Opinion : Backyard Reporting

Sometimes I still have to laugh at our lack of common sense. 

As I've admitted before, we are city folks, just living in the country. 

For decades the Closes and the Stainbrooks have lived next to each other lending a hand whenever one is needed.

When our neignbor was a boy, he helped Dean's grandpa in the fields. 

When our neighbor needed help baling hay, he called our boys.

Kind of a neat set up if you ask me.

Today after finishing up the news for today's e-mail, we had to call the neighbor to pull our pickup out of our sandy backyard.

I don't remember why the truck ended up in the backyard.

Our driveway is flat at the bottom, then takes a slant toward the south, then levels out again, and is flat at the top, then starts to dip down into the backyard.

Well, we didn't stop at the top of the drive.

We thought after the ground froze, we'd be able to drive it right out...but it hasn't gotten cold enough without snow or ice.

After cleaning the air intake hose in old 1987 Suburban, which the mice always seem to make their homes in, we asked the neighbor to borrow his chains. We figured we'd use the old Suburban to pull out the old pickup.  Each old car has its purpose out here. The Suburban's job is to jump start every other vehicle in the subzero weather and to pull the pickup out when the pickup can't pull.

The pickup's job is to haul gravel, brush and junk around the farm

The newer car is moms to drive, dad has the minivan and the other car is for the teenager...its job is to keep the kids safe when they learn how to drive. 

Anyway, back to the neighbor...

He returned with his tractor. (I'm sure that was after a roll of his eyes, a shake of his head and a grin on his face)

He brought his Henry tractor, I didn't even know there was such a thing.

Being the dutiful reporter, I snapped a few pictures to add to this short story, there's a shot of the tractor, with our kind neighbor Denny Stainbrook on his orange tractor, Dean in our 19something pickup, the chain attaching the two.

The second shot is of them trying the new angle to pull the truck out.

The third shot is of the truck making it to our driveway, again.

The last shot is a nice one of our kind neighbor.

You can't see these pictures, because, well, while I'm still city folk, I'm NOT a reporter, and forgot to check for a camera card in this new fangled, modern camera...

So anyway, thanks again Denny for your good, old, country knowhow, and Dean, thanks for running the cameras!