The tiling machine and crew have been working here the last few days:
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I love big, noisy, earth-moving machines.......maybe I was a heavy machine operator in a former life! (Just kidding!)
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This tiling project is going on in one of our fields right now. Drainage tile is what I'm referring to........perforated plastic tile which gets buried a few feet under the surface of the ground to catch rainwater which soaks into the soil. The water drains through this buried tile into the "crick", helping the soil to dry out faster and improve crop-growing conditions.
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The tiling machine is a noisy beast! The sound of it is just fascinating to me, for some reason; its similar to a bulldozer Cat at work. I love it! It takes me back to when I was a kid and the old-fashioned clay tiling machine would come to the our farm. The complicated conglomeration of a machine would roar and growl as it inched its way across the field like a snail, cutting the trench and laying the lines of clay tile. Nowadays, the tile is plastic tubing, but the process of cutting the trench and threading the tile into the ground is similar.
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Watch and listen if you wish!! The video is not of great quality, but the sound is cool!! (At least, I think so!)
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15 comments:
can we figure out a way to have smellavision I LOVE the smell of fresh dug earth!
I think your "tile" is what is (or used to be) known, in Atlanta's suburbs at least, as "French drain" -- very big with the landed gentry, septic tank, dig-your-own-well-for-lawn-watering crowd -- but anything having to do with construction is way out of my area of expertise. So (gasp!) I could be wrong.
Laura,
"Smellavision"......funny! But, who knows, with all that's possible with modern technology, it may happen someday.
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rhymsie,
That's interesting......I've never heard the term "French drain". In the old days, so I've heard, guys would dig the field trenches by hand and place the cement or clay tile pieces inside. What a job that would be. Tiling has definitely transformed farming over the years.
"Landed gentry" always makes me envision people landing randomly from a hot-air balloon or parachute for some reason. Its a southern expression, isn't it.....I've never heard it up here.
Okay, I am now more convinced than ever before that if we were to live on a farm, we would surely starve to death within the first year. How many other million things go on in farming that I've never heard about ?!
P.S. Your photo of the Ike sky is breathtakingly beautiful.
I liked your video, sounds and all. I could almost smell the diesel fumes!
I hope the young guys learn well from Aaron's dad. Husband was kind to let them learn the craft in your pasture.
Jeannelle, the term "gentry" came from England originally and is related to the word "gentleman" and also "gentrification" (of which we have a great deal in Atlanta).
Here's what dictionary.com says about "gentry":
1. well-born and well-bred people.
2. (in England) the class below the nobility.
3. an upper or ruling class; aristocracy.
4. those who are not members of the nobility but are entitled to a coat of arms, esp. those owning large tracts of land.
and a couple of other definitions as well.
To anticipate your next question, this is what it ways about "gentrification":
1. the buying and renovation of houses and stores in deteriorating neighborhoods by upper- or middle-income families or individuals, thus improving property values but often displacing low-income families and small businesses.
"says," not "ways"
Hi, caution!
Oh, you could survive on a farm without having any knowledge of tiling! You could survive on an untiled farm, actually. You'd just have muddier fields!
Thanks for your kind words about the sky photo. It truly was amazing that evening!
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Hi, Pat!
Yes, its an inspiration to others when people who have suffered great loss are willing to keep moving forward in life. Yes, and I'm proud of Husband for being willing to let them work here. (He really did want the tiling to get done this fall, mainly!!)
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Hi, rhymsie!
Oh, goodness.......go ahead and be gentry if you want.....I'll think I'll pass on it. The only criteria we fit is that we own some land.....it might not even be considered a "large tract".
And, "gentrification".....I think that's part of what Wal-mart does around here......displaces small businesses.
Huh...I didn't realize tiling was done, but sure makes sense! It must be similar to french drains ??
I too love listening to heavy farm machinery...it means productivity, creations of good things to come...
Hi, w.o.w.,
That's very interesting......rhymeswithplague used the term "french drains", too! And, now you did, too! I've never heard of that before today!
Movies at Jeannelle's tonight! Hey, if my son was still a little boy, he would LOVE coming here to this site to hit the play button and see the big farm machines work. Love it!
I love your blog! Thank for sharing the GOOD LIFE from the heartland.
country girl,
Oh, yes.....we have an old VCR tape that my sons just loved....it showed big, noisy earth-moving machines at work. And, how well I remember countless times holding excited, wide-eyed little kids up to the window to watch the combine or tractors or the milktruck go by.
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Hi, bren,
Thank you for stopping in this evening, and for your thoughtful comment!
Here we call it french drains as well. But watching that machine brought back such a vivid memory of my father. I remember riding on his D-6 caterpillar with him while he operated it digging ponds for various people. He also made roads into the forest for privately owned properties. I can hear the sound of the motor but mostly I hear the sound of the tracks clanking as they rotated around.
egghead,
That's so neat you road on the caterpillar with your dad....what a great memory!
And, another "french drain" person.....that is just so interesting because I had never ever heard that term before this!
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