Day 282

As I was preparing to construct the temporary coop for our new chickens, it was quite apparent that the barn was in need of some reorganization. When life gets busy, I tend to not be as organized and thorough at putting things away in a logical manner. This can make me (and others) a bit miffed at the overall appearance of the space. The time had come for a cleanup.

It started with calling up my scrap metal guy. It's been a while since he last visited and our gifts were plentiful. After connecting with him and hammering out a time that worked for both of our schedules, we met after school and filled up his truck and trailer with assorted metals. While much of the metal was random leftover pieces from our kitchen and home renovation, we said goodbye to a very special item.

When we first moved, a friend gave me his old riding lawn mower for free. It was over twenty years old, but it still ran and cut like a pro. Even though we had a newer, more powerful mower, this mower was more reliable despite it being ancient in the mower world. Not only did it mow the lawn, it also pulled a trailer cart. We used it for work out in the big backyard, bringing water to our newly planted trees, and the kids may have also enjoyed a few joy rides around the yard.

Regardless of the weather conditions or time of day, every time we went to the barn, my son would request to drive the tractor.

Over the past few months, we started to realize its days were numbered. I added a new belt and new battery, but the machine was making new sounds and acting a bit off. We hoped it would last us through this year, but it just wasn't meant to be. 

When the engine lost most of its power and moved at the speed of a snail, we knew we had to say goodbye.

When our metal guy stopped by, I slowly drove it up the ramp and onto his trailer before letting the kids sit on their tractor one last time.