8 months since the last update? Boy, it's been a while!

The winter was rather uneventful. I was extremely busy with school and "holding down the fort" to worry about anything else... :-)

Over Christmas break, we ripped the whole kitchen out of the house. It was good to finally get rid of the back-cramping 30" counters, and even the whole kitchen smelled better. Then again, we did remove a bunch of old flour from who-knows-when, the moldy and nearly rotten sink counter (WE WERE WASHING OUR DISHES IN THAT???) a few mouse nests and a big diesel fuel stain on the floor.

Some notes on the contruction of this house. The whole house was framed using rough-cut 2x4's. The framing is rather half-hazard, with 16-plus-or-minus-two-or-three-inch centers. What the framing lacks in structural strength, it makes up in nails. Lots of nails. And big ones too. For sheathing, since there was no plywood, 3/4" planks are nailed diagonally to the walls, and floors, and some of these planks are a good two feet across. On top of this, tongue and groove planks are nailed to all four sides. These are solid, clear larch, and these are nailed on - two nails per stud. (There must be a ton of nails in this thing!)

We heated the house (Or what was left of it) for two weeks from the wood we pulled off the kitchen walls, and carried away fifteen backhoe-bucket loads of garbage from that kitchen.

We set down 3/4" plywood on the floor, with construction glue and a few hundred screws (They use nails - We use screws!) and currently finished the wiring and plumbing to insulate and close the walls.

Mom has a rather giant kitchen planned- the walls on the east side of the kitchen are lined with counters, with two double-bottom sinks and a central vac. A 7-foot window provides a good view out the east side, and the dinner table is in the middle of the kitchen, in front of the upstairs furnace.

We had a rather heavy snowfall, getting around four feet of snow. It got to the point where we had to start up our tired D7 to help widen the road a bit from the encroaching snowbanks.

There is stirrings from Mom and Dad that we should start work fixing up our bulldozer-forever-in-restoration, our Cat D4D. Dad just bought some parts for it, and we are preparing to clean up (and out) the shop to start work. Finally finishing somthing for a change would be nice...

Well, the last bale of hay was taken off the field last weekend, officially ending summer for us!

Haying this year was quite easy for us, as we decided to buy the proper machinery for the job. We got a New Holland 469 "haybine" (mower-conditioner) to cut the hay, a NH 1010 Balestacker to collect it, and a 60-horsepower Massey Ferguson 180 to work beside our 202.

But perhaps the best addition to our hay equipment (Perhaps a bit late) was a John Deere 348 baler. I have NEVER seen bales come out of that Ford baler as nice as what the John Deere can do! I ran a bale over with the 180, and the bale didn't even notice! also, not having to stop every time the knotters trip to cut the twine is a plus too.

After we were done, we got 650 bales off the field. That's a far cry from the 75 we got last year.

We were originally using the quad's seed spreader to fertilize the fields, but since we got a fertilizer spreader for the tractor, it has become way easier. I don't think the fields would have produced as much without the fertilizer.

At the end of June, a massive windstorm blew through. me and my parents were heading to a tractor show in Alberta, but my brother said it was comparable to what you would see in a hurricane. Quite a few trees were blown over, including a massive Douglas fir that was four feet wide at the trunk (It's heartwood was rotten, so it was an easy push).

We were without power for five days. Not that we entirely noticed, as we had two generators, kerosene lamps and the gravity fed water, so we were managing quite well. We didn't have much in the line of firewood, as we burnt it all up in two winters. So, this mean we have a lot of premium firewood now, ready for the chopping!

To store this firewood, we cleared the lot were the woodpile sat so we can build a woodshed. We got our D8 going, and pulled out a couple of stumps, including several trees that (Thanks to the windstorm) we no longer want by the house. One large pine we pulled out was on a rock pile, and had a surprisingly small rootball, so it was a good thing we decided to clear them out.

September means school, so it's back to the grindstone for me! I'm taking English at the collage, with math and socials at the distance education. I have to say, I'm finding it's pretty easy so far!

Well, 2007 is upon us, and it gave me time to reflect.

The last thing done in December (and 2006) was moving a old homemade stove into our shop. Dad made this stove when we were living up in Lillooet (And when I was still a "little pup") And from what I see, it is like the nuclear reactor in our basement.

Thinking about it, 2006 was a very good year for us. We were able to clean up the place, get our very first (At least for me!) hay crop off, and get a very good start at rebuilding the farm. In fact, comparing it to when we first moved in, in June 2005, when we were practically camping here, the quality of living has improved a lot.

2007 could be, however, the last year Mad Cat will run. I was thinking about all the trouble we were having with the blade up at the intake, and the trouble we are having at repairing the blade. The cat is worn out, and a hand crank is not really desirable. So what me and dad agreed on is Hornet, who is undergoing restoration, will get a new, designed-to-fit, built-to-spec blade on it, with electric start and a geared-down transmission (Gear machining, here we come!), and Mad Cat will be either parked or turned into a ag-cat until we get the time to restore it as well.

Planning the future of this farm has really got me eager to start, but have to wait for the snow to melt! A "Monster Shop" is planned for construction this year, I'm gonna build a tractor shed for all of our running equipment, and we will expand our fields! I am looking forward to this!

We are done with the Intake for this year.

Everything from the creek on is sealed in, and insulated as best as we can. Because of Mad Cat's blade, with work getting in the way of fixing it, we could not cover anything down the hill.

The snow started falling at the start of November. How many of you have that initial panic to cover up everything and move it so it can be found once everything has been buried? It was a little fun to rush around.

As a little disappointment, the next few days after, it rained and generally thawed out the snow. With everything sealed up as best as we can. I hoped for lots of snow. Then, just yesterday, a massive snowstorm moved in, and we now have close to six inches of snow. It's still coming down, so I guess it's time to start plowing snow.

We have a new (to us) piece of equipment! Thanks to eBay, we got our hands on a late 80's Grove AMZ-66 manlift. (the newest piece of heavy equipment we have!) When we were using a 40-foot manlift for renovating our house and pruning the trees, we were amazed at just how useful a manlift was just around the house! The long reach could transport building materials up to the upper floor of our house, and is way safer to use than a ladder!

We got the manlift on the condition that it was barely functional. It spent most of it's life as a maintenance platform (Only 3000 hours on it!) in a chemical plant, so the sheet metal on the unit is corroded. The unit starts up and moves around, but two functions do not work. Otherwise, it is in way better shape than we had feared it would be.

Well, the frost is starting to build up. Looks like it's time to "Batten down the Hatches" for winter!

Work on the water intake went smoothly the first few day of work. We got the water system fixed up, and the pipe going down the hill mostly covered. the only reason we are being held back is the homemade blade on our cat.

Now, Caterpillar's crawler tractors of the 1930's were meant mainly for agricultural use, and no premeasures were taken for attachments on the tractor, like blades. This is true even today with front-end loaders on wheel tractors. So at some point in their lives, these cats usually got a blade assembled on it, usually using crude engineering and fabricating skills. "Mad Cat", our cat at the intake job, is no exception.

I was bulldozing a pile of dirt down the pipeline (by "Windrowing" the dirt into the ditch) when I notice one of the hydraulic cylinders flopping around. Down to the house we go, to weld up a broken cylinder mount. While we were looking the cylinder support, we notice that just about every weld on the support was cracking. After throwing on a few welding rods, we fly back up there, only to work ten minutes to find the whole C-frame tilting around! A welded "Hook" on one pivot decided it did not like the c-frame and left. Back down we go. On the way down, the return line on the hydraulics decides to blow, resulting in me having to hold it on while driving home.

GAHH! I'm not having much luck with this guy!

So that's were we are with the cat. I'm busy reworking the c-frame mounts (But would rather scrap the whole thing!) The backhoe's doing fine, probably the best worker of the job, only blowing a hydraulic hose and a front tire (Tire was 20 years old anyway). I'm wondering since we got so many breakdowns if you could call this intake job a durability test for the machinery!

In other news, we finally got windows up in the house! The manlift that we borrowed for working the roof was being reclaimed, so we used it for one last job that it was need for. The house looks a lot better with windows, and we can keep the upstairs open now without the wind sucking out all the heat! Lovely!

Well, we had a lot of fun playing in the dirt!

Since we don't want a repeat of last winter of the water intake, and our Uncle, a expert machine operator, was visiting, we began the assault up to the creek with our D7 bulldozer and backhoe.

By the time my Uncle left, we got a brand new dirt road pioneered in, so it is now a little surprising that we can drive right up the road, which was before barely accessible by quad, right to the box with our trucks!

The D7 did pay a bit of a price for all that work: one of the Idler frame shafts broke, and both brakes started begging for adjustment. I limped it back home to the shop, and brought up our almost equally as worn out 1937 Cat Twenty two (Whom I call Mad Cat), about 15,000 pounds lighter than the D7.

Despite the change in size, Mad Cat is perfect for burying the exposed pipe leading down the hill. We got the first 200 feet of pipe covered, and we will work our way back down the mountain until it is all covered.

Perhaps the biggest change to come would be to the intake system itself. The dam-to-overflow box was barley adequate for irrigating our fields so dad is going to have a excavator come in, rip out the system, and set up a infiltration system; a series of intake pipes under a layer of drain rock, all under a large pool, in the middle of the creek.

Heh. I'll like being able to "pressure wash" in the shower while the field is being irrigated!

Project Hornet (1936 Twenty two) has slowed down a lot with the re-introduction of school. The governer is reassembled, but that's it. I am currently polishing up the Magneto for Installation. Once that's done, I'll work on the rest of the engine.

I know I'm not a kid, but how do you say "One week from DOOM!! DOOM I SAY!"?

I go back to college on the start of September, so it's back to the routine of getting up at six, traveling one hour to Cranbrook, then spending the rest of the day learning my brains out.

but it also means another thing. Winter is coming. We were almost completely unprepared last winter, and as you can read in the past posts, that was quite fun. The only saving grace for us was the fact that we stuffed a new chimney and our big stove into the basement, and kept it running 24/7.

We are currently stocking up on firewood (Due to lack of insulation, we went through half of our wood supply (which is fairly large) in one winter, where in Cranbrook, we would go through a quarter), preparing the machinery (Backhoe and our Cat) and in cleaning up the place in general.

I was expecting to have rebuilt my cat twenty two engine by now, but replacing the bearings on the crank have eluded that dream. It used poured Babbitt bearings, but dad is looking at replacing those with modern bearing shells. Should last a while when we get it together.

Hope you enjoyed Christmas. We got a Christmas present early this year: Running water!

It had been thawing out for a week, so, Mom and Dad went up to take a look at the intake. I went up to check on them, and found them tapping the exposed pipe running from the overflow box.

What they did was drilled a small hole in the pipe, and tapped until the hole squirted water. After about two hours, they had worked the pipe to the end of the exposed pipe. They were tapping the pipe when there was the sound of ice moving, and the holes stopped squirting water as water was replaced by a vacuum.

When we came back to the house, the outside faucet was pouring water! We got a hose set up to prevent the pipes from freezing, and got our water system set back up.

This thaw also proved the area is a flood plain. There are puddles everywhere, and the whole area is muddy. I guess that's good for the farming.

Welcome! This is a bit of a journal covering the modernization of a 140-acre farm.

My name is Chris. I am currently 18 years old and live with my parents and brother. I share an interest with my Dad on old tractors. Dad is interested in the Crawlers (bulldozers) while I would like to have a couple of wheel tractors. I recently finished a refurbishing of a Massey Ferguson 202 that had been in our family for close to 40 years.

It all started in March of 2005. We were enjoying the last few hours of a visit from our Aunt and Uncle when Dad got a call from an old work buddy. "I happen to know where a old Cat Thirty is," He said, "Come over to my place in Yahk, and I'll take you over to see it" Dad, who had a hobby of collecting old bulldozers, naturally wanted to take a look at it.

So, on a clear, sunny day (spring came really early; In February) Mom, Dad, Me and my brother Nic, headed on over to Yahk, B.C. for a look at it. A stop at his place and I met Bill, a retired boss of a construction outfit in Cranbrook. We had a nice chat about the Massey Harris in his shed, and then we got into our trucks and went up the highway. We turned up a gravel road we passed on the way to Bill's place. It was about a kilometer long, and we stopped at a turnaround. There was an old farmhouse on top of a small hill, surrounded with trees, and looking very old and somewhat dilapidated. We parked our trucks here and walked over to the near corner of the west field.

Sitting in a nest of small trees, amongst a pile of other junk, was what we later identified as a 1930 Caterpillar Thirty. It had decent tracks, and a nearly worn-out Willamette Winch. While me, Nic and Dad were looking at various points on the tractor, Mom told Bill that, since Dad already had 9 other Cats in our 5-acre lot, and the neighbors were starting to dislike them, if he got another Cat that we should get a bigger chunk of land for them.

"Really?" said Bill, "Well, this farm is for sale."

I guess this is when we lost interest on the Cat, and started to love the farm! We debated quite heavily on the subject of should we move.

I mean, consider this question: Would you move from a cozy house built in 1976 to an old house built in 1932 that would have no insulation for the winter and require heavy repairs? Would this place be a retirement home for Mom and Dad?

Apparently, the answer to those questions was "yes", and we purchased the place in July 2005.

It was a beautiful place. The spot must have been a lake at one time, with two mountains separating you from the other neighbors. The soil is very good, at least for potatoes. We planted a garden a few days before we bought it, and the potatoes literally jumped out of the ground!

First plan of action to fix a farm up: Make the house livable. In September, after a month of planning, we ripped the roof off. The roof had a 45-degree with a ceiling height of 3-feet. For 3 men of 6 feet high, this is a bit cramped. After the roof is off, we would add "Pony walls"- Walls that would raise the roof four extra feet. We would then top off the roof with a tin roof.

One interesting thing about this house: Plywood was not commonly used on houses until the 1950's because it was so expensive to produce. This house used old "Channel lock" lumber siding (an old style of lumber that is not common anymore. It has mating sides that can be fitted together) for everything. Ceilings, walls and floors, it did not matter, and it was all Larch wood. You should have seen some of the bonfires we had when we were burning the stuff. They were quite big.

When winter rolled in, we realized our wood heater was not quite to snuff for a house with no insulation (Any that was added was chewed up by the rats). We were piling on the bedcovers, and I could see my breath at night! We finally installed in the basement a large RSF wood furnace that we brought over from Cranbrook. (We constantly say that it's a thermonuclear reactor compared to the one in the kitchen). This made things way more bearable in the house, especially when we run it full-bore.

That brings us to now. We are almost done putting up the last sheet of tin on the roof, and once the tin roof is done, we are gearing up to attack the walls. We say by the time we're done with the house, only the frame and foundation is going to be left of what was built in 1932!