{"id":7603,"date":"2026-03-13T08:01:33","date_gmt":"2026-03-13T13:01:33","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/garyborders.com\/pages\/?p=7603"},"modified":"2026-03-22T12:37:23","modified_gmt":"2026-03-22T17:37:23","slug":"fueling-the-tractor-required-a-workaround","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/garyborders.com\/pages\/fueling-the-tractor-required-a-workaround\/","title":{"rendered":"Fueling the Tractor Required a Workaround"},"content":{"rendered":"<p class=\"wpf_wrapper\"><a class=\"print_link\" href=\"\" target=\"_blank\">Print this entry<\/a><\/p><!-- .wpf_wrapper --><p>I have learned that living an active life at age 70 (and counting) involves a series of workarounds. Here are some recent examples:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Our shiny new orange tractor\u2019s fuel tank fills from the top of the engine cover. The tank on the older tractor it replaced was behind the seat, meaning I could stand on the bushhog at the rear and leverage a five-gallon can of diesel up against my leg to pour it into the tank.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/garyborders.com\/pages\/stick-season-and-sticker-burrs\/img_6844\/\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-7383\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-7383 alignleft\" src=\"https:\/\/garyborders.com\/pages\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/IMG_6844-225x300.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"225\" height=\"300\" srcset=\"https:\/\/garyborders.com\/pages\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/IMG_6844-225x300.jpg 225w, https:\/\/garyborders.com\/pages\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/IMG_6844-768x1024.jpg 768w, https:\/\/garyborders.com\/pages\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/IMG_6844-680x907.jpg 680w, https:\/\/garyborders.com\/pages\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/IMG_6844-600x800.jpg 600w, https:\/\/garyborders.com\/pages\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/IMG_6844.jpg 1125w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 225px) 100vw, 225px\" \/><\/a>I can\u2019t do this with Orange Crush. I first tried climbing a stepladder next to it and lifting the can high enough to pour diesel into the tank. Five gallons of diesel weigh about 40 pounds. Trying to lift a 40-pound can while getting the spout inside the tank\u2019s opening \u2014 all while standing on a stepladder \u2014 quickly felt like an Old Man Does Stupid Trick move, a Hold My Beer moment. I ended up spilling diesel all over the engine cover and wrenching my already-rebuilt shoulder.<a href=\"https:\/\/garyborders.com\/pages\/fueling-the-tractor-required-a-workaround\/img_6860-2\/\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-7604\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-7604 alignright\" src=\"https:\/\/garyborders.com\/pages\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/IMG_6860-300x179.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"179\" srcset=\"https:\/\/garyborders.com\/pages\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/IMG_6860-300x179.jpg 300w, https:\/\/garyborders.com\/pages\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/IMG_6860-1024x610.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/garyborders.com\/pages\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/IMG_6860-768x458.jpg 768w, https:\/\/garyborders.com\/pages\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/IMG_6860-680x405.jpg 680w, https:\/\/garyborders.com\/pages\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/IMG_6860-600x358.jpg 600w, https:\/\/garyborders.com\/pages\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/IMG_6860.jpg 1500w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>A different solution was needed. I went online, of course. For about $30, I bought a battery-operated fuel transfer pump. I fill its five-gallon can with diesel and attach the pump to it. The other end of the hose fits snugly inside the neck of the Orange Crush\u2019s fuel tank. Press the \u201con\u201d button and bingo! Diesel flows from the can on the ground into the tractor\u2019s tank. No more balancing perilously on a stepladder.<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Our steer calves, Waylon and Willie, recently knocked over the deer feeder. They had a large time eating deer corn, which, from what I read, gives them the runs. Not good. I moved the feeder across the fence where they couldn\u2019t reach it. Then I had to refill it with a 50-pound sack of deer corn. The top of the deer feeder is well above my head, as are many things, both animate and inanimate. My workaround was effective but still somewhat risky. I drove Orange Crush to the feeder with an unopened sack of corn and a feed bucket. I carefully got the tractor as close to the feeder\u2019s legs as I could, then raised the tractor\u2019s bucket to reach the top.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>The tricky part was actually getting into the bucket. I had to slide into it, rear-end first, ramming my back against the bucket\u2019s rear. That hurt. I then swung my legs into the bucket and stood up. From there, I could fill the feed bucket with corn and pour it into the feeder, fully aware that one slip could be painful. Willie and Waylon stood on the other side of the fence, watching intently.<\/p>\n<p>We were rewarded for my efforts when a small herd of young deer showed up a few days later, as dusk settled. Three Geese Farm is an unofficial deer sanctuary. Bambi\u2019s kinfolks are safe when on our land.<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>I am determined to stay as mobile and strong as possible to delay decrepitude for as long as I can. For more than 10 years, I have attended CrossFit classes, now at CrossFit Electrica. It is a pleasant community of people just trying to get fit, led by excellent, kind coaches. Alex and Whitney understand my limitations and easily come up with workarounds for whatever the WOD (workout of the day) is.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>The only person I am competing with these days is myself; my main goal \u2014 aside from fitness \u2014 is to avoid injuring myself. After a decade, I can no longer lift as much weight, row as fast, or do strict pushups (shoulder surgery ended that). No matter. I feel grateful for what I <em>can<\/em> do. I plan to celebrate my 80<sup>th<\/sup> birthday at a CrossFit gym, even though I\u2019m in no hurry for that day to come.<\/p>\n<p>Let\u2019s not rush things.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wpf_wrapper\"><a class=\"print_link\" href=\"\" target=\"_blank\">Print this entry<\/a><\/p><!-- .wpf_wrapper -->","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Print this entryI have learned that living an active life at age 70 (and counting) involves a series of workarounds. Here are some recent examples: Our shiny new orange tractor\u2019s [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_exactmetrics_skip_tracking":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_active":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_note":"","_exactmetrics_sitenote_category":0,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[85,38,1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-7603","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-85","category-columns","category-uncategorized"],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/garyborders.com\/pages\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7603","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/garyborders.com\/pages\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/garyborders.com\/pages\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/garyborders.com\/pages\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/garyborders.com\/pages\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=7603"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/garyborders.com\/pages\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7603\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":7606,"href":"https:\/\/garyborders.com\/pages\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7603\/revisions\/7606"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/garyborders.com\/pages\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=7603"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/garyborders.com\/pages\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=7603"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/garyborders.com\/pages\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=7603"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}