was a single tailed version of the navy B24.
 
I saw that B-17 last year, it was flying out of Albany international airport, was making turns back to the airport just east of here, certainly was a rare sight and sound, soon as I heard it in the distance I knew it was one of these, also saw a small squadron of WWII era fighters, looked like P-51's, that was also pleasant to the ears.
 
Saw the B-17 sentimental journey fly over our place near Olathe, Kansas just a couple of weekends ago. The sound got my attention from inside the barn came out and had to see. We ended up getting quite a few nice photos of it as it flew over our place about four or five times doing those $425 rides.

I also saw a kid out in our wheat field last year with some sort of antennea in his hand. When I questioned him he was tracking timber rattlers the county decided to release in a county park across the road from us. One of them really likes our place, but it won't if I come across it on my own.
 
Grew up seeing a few buzzards circling in one area or another, presumably with a carcass of some kind below. Usually 2 or 3, seldom more. Was mowing hay one time about 40 years ago, and saw a bunch of large birds land on the opposite end of the field- as I came around, I determined they were buzzards, and counted 36 of them, just kind of walking around and looking quite unattractive. As I got closer, they took flight and headed on to wherever they were going (NCC- National Carrion Convention?)- never saw a "flock" of buzzards before or since.
 
I think we all saw the same B 17 I don't think there are many flying any more. I saw a halk trying to carry a large snake out of the field I was discing, he was really flapping to gain altitude, but he made it to his tree. I saw a rock from my mower almost hit someone staning by his pickup. He hit his head on his truck getting out of the way of the rock, that was kind of strange. Stan
 
Well, I DIDN"T see supera2 and his girl, but I did come across two eastern box turtles having a fling. It was an outstanding example of just how strong the mating instinct is in nature. In spite of a total lack of athletic ability and encumbered by both carrying their natural abode around with them, they still managed. (On the other hand, maybe because they travel so slowly, their dedication might have been the result of knowing they might not run across another suitable mate for years to come!)
 
Wife woke me one night about 2 AM. I noticed the sun shining into west side of house. Wait a minute - no sun at 2 AM ! We went outside and looked west across the field. The entire western sky was ablaze in a wall of flames. Then it quit instantly. Learned the next day that Panhandle Eastern Pipeline had a large explosion at the Central MO facility. It was one of the most incredible things I ever saw. Evidently they shut off the gas and it went out like a light.Newspaper said it was visible 100 miles east of us. We were about 10 miles from the fire.
 
I was about a half mile from that fire and it was a sight to see that's for sure. I stood outside and watched. You could feel the heat off of it. If I remember right it was a 18" gasline that ruptured and when it blew it caused the wires of the powerline next to it to bounce off of one another which ignited it. A huge BOOOOMMMM that got me out of bed with a really loud roaring sound kind of like a jet while it burned for about 45 minutes. It was a roaring fireball about 300' high. Spectacular for sure!
 
I was working in a quiet, isolated valley. Unknown to me, A coupl'a fighter jets were flying low, sorta gliding down into the valley, I didn't hear 'em.
then they turned'em on FULL POWER to get up out of there. I nearly jumped out of my skin! The locals said that was a regular thing 'round there. It was on their regular flight path across the country.
 
We were at a friend's house in another town a few summers ago, was looking at the starry sky and saw a huge black shadow moving across the sky blotting out a large batwing section of the stars behind it. It made no noise. We live about 25 miles from a bombing range and drove up there. Sure enough they were doing night bombing opns that night. The moving shadow had a batwing shape like a stealth bomber. It just had this erie silence.

Then there was last summer when a spaceship landed in the backyard, the aliens took me in, took me to their home planet, wined and dined me, and brought me back all in about an hour of earth time. Their planet even had a place called Bob's Country Bunker that served buckhorn beer.
 
I saw that B-17 last year. I wasn't on a Tractor at the time so I heard it from away off. It had a yellow tail. when I got home I did a little research and found where one of the two only ones left was due from ME into Nashua NH. took it right over me.
 
Saw the Goodyear blimp about 10 years ago. Must have been sight-seeing since he was heading straight north and there isn't much north of us until you hit Hudson Bay.

See the BIG Antonovs going over quite a bit taking equipment to and from Afghanistan. Friend near the base saw one of them one day with a chunk of chain link fence hanging off his landing gear as he headed up, turned out the Ukies flying it took their time getting it off the ground, hit the fence along the road at the end of the runway. They radioed them down at Ottawa, still had chainlink hanging off the gear. Little bit of a kerfuffle over THAT one, but not as much as when some of their Canadian military passengers caught them cooking on an open Hibachi inside a plane carrying (among other things) fuel bladders and made them set it down to let them off.
 
First pass around one sunny morning in a field that can't be seen from a road there was a quilt lying in the corner. I stopped to check it out. It had apparently just been put there the grass wasn't even all packed down under it. Can't imagine why anyone would lay out a quilt in my hayfield and then go off and leave it. I think that next day it was gone though.
 
Back in the sixties fighter jets must have been using our tractors as targets because several times a jet came over the top of my tractor so low I could read the numbers on them. It just scared the bejeepers out of me. I always wondered how many heart attacks they caused.Jim
 
Lately, seems every summer now, you see some WWII era aircraft, the old style tails sure stand out, I know that B17 has been through here, but thinking about it, I may have also seen a B29 last year, there was a big one here last year too, can distinctly remember that polished silver old plane with that tail.

I forgot about the time the stealth bomber came over for a local college graduation, wow was that cool, straight towards my house at a low altitude, banked left real hard over me and towards our ridge of woods, that was the strangest aircraft I've ever seen in flight.
 

I was out in the yard working on a kids bike and a hugh helicopter flew around and hovered right overhead, The noise was awful so I gave him the finger, and he gave me the finger. I looked down and my 4 year old nephew was fixing his finger to do what i did. It was funny. I took him inside and got him a big bowl of ice cream.
 
Watched the "Gathering of the Mustangs" last year in Columbus, OH. What a great tribute to an amzing airplane. I guess if you like old iron, you like old iron. Whether it flies rolls or crawls doesn't matter much.
Paul
 
Did the same think bush hogging the grass from between my trees. Launched a stone the size of a peach across the yard 40 yards. Took one bounce and killed a 15lb turkey from my flock.
The wife and kids wonder why I get excited when she and the kids want to get within 20 ft of the equipment to watch how it works.
 
a bunch of foxes following me while doing some night disking.looked over my shoulder at all these red eyes (reflecting off back light)scared the crap out of me almost jumped off tractor
 
just this morning,sitting on my deck having breakfast,looking over the hayfield full of round bales,there's wily coyote trotting across and out of the blue a big mule deer doe goes chasing after it ,criss cross and around the field till the varmint finally ran off.
this deer dont have a fawn either and is not the least scared of my 2 black labs either, just stands there and stamps her feet.The dogs back off.
 
Mowing hay with the old Ford one day. Kept hearing a strange noise. Been around that tractor my whole life, never heard it make that noise before. Hot air balloon about 30' above my head. Scared the crap out of me. Dam flying machines!
 
Enterprising young lady sittin on the ground counting out a purse full of five dollar bills. Like about fifty in 1965 in the middle of hayfield. She looked like she earned them, too. About 6 a.m.
 
Several posts mention the B-17's. There are more than just a couple flying. The new issue of Warbirds mag has an article highlighting 4 and this doesn't count "Sentimental Journey"

The 4 they highlight are:

Aluminum Overcast
Liberty Belle
Nine-O-Nine
Yankee Lady

I think there may be several more in various stages of restoration.

Gene
 
I pulled a bale of hay out of the baler and found it had a snake in it. It's head and tale were in the bale but it's body made a big loop outside of the bale. I kicked it off the wagon and went back later to get it. rw
 
We had a hot air balloon go over our yard on Thursday, I suppose about 50 feet up. We heard people talking and happened to look up or we wouldn't have noticed the balloon until it had passed. When they turn on the propane burner, it makes a fairly loud whooshing noise, but other than that the balloon itself is silent.

I thought the balloon might land in my field, as they did once before, but they didn't. The wind direction might have blown the balloon into power lines if the landing didn't go just right, so I believe they waited to land a mile or two from here.

Hot air balloons are interesting, and we have a local company that sells rides on theirs. Maybe my wife and I will try it sometime, like maybe to celebrate our anniversary or something. She has said she would like to try it. Probably kind of costly, I suppose.
 
A few weeks ago I was hilling corn and I knew a Biplane Barnstorming tour was coming to town. I was hoping I had time to go and in the west were 2 biplanes and they went up over the powerline and flew over my broken pivot that was flipped upside down. I was hoping they would come close enough to get a look when the lead plane came around in front of me at 3' off of the corn playing "chicken" with me. When he was about 15' in front of me he pulled up and just missed my cab!!!!!!!! I was leaning on the steering wheel and waved at the second plane that crossed in front of me. The first one was so close I could see the well pollished cooling fins on the radial engine! It sure filled my windshield up.

Let the record show that he pulled up and I never hit the clutch! I won!

I went to the airshow but the pilot was giving rides and I was too cheap to pay the $50.


The other thing was a few years ago, running the graincart at night and a meteor broke up and lit up the whole sky for a long time. I thought biblical thoughts about the end of the world or such. It was very neat.
 
I saw them at Oshkosh, in fact my son and I got in one in the hangar (heavy rain that day) and talked to the pilots who flew that one over from Europe. The next day they put on a quite a show. Made a big deal of getting all four 1820s started on each one and then they took off in trail and reappeared for the grand old WWII (THE BIG ONE) flyover. When I was a young airline pilot I flew with many, many captains who flew B-17s. Lots of stories about them.
 
Well I didn't see a B17, but I did see the Concorde coming in for its final landing at the Rochester airport while I was mowing the orchard. I heard the noise and looked up in time to see it pass right over me. It was close enough to see detail on the underside of it.
 
a neighbor of mine plowed up a mannequin one night in a field that was located near an area known for drug houses. It scared him really bad at first because he thought he had plowed up a body. He just put the mannequin on the plow when he went home, and got a few more laughs when he got home with it.
 
was working stubble ground around midnight, just about half awake when some 'buddies' that'd been hidding jumped up around the tractor (hangin onto some tall frosty coors cans) :shock:

had a badger got caught up in the header of the ole massey, one harvest. sickle cut it up a little and the reel carried it onto the combine platform..chased the operator off.

working stubble another night when the mm705 front wheel goes up in the air and <wham!> down, rear does the same thing. Pulled the clutch and looked back....ran over the back plow. dad contrived a hitch to pull a four bottom and a 3....having upgraded from the u's, to a higher hp he need the implements to match up...adding bottoms would cost as much as a new 7 - 8 bottom so he built a hitch to pull 2 plows, had the xtra cylinder controls....the corners were always the same, out over the plowed ground, hit the inside lever, wait...hit the outside lever. make the turn, pull back into the field hit the levers again...wasn't looking back and didn't notice the clevis pin had sheared off...busted the hydraulic connectors, ...dad was ------,
 
I had a young eagle figure out he could find fresh dead rabbits under the windrows while I was cutting hay. It sure was grand to watch him. Five years ago they weren't around here.
 
A small fish. I found a bluegill about 5 inches long, in the pasture at our place in Dallas. Nearest pond was at least a quarter of a mile away. Don"t have a clue how it got there.

Two weeks ago when we baled the area we called the corner, I found a very large Armadillo dead, laying in between two of the windrows. There wasn"t a mark on it, no blood, etc. Looked like he just laid down and died. I picked him up with the pitchfork and moved him out of the field. Last week when we did a "tractor ride" around the property, we drove through that field. The carcass of the armadillo was back out in the field -not torn up or chewed on, but back out in the field again. Since we won"t be cutting or baling that field for some time, I just left it there.

For those of you who are unfamiliar with armadillos, never handle them without gloves. 5% of all armadillos carry leprosy.
 
I have seen some wild stuff over the years. The wildest thing I have seen as far as air plains go was this spring. I was pushing corn stalks back in to the creek after a real heavy rain. (not many around here had ever seen highland creek get that far out with head water) A plane flew right over the tree tops and scared the crap out of me. When I looked up, I thought they had shot me in the face with a shot gun. Then they turned and came back after me. I jumped off the 900 and ran behind a tree. They were spreading urea on the next farm. I guess the piolt is still laugh'n about the fat boy run'n from him.

Dave
 
Same field we found a moose hide in it one year. A burned out truck the next.
Good thing nobody checked there 23 years ago or it would have been somebody and their girlfriend.
 
I saw 2 A-10 Warthogs follow our driveway at treetop height one time while I was checking the mail. They were probably going around for another run at Jefferson Proving Ground.

I came out of class at Purdue once and saw a 747 circling low around campus. The Air Force was practicing emergency landings at the Purdue airport. They can land there but taking off again is questionable. In an emergency it will beat a cornfield.
 
On the spur of the moment the strangest thing I can think of was a keg of railroad spikes. The RR was replacing ties next to my field and I suppose the crew scattering ties and spikes tossed the keg off of a distribution car and it rolled on into my field and spilled open. Glad I spotted it instead of finding one in a tire or having damage to an implement.

In the early '80s the Air Force outfitted the local bus barn with an electronic device and used it for practice bombing runs.

They flew low and right over a farm field I was working. Toward the middle of the field I used my 18 foot disk to form two letters H and I spelling Hi. The next plane over slightly dipped the wings to say hi back. Dipping wings is a standard from of hi from what I've always been told.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Similar threads

B
Farmall 400 Questions
Replies
18
Views
3K
caterpillar guy
C
B
This Day in History
Replies
0
Views
689
blue water massey
B
B
This Day in History retry
Replies
3
Views
1K
jon f mn
jon f mn
N
Strangest cause of a malfunction you've seen???
Replies
17
Views
4K
Straw Boss
S
M
strangest thing
2 3
Replies
40
Views
4K
Dandy Don
D
Tractor Parts Tractor Manuals

We sell tractor parts! We have the parts you need to repair your tractor - the right parts. Our low prices and years of research make us your best choice when you need parts. Shop Online Today.

Copyright © 1997-2024 Yesterday's Tractor Co.

All Rights Reserved. Reproduction of any part of this website, including design and content, without written permission is strictly prohibited. Trade Marks and Trade Names contained and used in this Website are those of others, and are used in this Website in a descriptive sense to refer to the products of others. Use of this Web site constitutes acceptance of our User Agreement and Privacy Policy TRADEMARK DISCLAIMER: Tradenames and Trademarks referred to within Yesterday's Tractor Co. products and within the Yesterday's Tractor Co. websites are the property of their respective trademark holders. None of these trademark holders are affiliated with Yesterday's Tractor Co., our products, or our website nor are we sponsored by them. John Deere and its logos are the registered trademarks of the John Deere Corporation. Agco, Agco Allis, White, Massey Ferguson and their logos are the registered trademarks of AGCO Corporation. Case, Case-IH, Farmall, International Harvester, New Holland and their logos are registered trademarks of CNH Global N.V.

Yesterday's Tractors - Antique Tractor Headquarters
Website Accessibility Policy

Back
Top