Saturday was a long day for me. I started at the crack of dawn and worked until late at night. Things kept going wrong, but everything was pretty great, considering.

I had to start early to get to a farm north of Napanee at a decent time. Things are really busy for us right now, so we are doing what we can to get everyone there fertilizer on time.

As soon as I got out of the truck at the farm, I was swarmed by black flies, but they weren’t really biting yet. This is good. I don’t mind them crawling around in my hair, as long as they aren’t chewing anything. I was greeted by an older guy and his son. I would estimate the son’s age at about 30-35, but I’ve been known to suck at guessing age before.

I was having some pretty good conversations with the dad about hunting, farming in the Canadian Shield, hunting, and the price of old cedar swamps, while we were putting the tote bags on the tines of the tractor loader, when I saw a car pull up with what I assumed was his wife in it.

“You’ve got company.” I said

“That’s the boss. Look busy.” He replied.

As she got out of the car, I noticed that she had a tiny little guest in there with her. Out of the car scrambled a little boy of about five years old. They stood on the far side, staying away from the tractor with a huge bag dangling from it’s forks. When we got half a ton loaded in it, he dropped the bucket and headed over to set it on a skid. That’s when they made their move.

As the little fella was getting hoisted into the cab by his dad, I noticed the little seat that looked like it was custom made for a tiny rider.

“Look at that.” I stated to the grandpa. “That’s every little boy’s dream, and he gets to do that whenever he wants.”

“He’d stay in there all day if you’d let him. His dad was the same way. I used to babysit him when he was a little boy, and he would spend the whole day in the fields with me. Just loves it.” Continue reading →