Just another day on the farm...

So we got my little sister all married off last Saturday, and returned to the farm bright and early Monday morning. Well, Brandon did anyway. I have the lovely task of getting our 2009 books in order for the accountant.

My bright and early came Tuesday morning. Only, it wasn't even bright yet. Just early.

Brandon had left the house at 1 and 4am to irrigate. He called at 5:30.

"Hey, you awake?"

"Yeah, for about 15 minutes now. Need something?"

"Are you up-awake, or still-in-bed-awake?" Like it was really going to make a difference in what he was going to ask me to do...

I explained I was still-in-bed-awake, but ready to be up-awake.

"Good. I buried a tractor and need you to meet me at my parents' with a chain and the backhoe going in ten minutes."

All I have to say, is it's a good thing I'm a morning person.

And when we got there, I found out how "buried" he meant. The entire tractor was sitting down in the drain ditch. The drain ditch which would soon have irrigation water flowing down it, mind you. I couldn't even tell which implement he had hooked up to the back of this thing.

Brandon hooked up the chain, and I found out I had to drive the backhoe that was supposed to pull it out of the ditch.

And, of course, I got the best picture I could in the dark with my phone. I told him if he would have told me how bad it was stuck, I would have brought my real camera. Which is probably why he didn't.
It really didn't take all that long. And it would have been quicker if I didn't get so stinking scared when the backhoe shifted six inches toward the ditch on me. When Brandon asked why I stopped pulling, I said, "Because it moved! I'm going to slide into the ditch!"

"Yeah, it moved six inches. I don't want you to stop until it moves six feet. You can't get stuck in that thing, don't worry."

I was not worried about getting stuck. I fully knew it was impossible to get a backhoe stuck. I was, however, scared of being tilted sideways in the ditch on a piece of equipment.

Anyway, we got the tractor out, then lifted the implement (which I found out was a blade) with the bucket on the backhoe. When everything was safely removed from the mud and there was less tension, I finally dared to ask how the whole thing had happened.

"Did you just slide off the road into the ditch or something?"

"No, I was blading the drain ditch. I got stuck on this end coming down, but I got out by myself, so I thought I would turn around and do this side of the ditch too. Bad idea."

Yeah, I'd say...