My nephew Franklin (oh, and the rest of my family, too!) visited Stone’s Throw Farm this weekend and drove the tractor almost the whole time he was at the farm. Even when it was parked in the shed, he “drove” it. He did take some time out to “drive” the pickup down a bumpy bath, and he wielded a hoe in the field with me for a few minutes after we pulled the garden cart out to the field, but otherwise he was all about the tractor. My dad drove him around on Saturday and they picked up the manure spreader and pulled that around for a while. Needless to say, Franklin is a big fan of his Grandpa Craig. If his interest in tractors continues, he’s more than welcome to do my tractor work for me in the future!
Before Chris, Dave, and Franklin arrived on Friday night, Mom and Dad helped me move the pigs into their next paddock, plant 2 beds of potatoes, prep a few beds for a cover crop, and Mom did all my greenhouse watering for me and buried part of the pig water line. We did a couple days’ work in one day so we could relax and enjoy Sir Franklin’s visit the rest of the weekend.
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Stone's Throw Farm 
I’ve never known a little boy Franklin’s age who didn’t love tractors. Riding on them. Just sitting on them when they weren’t running, playing with the driver’s wheel.
I know psychologists try to tell us this is a “learned” thing. Maybe they get their information from reading instead of watching boys Franklin’s age adore tractors.
Oh, do tell about Elden’s tractor/farming escapades as a little boy–I can imagine him studying them intently but I can’t picture Elden making the motor noises over and over!?
Elden got his share of tractor rides on my uncle Dale’s farm, but he was much more interested in the old truck. The one now happily ensconced at Stone’s Throw Farm.
First of all, he cleaned out about ten years of mouse nests from the interior, and then my uncle helped him try to get it started. They determined it needed a distributor, so we set off for Pete’s Salvage to take one off an old truck.
We managed to find a suitable distributor on an old pickup as the goats munched down the grass around our feet. There was no way to actually mow down the grass amongst the acres and acres of old machinery.
Back at the farm, the new distributor was on and a battery which actually had a charge installed. The long-awaited moment had come. The truck started up and ran for about 30 seconds. But that was enough. Success!
I myself am a tractor person, but Elden has always been a truck person. You don’t have to verbalize the vroom-vroom to become hooked.