Dad's Feeder

Dad was a builder. He would never write things down, but he could see the plans in his mind. At the right side of this old piece of machinery, you can see the wooden remnant of the feeder dad built. 

It had a heavy floor, and everything was set up like other jobs he did. Just like his message to me was set this post correctly and make sure the fence is done the same way, and then you'll never have to worry about it. 

Your son and his son will have that job to do.

I was in the sixth or seventh grade, when dad built that feeder, mostly in the old quonset during the winter months. I helped him on Saturdays and holidays, when I didn't have school.

Although made of wood, it still stands there. The second picture shows it clearly. You couldn't use it at this point in time, but we threw bales of hay into it for a very long time. It served a purpose on the farm, and now it is a symbol of the paradigm the land teaches us: something worth doing is worth doing well.

The feeder was something we used for over 20 years.

It's only flaw was how heavy it was. My dad and I had a lot of physical strength, but it wouldn't budge. Moving it meant using the old Allis Chalmers tractor.