Its a Boy! (Again!)

In light of the last post about the highboy, I thought it would be appropriate to re-post something from last year explaining what a highboy is and what it does for those readers who don't know!  So, here it is....

Its a Boy!

I would like to introduce to you the newest member to the family....

...the family operation, that is.

Its called a high-boy and its one handy, dandy piece of machinery. When farmers spray (for weeds, sometimes insect pests) in the late spring and into the summer, sometimes the crops are too tall for the tractor and traditional sprayer to go through the crops without knocking over the plants with the sprayer booms (the long arms on either side of the sprayer that sprays whatever is being sprayed) or the actual tractor itself. That's when the farmers call in the highboys. Its a piece of machinery with tall tires or extensions that raise the tank up and allow the machine to sit above the height of the crops and allow the user to go through the fields without ruining any of the plants.

Sometimes every farmer needs their crops sprayed at the same time, usually due to some weather extremity. That's the situation we were in this year. We needed some corn sprayed and ran into some difficulty getting someone to help do it. Either they were busy with fellas who got their name in before us or just plain didn't want to. So, we visited with a neighbor who had a highboy, albeit aged, and they were eager not only to be neighborly and allow us to borrow it, but to make us a great deal on it if we wanted to purchase it from them.

Now, I would like to insert three ideas here.
One: I truly believe that when someone puts their faith and trust in God when things get rough, He will make a way for things to work out. We really needed to get our corn sprayed. Its like when the gas gauge needle in your car is on 'E' and the little light comes on and the dinger dings, you KNOW you have to get gas SOON! Well, a farmer can only get their crop work completed within a certain amount of time before the metaphoric dinger goes off that its too late...and our dinger was about to go off!
Two: I truly believe that when someone uses wisdom towards the stewardship of their resources (money), He will bless them with things they need when they need them in a way that will work for their finances.
Three: We are not swayed by pretty, shiny paint. The highboy we got is not pretty by any stretch of the imagination, but it gets the job done just as well as any of the fancier, prettier, shinier versions out there.

Now, without further ado, allow me to introduce to you the newest member of the operation:

The highboy. Fifty years old or more and still running smooth, no cab, no air conditioner, no radio, no GPS...just a good ol' highboy built to do a job and get 'er done...just like Josh likes to have it. You can see Loren (standing on the ground) and the height of the tank is head high or slightly higher compared to him. The booms mentioned earlier are those long arm-like things stretched out on either side of the piece of equipment.

See the tall posts coming off the tire frame that allows the bulk of the machine to see above the crop? That allows the machine to go through the corn without knocking it over.

Close up

Here is a Google Image of something that may be more familiar. Its the same thing, just built slightly different.

Papa Loren gave the kids and I a truck ride through the fields so we could watch it in action. We followed behind Josh to get there.

Riding tall. The entire machine is hidden in the corn and, if it weren't for the steering wheel, it would look like he's a really tall fella walking through the corn.

There he is! The end rows (the edges of the field) has corn that is a little shorter than the healthier plants in the middle of the field so it makes it easier to see.

See him?

There he is again. Except for the really hot days, Josh seems to enjoy it. He says its really fun to ride through the corn, sitting tall and looking down at everything. I think it would be a neat ride, maybe one of these days...