Twaktor Twensday

Missed Tractor Tuesday yesterday although I did have one photo that would almost have done - exactly the same tractor but only showing one of the mirrors as it turned behind a maize/cornfield which are sadly dominating the landscape now. If we had electric tractors, I suspect it may have mown Luna & I yesterday as it was so hidden as we came around a bend.

In fact, Angie had a potentially dangerous experience yesterday in the very same area, as she came to a crossing with Luna off the lead (as is normal in such areas) just as someone else from the village with two dogs, also not on the leash, came hidden from another direction. One of the other dogs attacked & pinned down Luna. Angie waded in and broke them up & there was blood on her hands from one of the dogs. She couldn't find a wound on Luna & the other owner suspected it was from his dog's teeth which might have hit the metal part of Luna's collar.

These things can happen but I will leave the comment of the other owner uncommented "My dog always attacks any other dogs when she is in heat!"
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Last week grandson Elliot saw a Deutz Intrac tractor while we were driving & remarked how "strange" they were but couldn't have a good look. Today as I drove out for the walk, passed & waved to Farmer Andreas as he was leaving his yard with an identical set up to that in the Blip, tractor & trailer. The only visible difference is the mower on the front.

We have two of these unusual tractors in the village. The one in today's Blip belongs to Framer Josef Müller but not in the photo is his dog who always rides out with him when he mows and then spends the time running around on the field. His dog & Luna know each other and so no problem there.

The rain this morning must be a godsend for farmers in these parts. I suspect this year will be another bumper grass year, especially for silage. This load is for fresh use & given to the cows directly. Both Farmer Müller (& at least another Farmer Müller) and Farmer Andreas are amongst the few who still take the trouble to give their cows fresh grass.

The main selling point of the Deutz INTRAC was visibility to all three equipment areas as the driver sat on top of the motor. They were built from 1972-1989, I think both of the village ones are Model 2004 built from 1978-1989. Farmer Andreas' above linked one is from 1982 but I don't know today's victim's birth year.

Although the weather was not brilliant yesterday or today, on both evenings the sun was shining so Luna got to have a bonus swim in the quarry lakes afterwards. The photo was made quite difficult as I was facing directly into the sunshine.

Talking of accidents, sad to read a German report that farm workers deaths in the UK are still extraordinarily high compared to other UK sectors. I have no data to compare to other countries & this is in no way UK-bashing. Building sector has 7x more workers yet agriculture has 7x more deaths. I am sure that compared to the 60s & 70s the numbers are tiny but 39 deaths last year including two children still seems tragically high.