Wednesday 21 March 2018

Abandoned Kit.


Just some of the abandoned farm machinery that we passed on our afternoon walk yesterday.

















51 comments:

  1. Are they abandoned in the woods or on the farmer's own property?
    Greetings Maria x

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    1. They are all on his own land, but spread about. I imagine they were simply dumped when they were last used.

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  2. Farmers often seem to abandon machinery any old where. You'd think they'd have a warm cosy barn somewhere. I suppose the woods are a good place to dump ..

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    1. Most farm machinery is left outdoors here. It soon gets rusty.

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  3. There's something vaguely poignant about rotting where you drop.

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  4. From your heading I thought Freddie had a new companion.

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    1. Freddie's a loner. I don't think he has any friends (other than Bok).

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  5. In the nettles ours always were. We had a good few trips to the scrap yard at the end.

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    1. Nettles are tradition burial sites for old machinery. Did they find a special Nettle patch for the old kit, or did the Nettles just appear afterwards?

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    2. They were kept because they might be needed again and indeed different weather conditions would sometimes dictate that one type of harrow that hadn't been used for years would be dragged into action again to prepare the land, for instance. The nettles knew their job and would appear as camouflage as and when required.

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    3. I do know that farmers ALWAYS put their field gates in the muddiest place they can find!

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    4. Ruts form in gateways and then mud.

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  6. Old machinery left around the village I lived in until last year lay forlorn and unloved until over the course of a few days it disappeared. My take on it was that the fly tippers, had a pang of conscience and kindly took it to the scrap yard!!!

    LX

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    1. I had a scrap man come by recently; I gave him an old rotavator and a bike. I can't see why farmers don't do the same.

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    2. Maybe French farmers don't but UK farmers do, but as I said above, some things are kept, and/or when there is an accumulation a trailer load will go to the scrap merchant. Scrap prices when I last looked were very low though.

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    3. When my rotavator and bike went recently, the man had a fantastic old cast iron book press on the back of his lorry. I'd liked to have bought it, but.....

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  7. If you are interested in old machinery in hedges and are on facebook Crow check out this site. https://www.facebook.com/groups/395048177360397/ Its called Hedge row Tractors

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    1. Thanks Colin. Unfortunately I couldn't find the photos. Do I have to join the group?

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    2. A link sent to facebook to look at some venues for poetry readings. I had to join so of course I didn't. Assange is going to spill the beans about facebook and the British data mining scandal connection on 28th March. Look forward to that.

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    3. I'm reluctant to join anything on facebook. I use it for very good friends and family only.

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    4. Looks like I've joined, so I've posted all the above photos on their site!

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    5. good to see you have joined. you will have to find some more now.

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  8. In my metal detecting days I used to find bits that had fallen off farm machinery and return them to the farmers. I only found one piece of treasure and it is now in the museum in Lancaster. The farmer and I shared the proceeds 50/50. I gave up metal detecting when I came to live in Kafkania because it's a legal nightmare.

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    1. I once found a large matchbox size of metal that obviously was from my neighbour's tractor. I put it on the tractor seat for him; so he wouldn't miss it. He sat on it and nearly left his previous day's lunch behind!

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    2. In many ways your photo story poetic.

      However, if it weren't for the colour red dominating and you having taken the photographs in the sunshine all that metal, and theme of abandonment, has potential to make one a little melancholic.

      U

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    3. On taking the photos, I hadn't realised how much red there was. Had I known, I would certainly have looked for more variety. I apologize. Very amiss.

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    4. If I ever learn the language of blogland please do let me know. It appears I can't even pay a compliment, make an observation without it being taken the wrong way. What are you apologizing for? What's amiss? I don't understand.

      U

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    5. What you don't understand is called HUMOUR.

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  9. I'm always amazed at the stuff that is abandoned in the woods - not just agricultural stuff but cars and bikes too.

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    1. Most of our old cars have now gone, but a few remain. I used to rather like finding them in the woods. There were some beauties too!

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  10. Sad to see the skills these pieces of ironwork embody just rusting.
    Interesting story..we were in Blenheim NZ last year where there is an agricultural museum..they have rescued masses of old tractors and machinery. The local seed company needed a special field harvested so that there would be no contamination from other seed. A hundred year old machine was renovated by 70 year old farmers and the job was done perfectly

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    1. I think most of these discarded bits of kit could be resurrected, unfortunately the tractors are now so huge that they would look rather out of proportion.

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    2. there are plenty of smaller tractors around, many in use

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  11. Considering how much it costs, I am amazed at how farmers leave this stuff to rot in the corners of fields.

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    1. I don't remember seeing so much discarded machinery in England. Here the hedgerows etc are full of it.

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  12. So good to be recycled. So why is not being hunted up? Bring homeless Parisian aluminium can collectors to your village to collect metal. You've a spare bed or two for them, Cro?

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    1. They all left Paris, and are now living in luxury in London!

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  13. Sad that it is left to rot when it could be recycled.

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    1. I did find one thing that might well be recycled; I'll have to have a word with my neighbour first. He has a pile of old Oil Drums, and I'm after one to make a garden incinerator.

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  14. oh that all looks like quite good stuff. The seats will be very comfortable and they sell as stools for close to £100 to interior designers. I am most interested in what looks like an A frame trailer. They are of great use on the back of a tractor or quad bike. I can see a use for all of it.

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    1. All, except the hay turners in the first picture, could still be used. The A Frame trailer (or what's left of it) was a muck spreader. I did think it would make a good base for a Gypsy Wagon.

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    2. if you put wheels back on the trailer it will fetch quite a lot of money for sure. its the best piece

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  15. ALL THAT RED!!! I see ART! Get thyself a welding rig and saw and GO FORTH & CREATE, CRO!!!! (I may have had too much coffee with these cats this morning!!!) ;-) xo

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    1. All that red made them stand out from the nettles and brambles. I might have walked past them otherwise!

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  16. Not sure what this says about farmers - well some farmers anyway.

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    1. Some of the non-equipment piles are interesting too. Nothing is ever really thrown away.... just in case!

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  17. Sadly, our own farm looks a bit like your walk. Lots of debris and old machinery left by prior owners. But we clean as we go and reuse as we can and sell more each year to the recycler. That two seater piece would make a lovely backdrop for a flower garden though. Send it my way would ya?

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    1. Just the seats alone now sell for €50 each, I'm surprised no-one's asked to buy them.

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