Old Blue's bath

By Christine Tailer
HCP columnist

It had been a wonderful day, and I wanted to do something to show Old Blue my thanks. Old Blue had rolled off the assembly line back in 1966, although it was not until 2006 that Greg and I brought Old Blue home with us to the creek. Never once had I washed the tractor. Surely, we kept the fittings well greased and the fluid levels where they needed to be, but never, no not even once, had I filled a bucket with soapy water and washed Old Blue down. Perhaps the time had come.

It never ceases to amaze me how easily the old tractor comes to life. The morning was a wee bit chilly, so I eased out the choke, pulled down a bit on the throttle, found the neutral starting notch with the gear shift lever and turned the key. The starter cranked, and in a flash the engine came to life, but then began to chug with distress. I quickly pushed in the choke back in and Old Blue's engine settled down to a healthy, powerful rhythm. Foot on the clutch, I eased the gear shift lever into second, and we were off, leaving the barn and its shadows behind.

We parked beside the spigot out in front of the greenhouse. I climbed down from my seat and stood back to admire Old Blue against the backdrop of yellowing fields and blue sky.

"How about a bath, old friend?" I inquired of the tractor.

"Oh no, I think not," Old Blue replied. "Surely, you've noticed how my faded paint so perfectly matches the sky's dusty blue."

The tractor did have a point. The paint across the cowling was certainly weathered, but the sky overhead looked weathered too. It was not a deep dark blue, but rather a faded blue, almost the like the blue of my favorite pair of old jeans.

"I see," I responded, "but what about all the grease around your fittings? I could easily wipe it off. I bet it's been there for decades."

Old Blue chuckled, as if tractors could chuckle, "That grease has been there for as long as I can remember, but I'll tell you what. Just wipe off a bit from beside my gear shifter levers and you'll see the bright blue of my original color."

I did as told, and I was amazed to see the most beautiful bright blue hiding beneath the grease. "If you remove my grease, that paint will also fade, and I then I'll forget my original blue splendor. Best to leave the grease right where it is."

I nodded my understanding, but I was not about to give up. I persevered and inquired if I could at least wire brush the few rust spots and then paint over them to prevent further rusting.

The tractor was quick to respond. "You store me inside the barn, and for the past 20 years you always have. That rust will not spread, and besides, the brownish red color coordinates with the dry leaves that are just beginning to fall. Leave the rust alone. I like it just as it is."

I smiled. Old Blue was right. The tractor's beauty was not to be seen in pristine looks. It was rather to be found in every single part working just as it should.

"OK, you win," I said with a smile. I climbed back up into my seat. "Let's just go for a ride around the farm and enjoy the morning", and that is exactly what we did.

I must admit, though, that after I had parked Old Blue back in the barn, and was quite certain that the tractor was sound asleep, if indeed tractors do sleep, that I dipped an old rag in a bucket of water and wiped few bird droppings off of the cowl.

As I pulled the barn doors shut, I whispered, "Just a wee bit of a compromise, old friend."

Christine Tailer is an attorney and former city dweller who moved several years ago, with her husband, Greg, to an off-grid farm in Ohio south-central Ohio. Visit them on the web at straightcreekvalleyfarm.com. 

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