We bought the tractor a week ago before everything started to go wrong for us.  As much as I may hate to admit it, a tractor is a very necessary thing to have on a ranch so here is ours.  It sure isn't pretty but it's a nice one as far as old tractors go.

It runs well enough, but the seat really needs to be adjusted.  I never thought I would say that I am not fat enough to comfortably drive something LOL.  The seat kept raising in the back putting me in a kind of sit/stand position that was way to close to the steering wheel.  Of course I have a thing for quick shifting when I drive which, although wonderful in a car, is not exactly good for a tractor so I will need to work on that if I want to drive it much. 

I dumped hubby at the end of our little jaunt in the tractor though because I had to make him stand on the blade and hold the seat down for me to be able to drive.  When we got done I pulled the lever and dropped the blade a little too fast throwing hubby and the blade on the ground rather hard.  Uh oops sorry.

Now that we have the tractor we will be able to hook it up to an auger and drill the holes for our fence posts rather than trying to do them all by hand.  Given that there are over 430 fence posts that need to be set on our tiny ranch I think the tractor will be a lifesaver.  I can hardly imagine what it would be like to have lived in the days before machinery.  Having to set thousands of posts all by hand then going back to stretch the wire along the fence line.  If you have a multi-stranded fence then you would have to start again for every strand in your fence line. 

At my parents place we didn't use wood posts.  We used a three to four strand electric fence with T-Posts set instead.  This worked wonderfully for us since we were constantly changing around the back pasture to get the best natural grass for the horses.  Our main pasture was part of the original homestead that was there when we purchased the farm. 

The tractor came with the blade that is on it.  Dad claims to have a loader attachment and a bush hog for it as well as a few other attachments.  I do hope that they are in good working condition.  I really can't afford to repair any more equipment right now.  I need to get at least some fence up before mid October or I am in a who lot of trouble with the horses.  I have already had to push back my date with the wonderful ol' time cowboy that was kind enough to help me out with my old Arabian mare.