Tire Chains for Christmas

There is a lot of snow covering the arena after the weekend storm. The last big storm was February 2003. I commuted to Joyce's farm on the tractor, where I keep my horses. Joyce was stuck in Florida. At that time I only lived 1.5 miles away. We didn't have a plow or a blade so I shoveled out the driveway with the bucket. I learned how to get the tractor stuck and unstuck but couldn't do anything about the arena because of the downhill entrance. The tractor just did not have enough traction to get back up the hill.

After that storm Joyce bought a blade for the tractor. It served as a driveway grader and plow when it snowed, not much until this past weekend. The blade works well enough for the driveway. Brad got the honors of running the tractor and he had a few tricks up his sleeve. He turned the blade around so that he could plow backwards rather than trying to plow over the tire tracks. Joyce was in Florida(again) as all this went on but that was great because it gave me some leverage. All I wanted for Christmas is tractor tire chains so we could get into the arena and scrape off the snow. That way I could get riding again!

Well my wish came true even if I had to drive to Santa's workshop in Johnstown, PA. I drove over a mountain in a snow storm and searched for the shop in the dark. I found it on the third try. They had recently moved and after being placed 'on hold' for 20 minutes I got the correct address. There were no visible signs when I arrived at the shop but I spotted a UPS trailer that looked suspicious. Santa doesn't want to make it easy for people to find him otherwise everyone would be at his doorstep. Lo and behold a set of tire chains complete with tensioners was placed in the back of the Explorer. Arriving home late at night I went to sleep with dreams of riding Al on the arena before the New Year's Eve.

Yesterday we went to the barn and Brad installed said chains on the tractor. What a shiny sight to see. Then down into the arena he went and scraped off the snow. Once the sun gets to the surface it will melt quickly. With rain forecast on Christmas Day that should help. Next step finding the drag under the mound of snow. But that's another adventure....

Wishing you all Happy Holidays. May you get what you wish for this year!