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Gidday

What a dinky little tractor and a truely great bit of video.

But here is another story about boys and tractors. I wrote this a few years ago and it is as close to what happened as I could remember, and sure as hell things like this are hard to forget.

Unbelievable.


The year was about 1967 and the place, a small farm in the small district of Honikiwi in New Zealand.

It was a small 2-stand woolshed on a rough country sheep farm that was only partly developed out of bush and scrub. We had started shearing there the day before and were already half way through shearing the small flock.

The farmer was a tall lean joker with a young family and like all men of his age, in that area, he was a great family man as well, despite the fact that he had to work so hard at developing the farm. This meant that he never had as much time with his two sons, one who had just started school and the other just a toddler, as he would have liked to.

The woolshed, made from untreated radiata pine and painted with creosote, was situated on a slope, which ran down into a broad depression at the head of a ruggedly steep gully. Mud rock outcrops framed both sides of the gully. Which was typical of most of the farms in the area.

The farmhouse was on the other side of the depression and the area in between, made up the main holding paddock for the farm and also contained the other farm buildings.

Because of the rough nature of the farm and the fact that it was only partly developed, the only tractor on the property was a small crawler tractor. The tractor did not have a very good battery, so the farmer had parked it on the slope, just above a steeper part of the paddock below the house. Which was a couple of hundred yards out in front of the woolshed.

We had just finished the first run after our lunch break and had stopped shearing for our afternoon smoko (break). Because it was such a beautiful sunny, early summer day we were sitting on the loading bay, where the wool bales get loaded onto a truck, having our cups of tea and bit to eat. The farmer was still in the shed pressing the wool.

I was sitting there looking across the grassy paddock to the house, thinking what an idyllic setting this was, the farmers two boys out playing on the green grass and us all soaking up the warmth of the sunshine. I watch as the eldest boy climbed up onto the tractor’s seat and was happily pretending to be driving it. Then the younger one climbed up onto the tracks of the tractor.

Suddenly the peace and quiet was shattered by a cry of, “Holy Shit!” from the farmer behind us, as he then ran straight over us, off the loading bay, which was about 5 foot high and streaked across the grassy paddock towards his tractor.

We then watched in horror, as the boy on the tractors seat must have pushed the starter and the tractor burst into life. His little brother was still on the tractor’s tracks and as it started to move forward down the hill the little boy was moving forward with the track.

Words just fail me do try to describe fully how the scene had changed, as the farmer was racing across the paddock towards the tractor and as his youngest son went down onto the ground directly in front of the tractor’s track and it rolled forward over him. Nobody could do anything to stop what looked like a tragedy that was slowly unfolding before us.

The boy in the seat must have done something to stop the tractor, but not until it had gone right over his brother and about 20 feet beyond him.

As we raced across the paddock, well behind the farmer. We saw him fall onto the ground over his little boy, then scoop him up in his arms and collapse again in tears. As we reach them, we could not see any obvious injuries on the boy and he wasn’t even crying, unlike his father.

Apparently what had happened, was the little boy had fallen into a slight hollow and because the tractor was a crawler, it’s tracks had passed right over him, without even giving him a scratch from it’s grousers, whereas a wheeled tractor would have surely killed him.

Like I said, unbelievable, but true. And I saw it all happened in before of my own eyes.

Gidday

Does this mean that you are now 21 and old enough to vote?

Good onya girl.

Gidday

I aint nevere seen any reach near 30 feet, biggest I've seen would be about 8 feet. And yes you sure are right about a bugger of a problem.

But the leaves do look like your mystery plant Eh!

Gidday

Looks a bit like wool nightshade to me. How big does it grow?

Gidday

"Ya know Mo...you just made me think...I love Kale..but, haven't grown it recently...why, because of the worms..."

Hey Fill, what are the worms that attack your kale? I have found that even the white butterfly don't cause too much trouble for kale.

One winter just aftedr we moved down closer to the Pole, I had a bit of multi coloured kale that had been growing in me garden as a left over from the previous owner and I sorta didn't know what to do with it. Then we got hit with a really hard winter and the kale was the only thing that was still eddible through the snow. That's when we started eating it and got to love it as a winter vege.

Gidday

We used to have quite a good sized tobacco export industry from our provence of Nelson. But we are way too bloody P.C. to grow the stuff commercially now days.

Gidday

That was beautifully put together and brings tears to my eyes.

Gidday

Good to hear it aint too bad.

Gidday

Sure are precious moments when you get together with family who you don't or caint see often enough.

Gidday

One hellava lot considering it aint happened down this low twice in one year.

First time a few weeks ago it was only about an inch and a half but this time about 4 inches.

Nearly all gone round here cos we had rain and sleet but still plenty up on the hills.

Gidday

Well I have just gotten back inside after movin me cattle and had a late lunch. Now I am sittin here just watchin the snow fall. This must be a reall rare event too for this area, two lots of snow to sea level in the one year, It's normally once every 5 or 10 years.

Apart from sittin in front of the fire I will probably do nothin more today, unless it gets real thick and I may throw another bale of hay out.

Gidday

Praise the Lord. Sanity has at last prevailed.

!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

This is a breaking news update: Michigan gardener Julie Bass has confirmed with NaturalNews that all charges have been dismissed in her case, including the two misdemeanor dog licensing charges the city threatened her with after dropping her "illegal gardening" charge.

I just spoke with Julie and recorded a 20 minute interview that will be posted tomorrow here on NaturalNews. In that interview, Julie explained that she plans to continue growing her garden, and now even others in Oak Park, Michigan have decided to grow a few nice-looking food plants (peppers, zucchini, etc.) in their own yards in order to help reduce their food bills while increasing their own local food security.

Julie also explained that it was the power of the alternative media that really helped her bring scrutiny to the city planner's office and ultimately get the charges dropped. So this is a national health freedom victory of the People versus Big Government. Both Julie and NaturalNews thank all the NaturalNews readers who took action to apply pressure to the Oak Park, Michigan city administrators.

On her blog, Julie also related some of what she's learned about being an informed citizen and standing up for your freedoms:

"...the good news is that because of all the momentum that was generated, people's eyes were opened. lots of people, myself included, were sort of passive in the face of government before. I just went along, figuring that most rules had good reasons, and I was mostly happy to comply. but this entire experience has shown me that you have to be educated. you have to ask questions. you have to have a strong internal compass for morality, and you have to be willing to stand by your Self (capital S on purpose) even in the face of people standing against you." (http://oakparkhatesveggies.wordpres...)

Watch NaturalNews this weekend for the posting of the new audio interview with Julie Bass where we discuss food freedom, guerrilla gardening, taking a stand against local government tyranny, and dealing with the press. It's a really wonderful conclusion to this whole fiasco that originally had Julie threatened with 93 days in jail. She's now free, empowered and fully informed on the truth of how oppressive government can target innocent citizens for unreasonable prosecution.

Learn more: www.naturalnews.com/033175_Julie_Bass_Oak_Park.html#ixzz1TZarqHnN

Gidday

Sure looks good alright but aint too good iffin it hangs around for too long.

We had about one and a half inches right down to sea level but most of it has gone now. It did play hell with our transport industry though.

Gidday

We are having a series of frosts at the mo and snow to sea level is forcast.

So I am having a lazy day.