The last few days we've been seeding winter wheat, & I've taken a few shifts in the tractor so Terry can take care of some other jobs that I wouldn't be much help with. (Chasing cows off the highway by the South pasture, hauling seed from the seed plant, taking care of some paperwork at the Farm Service Agency, taking a soil sample to send off & have analyzed....can you say multi-tasking?!)
Anyway, during one of my shifts, the part of the field we were seeding was pretty steep. At least I thought it was steep. I asked Terry about it. The conversation went something like this.
Me: That looks pretty steep.
Him: It's not that steep.
Me: Could the tractor tip over?
Him: No, the tractor won't tip over.
Me: But what about that sidehill? It's going to be really 'tippy' (yes,...that's an official farming term)
Him: It's not that tippy. Do you really think I'd ask you to do it if I thought the tractor could tip over?
Me: No. And thank you. Do I have to slow down when I'm on the sidehill?
Him: No, you don't have to slow down on the sidehill. But you could slow down through the bottom.
Me: How much should I slow down through the bottom?
Him: Maybe to 7th or 8th gear.
Me: What will happen if I forget to slow down through the bottom?
Him: Probably nothing, but the weeds could plug up the seeder.
Me: If the weeds plug up the seeder, will it make it up the other side?
Him: (Rolls eyes.) Yes, you'll make it up the other side.
Me: What should I do if it powers out because it's plugged up? What if.....????
I hope you're getting that the man has the patience of a saint. In case you're wondering, the coulee wasn't that huge, the side hill wasn't that steep, and obviously, no, the tractor did not tip over. Or even come close to tipping over. At all. Two rounds into it, I was surfing the XM radio channels and replying to texts on my phone. Tippy, side-hill tractor crisis averted. Marriage blisfully intact. Farmers Wife a little braver. Winter Wheat in the ground. All in a day's work!