05/23/2026
Farm Adventures With My Dad…
Sunday night, May 10, we could have lost the berries from a malfunctioning starter on our 1135 Massey. I firmly believe we were blessed when God intervened allowing it to start. At the time, we had not discerned it was a bad starter. The details led us in the direction of low/dead battery and then aging connection cables. Mainly due to it cranking after increasing the power.
This also fooled my dad and I that the problem was solved. Equipment can have things remain a mystery when they clear up on their own. The 1135 had a history of being a great starting tractor.
We had a double whammy brewing too on that same night. We have a small water pump that we use to fill the suction pipe. I turned it on around 11:30 a.m.
Something seemed off. I walked down the hill with a flashlight striking the pipe with a wrench. No water. Usually, after that amount of time had passed, the pipe would have water near the top of the hill.
I panicked calling my dad on the radio. “Somethings wrong, the pipe has no water!”
By the time my dad arrived, the pipe suddenly filled, just like that.
The tractor hesitated when I turned the key, but then sprang to life. We successfully primed and irrigated for the night. We believe the temperatures reached about 27 degrees. This would have done a great deal of damage.
A few days later, frost advisories were out. In the late afternoon, we attempted to prime the system. All the water flowed in and then out the suction pipe at the bottom. It refused to hold water. We believed the trap was stuck open.
The sun was setting. It would take a few hours to pull the suction pipe and make repairs.
We went through the night with hope and faith God would protect our field. The temperatures did reach frosty levels. Open blossoms are supposed to take 30 degrees before turning black.
We turn on the irrigation at 34 degrees because we don’t know if and when the temperatures may drop to the danger point. We have been mislead by weather news too many times to take a risk.
Thankfully, the field protected by the main system revealed no harm done the next day. Even after seeing ice in the other field protected by our well that can only handle four lines, I was impressed with God’s care.
During the day, we pulled the suction pipe out of the pond and discovered the trap was fine. Instead the bolts holding the suction part to the 6-inch pipe required tightening. Through time the rubber inside had lost its seal. It needed to be squeezed tighter to seal the area around the pipe.
This last week, Wednesday came across as suspicious for a sneaky frost. Frost advisory reports that day were back and forth concerning our area. We take the words, “patchy frost” very seriously.
I was rather proud that the suction pipe now held water for over a day. Dad and I again set out to prepare the irrigation system for possible use Wednesday night.
Unknown to me, while I walked all the lines checking for separated pipe, my dad dealt with a finicky tractor that didn’t want to crank. My dad prayed asking God to allow it to start. It did. We flushed the lines and I made note of fixes.
My dad turned off the tractor. The air had that chill in it. I was sooo grateful everything was working. That is until my dad gave me the bad news.
While I dealt with fixing the system out in the field, my dad spent several hours trying to find the actual problem with why the tractor did not want to start.
Our final conclusion was that after 52 years, the original starter to the tractor gave out.
Night fell. A good amount of clouds filled the sky along with a good wind. The temps didn’t plummet like they did on May 10.
I stayed up all night observing the “lying” thermometer. It actually registers the temperature a degree or two lower than it actually is. The company declared it the most accurate one!
Just before 4 a.m. as light began to creep over the horizon, the clouds cleared and the temperatures dropped three degrees to 33.7. I turned on the well’s tractor.
We don’t believe we had frost. The temperatures most likely remained above the 32 mark.
Later that day the unprotected field had many happy yellow blossoms.
Today, I removed the old starter and put on the new one all by my whittle self. The new one cranked right away.
I am most grateful to the mechanic at Luxemburg Motors. He knows my dad well. After I explained all my dad did to discern the problem, the man offered I take a rebuilt starter with me. He trusted my dad’s assessment. “You will be returning for it anyways. I am certain your starter is bad. If not, you can return this one. Get your tractor going.”
I also learned a harsh lesson. Always remove the battery cable from the battery so you don’t zap a hole in the fuel line when the other end of cable touches it. I was working on returning the loose end of the battery cable to the starter.
As for God’s care for our strawberries, I am always amazed. I can see His Hand quietly working in the background. However, each time breakdowns happen at the worst of times, I do wonder what He has planned. He knows what the future holds. I have to journey through time to then know what the night held.
It challenges my faith to rest in His Care. He has taken great care of my family through all the years we have relied on Him.
Wednesday evening I entrusted the strawberries into His Hands and waited with great hope. I am most grateful for happy yellow blossoms spreading all over the field.
I look forward to everyone visiting us again this year. May you sense His presence and peace while you are here. From my experience, God enjoys tending to His creation.
