Now we're farming!

I can barely contain my excitement. Are you ready for this? No, no, Muffin still didn't have her baby goat and I'm quite sure now that she's not pregnant and never was. Little strumpet! Still, the disappointment of no baby goat is clearly overshadowed by the acquisition of....a TRACTOR!!! Yes, indeed, a real tractor has found its way to the barn. It was on Craig's List, the home of all good deals, and it was pointed out by friends of ours who are many years and acres ahead of us on this farm learning curve.

Anyway, after going to look it over and drive it around, Kelly pronounced it the "right one" and so it was. It is a Kubota tractor with a belly mower, a rear snow blade, and a front snow blade. It has 720 hours on it, which is really quite reasonable, and it has a 3 point hitch. This is particularly thrilling for me because it means we can get a proper tiller to till up my vegetable garden in the spring, and that nearly makes me giggle with glee.
Never before in my life did I think that a tractor would ever generate such a thrill. If anybody had even suggested so a few years ago, I likely would have given them the hairy eyeball treatment. But lo and behold, I would have been wrong, much as it pains me to say so.

So in order to honour this exciting moment, I am doing a give-away! Yes, after visiting any number of interesting arts and crafts blogs with fun and interesting give-aways, I have decided to do one myself. This one is not crafty or artsy, because my muse is taking time off. This is a tomato seed give-away. It is for an unopened packet of "Garden Peach" tomato from Seed Savers Exchange. It's one I bought late this year so I was going to start them for spring 2009. Instead, it is my very first give-away item. I will describe its packet blurb "Offered under a variety of names to American gardeners since the middle 1800s. Fuzzy fruits ripen to yellow and often have a hint of pink blush when fully ripe. Outstanding flavor, rarely cracks. Indeterminate. 70-75 days from transplant." There are 50 seeds in the packet.

So, just leave me a comment about my tractor, or about your favourite tomato, or anything else you'd like to chat about, and I will add your name to the giveaway list. I will put all the names in a hat and Kelly will pick one and I will send them out one week from today.

Happy gardening, happy farming, and happy day!