Friday, October 04, 2013

#171. or, Lift with your brain.....not your back

I have the answer to one of those burning questions that probably keeps you up at nights pondering, until you finally fall asleep at 5 in the morning, then snooze right through the alarm clock making you late getting your kids up and to school.

How heavy is the transmission and differential cover on a 2950 John Deere tractor?........

Freaking heavy enough, that if you try to lift the thing by yourself, you're probably going to taste yesterdays breakfast. That is of course assuming that your digestive tract works as poorly as mine does.

Back in the day, (because I'm old and get to use phrases like that now) I probably would have been able to pick that thing right off the floor and tuck it nicely in, right between the cab and the transmission where it needs to go. Most likely without a second thought. But, that also might be the reason why my joints snap and pop in the morning until I can get them thoroughly lubricated with coffee. It's also the reason why now the phrase, "lift with your legs, not your back", seems like much better advice than it did, say.....10 years ago.

When I was young. Young and invincible.

These days, I tend to do more of the heavy lifting with my brain, rather than the limited brawn I seem to have left. That's not meant to be a resounding endorsement of my intellectual wealth. Truth is, I'm not the smartest farmer on my block, and if I was, I probably would have made my million inventing something like vacuum cleaner slippers so you could just shuffle about sucking up dust bunnies. But I'm not a millionaire, so clearly, limited brain power to match my limited brawn.

I try to exercise my brain. That's partly what this is. An exercise that sends my brain off toward something other than crop planning, marketing, the direction I want to go to remain viable, and all of the varied things I need to get done in the limited window of reasonable weather we have left. The thing about exercise, is that some days, it's just easier to sit on the couch inhaling potato chips. But also, once you get off your ass and do it, exercise at some point magically transforms itself from a chore, into the thing that makes you feel good.

So that's how it is. I like this exercise, and even though I most likely won't even come close to the goal of reaching 200 posts by the end of the year I had set for myself, I'm still plugging away. Doing brain squats, if you will, to keep from becoming a bleary eyed, drooling mass, slouched in the corner in full mental shut-down. Hopefully, in 10 years or so, it won't be my brain, along with my body that cricks and pops when I try to get out of bed in the morning. And if I'm lucky, both will still work well enough together to be able to figure out a way to get the transmission and differential cover back onto a 2950 John Deere tractor with a combination of both brain and brawn, and still be able to bend over to tie my boots the next morning.

..........just in case you're wondering, coffee and toast with honey. And it tasted much better coming in from the outside than from inside up.



41 comments:

  1. Yeah, I'm trying to get most of the heavy lifting down now before I get old. However something tells me that plan isn't going to work very well...

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    1. Hey Holly,

      You're never going to get out in front of that one. Good thing you have a back-hoe! :)

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  2. Replies
    1. Hi BB!

      You can have mine mine. I don't really need them......at all! :)

      Delete
  3. I was young and invincible once too. Remember that song? "Those were the days, my friends / We'd thought they'd never end . . . " When I was young, I heard that no one can really understand that song until they're middle-aged or older. It's true.

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    1. It is true Debra.

      I like to think, if I were given a do over, I'd try to use some of the knowledge I've gleaned to have the best of both worlds. However, I suspect I'd probably still try to lift ridiculously heavy things with my back.

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  4. I'll need to ask my son for the answer to your question. I'm sure he knows. I've missed you over at Chubby Chatterbox. Pay us a visit when you can.

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    1. If your son does in fact know the answer to that question, I suspect he'll also be smart enough to be using a hoist to move that thing about.

      I'm trying to get back into the routine of visiting all of my old friends at their sites as I get closer to winter. You're right up there on that list Stephen. It's been too long.

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  5. You have such a way with words.
    And I always have to remind myself to lift with my legs - no matter how many times I do so, I always forget and throw out my back. :/

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    1. Thanks Natalie! :)

      I've thrown mine out so many times, it's now wonky and usually goes out when I'm doing something like fluffing a pillow. That's annoying.

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  6. Young and invincible seems like such a long time ago.

    And 200 posts by the end of the year is completely doable - just write a Haiku every couple of days.

    Karen

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    1. Hey Karen.

      Two hundred posts
      The year is winding to close
      Too much to get done.

      :)

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  7. Brain squats. Perfect! For me, it's definitely become quality not quantity. You've got the quality down, so I'm happy you're working on the quantity.

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    1. I'm just happy that these last few rainy days have allowed a bit of inspiration to seep back into my head. Not really all that sure about the quality, but I'm quite happy you think so. Thanks. :)

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  8. Coffee toast and honey...uuuuhm. Wait, were you saying something about a tractor, too?

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    1. The cool part about the honey is that it's from bees that made it from plants that flowered on our land. Not my bees, mu pollen....so to speak.

      I think there was something in there about a tractor. I try to tie it all together.

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  9. I'll be waiting for those vacuum slippers to hit the market. The first trip down the stairs each morning is pretty tough on my feet, and I guess it will only get worse. At least we can keep our brains nimble.

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    1. Hi Marcy,

      As soon as I work out whether or not you have to wear a backpack with them or drag a hose around. Although, they could be self contained units, but who ever heard of platform slippers?

      I have one word for you, fire pole! (spell check just informed me that's actually 2 words, but you know what I mean.)

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  10. "Doing brain squats, if you will, to keep from becoming a bleary eyed, drooling mass, slouched in the corner in full mental shut-down." Love this. Yep, that's why I blog, too. Gotta stay sharp!

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  11. Ken! My friend!
    You continue to do it again!
    Brain squats! I love it!
    So you have a goal to have so many posts by the end of the year? Smart move, my brothah, smart move!
    I need to set some goals. I like to do that. It fits well with my personality to ever-improve. Ever reach for that benchmark just beyond where I am now, and then some.

    I love your ever analogies between life and writing and farming. You say you're not the smartest farmer on the block, but I'd say, you are BRILLIANT! :)

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    1. Hello, my friend!

      The 200 posts is a goal that I had set at the beginning of the year. If I continue to follow the schedule I'm on, I most likely won't make it. There are times when I don't think I'm spending enough time here working on my blog, but it's a difficult thing when all my other stuff has to happen as well. And the other stuff is what feeds my family.

      So, I'll just keep plugging along. :)

      Brilliant? You're making me blush.

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  12. That thing where we reach a certain age...and all of a sudden we're grunting just getting out of a chair? I hate that thing. Also, my husband is forever reminding me to lift with my legs. But do I listen? i think this mind exercise thing is serving you well, my friend. You are the Jack Lalanne of brain squats. ;)

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    1. Thanks Linda,

      ......does that mean I have to start going about in a blue jumpsuit?

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  13. That is absolutely something I have always wondered! But seriously, it's good to keep exercising your brain. They say it could prevent Alzheimer's. Your goal of 200 posts? Have you heard of NaBloPoMo? It's where you write a post every day in a month. Could be any month, but the main month is November, during NaNoWriMo.

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    1. Hi Jennifer,

      I watched the November writing challenge last year, as well as the A-Z in April for the last 2. I'm just not certain that I could keep up that schedule. Maybe the writing, but certainly not the reading and commenting. I think it might kill me. Or drive away from blogging for a while if I was to make it through. Perhaps someday, but I'd need to get a lot less busy in my regular day job. :)

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  14. Replies
    1. Me too! Chips and dip, and maybe a beer to wash it all down.

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  15. I try not work out with young guys because I am stupid enough to lift like they do. I forget that even though the strength is still there the limber, recover in five minutes thing isn't.

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    1. That's why I go the track in town above the ice rink. It's mostly seniors and rehabilitation patients. I always end up looking awesome cause I can outdo, ........most of them.

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  16. That John Deere is quite the beast. Maybe you need another tractor to put it all back in place. Maybe a Husqvarna? :)

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    1. Hi Suzanne,

      It's alright, I have a tiny green tractor for small jobs. But there wasn't even room for that one on this job. Besides, I can't even spell Husqvarna! :)

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  17. It's depressing what age does to our bodies. I pulled a muscle flossing my teeth last year and these days I can rarely lift my arms above my head. Getting older sucks.

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    1. As crappy as it is, Brett, I'm glad to find out that I'm not the only one with the "arms above the head" issue. I guess we're in this together?

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  18. You had to re-taste breakfast and remember that you're not 20 anymore all in the same moment. Not a good moment. Perhaps your invention should involve a wheelchair... :)

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    1. Hey Reanna!

      You may have a point there about directing my inventive skills toward a whole new demographic?

      Maybe that's why erectile dysfunction guy always looks so happy in those commercials? As long as you have one thing in your life that's looking up, it's all roses? :)

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  19. A couple years ago, I made the mistake of eating something with green onions in it immediately before running 3 miles. Running while tasting green onions in my system was so horrible that I haven't had green onions since then.

    Posts are about quality, not quantity! You're doing pretty good, by that measure. I've been reading a lot of other folks' blogs lately that seem like a series of posts apologizing for not posting more...

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    1. Hi Katy,

      I'm not sure if the mistake was the green onions, or running 3 miles? :)

      Thanks for that! It does seem that way with a lot of posts recently. I suspect it's a product of the season. Busy times means less posts. That being said, I feel worse about my lack of commenting than I do with posting. I read a lot of them, but commenting of my phone in the field is sketchy at best. And given the choice whether to write or comment with the free time I do have, the writing has to win.

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  20. Papa Bear still likes to think at times that he still has the amazing strength of his youth... lifting washers and refrigerators with his two hands, but he pays for such transgressions nowdays, and must at times relinquish control to the younger guys at work. It's hard on a man's ego, I know! As for brain power, your's is working just fine and I have no doubt that you will still be posting amazing things for us to read for many years to come, and hopefully a book or two as well! We all struggle to find a balance between writing and commenting, and in the end writing just has to win out, because it is our self-therapy and release. We need more "like" buttons such as Wordpress has, to let folks know we've dropped by!

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  21. Ooh, this was a good post for me to read, because I definitely need to get my ass off the couch! I had intended to have a post done today, but to be fair, we did have our big hospice fundraiser this weekend, so I was pretty busy.

    I had no idea how heavy or light a differential cover might be, mostly on account of the fact that I have no idea what a differential cover is. Or what a differential is, for that matter. Transmission, I have some clue.

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