Green

November 4, 2019

“I saw lots of orange in the green lot, but no green in the orange lot.” I was explaining to the service manager at our local dealership the reason I chose John Deere over Kubota. He waved his hand over their lot of used equipment for sale. Along with a Massey and a Mahindra were two Kubotas. “This tractor was one of the best investments I’ve ever made,” I told him. A few years ago I had seen a Kubota with bucket and backhoe for sale in someone’s front yard. Our vintage 8N was refusing to start in cold weather (when I needed it most), so Linda encouraged me to check it out. I went back, and it was already sold. Thus began the search for a dependable machine that could tackle the lawn in the summer and the driveway in winter. 

With only two and a half acres, I didn’t need a huge machine, so I settled on a 26 horse compact unit with mower and bucket. The 5 foot deck makes quick work of the lawn and the bucket moves snow, brush, and dirt, carried a 500lb soapstone stove, lifts me high enough to trim overhanging or broken branches from our trees, and carries my firewood from the woodshed to the back door. 

This morning I took it for its annual servicing preparatory to winter’s work. Sandwiched between the last mowing and the first plowing, now is the time. I could probably do it myself, but I hate working on machinery; it’s worth it to take it to people who know what they’re doing. So I hitched up the trailer to my little 4 cylinder Toyota, and hauled it down the road, all the while thanking God for this green machine and how much easier it has made my life. 

Giving thanks is not just for the super spiritual or the big issues of life. “In everything give thanks,” St. Paul exhorts us. So that’s what I’m doing tonight. There is much for which to be thankful—good health, a loving wife, the warm fire in our back room, a comfortable bed, a life relatively free of drama, great music to play in our concert Wednesday. I’ll not forget to give thanks also for that tractor, especially when it’s 15 degrees with two feet of snow that needs to be cleared.