Farmer Brown and his new John Deere 23 March 2011 and the WATER SAGA

Well, it had to happen. We had to buy our first toy - a John Deere tractor with a slasher dragging behind. Had to bring it here from miles away on a flatbed truck, which got a puncture on the road in the middle of nowhere halfway home.

Battery, according to the owner, is flat. Ok, so we'll just buy a new one. But until we get said battery, we have to use the tractor. So.....picture the scene. We are going to "push start" this bladdy great heap by towing it down the hill, towards the river, with the MERC! What a sight, can't even tell you. I tried to get out the house to take a pic of all this madness, but the geese wouldn't let me through. You're just going to have to believe me! LOL. But ol' McGyver gets it right without barreling into the river.....engine turns and the big green and yellow machine is live!

Off goes Farmer Brown in his tractor.....way way down until he's a speck in the distance. Chug chug choef choef...and promptly runs out of diesel! And we all know, if you laugh, you're a bad person....

In the meantime we have discovered that the bore hole motor we bought is too small to pump water.
We buy a bigger one.
It still doesn't work.
We discover that the bore hole broke long ago.
We have to sink a new one.
So we do.
We discover that the bottom of the borehole has caved in with clay.
We fix it.
Still won't pump. Pulleys are not strong enough.
So we get new ones.
Still won't pump. Pulleys are not long enough.
So we get new ones.

MONDAY 18 APRIL - Running water - albeit through a hosepipe that is shoved through the bathroom window. HALLELUJAH! Nobody will taste it. I do. I'm not scared! It's filtered through a hectic layer of clay, not so? And so we fill the bath with cold water.....and we REJOICE!

Takes about a week for the man to hook up the water tank to the house taps. He's smart, this man of mine!

PS : A new battery didn't solve the mystery of the non-starting tractor. It needs a new starter motor!