My crazy life as a farmer’s daughter – Part 3

A few days ago my sister, Tanya–who has been my source of these wonderful old pictures–reminded me of this article from the Peterborough Examiner that ran some time in the 70s (I think) about all of the neat inventions my Dad made during his life.

Keep in mind that all of his knowledge is self taught and designed without the use of computers or engineering drawings.  Check it out.

I remember so many blustery winter mornings I’d bundle up and sit inside the cab with him as he blew the snow out of the neighboring lanes while telling me one story or another, thinking that’s just what being neighborly meant.  I had no idea not everyone would take so much time out of their day just to do something nice for someone else.  We could all take lessons from that, I think!

Unfortunately his beloved bobcat loader he built burned along with the shop when I was about 10 despite his and my brother’s harrowing attempt to rescue it before the acetylene tanks blew up and drove us all back.  The heat from it was insane, and it was a miracle the gas house only a few feet away didn’t go up and take the house–and us all–with it, too.  I remember crying myself to sleep that night because I knew how much he loved that bobcat and how proud he was to have fabricated it himself.

We all spent hours on the giant swing set he made from logs and the metal monkey bars he welded for us.  Although I don’t really remember the snowmobile with the ironing board seat, I remember the pictures and the stories of him and Mom getting dumped into the creek.  Here it is!

This is the one I remember, the snowmobile–affectionately named Big Wilb by my brother–we used to take into the back territory to pick out our Charlie Brown Christmas tree.  🙂  If anyone knows who is in the sled, leave it in the comments!  🙂

For this week’s Touch of Frost blog tour stop, on February 8th, I’ll invaded Aimee Laine’s blog, where you can read about our heated debate on the glories of winter.