thurlow
01-27-2004 09:47:05
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Went to feed Sunday; feed big round bales every other day. Have got barn (and pasture) about 5 miles from home; feed a few bales out of the barn before I start on the 'outside' hay, so I'll have a place to keep a tractor to feed with. Not really comfortable with tractor in with the hay, but I make sure the hay is dry and it's worked for years with no problems. So, when I drive up, the double 12 ft gates are open, barn is full of cows and the tractor (4020 with loader w/forks on front and hay forks on 3 point hitch) is gone. Barn is about 80 yds off of public road, but my field road runs almost a mile back through hay fields and pastures. It rained all Saturday night (about 2 inches) and field road is VERY rutted/torn up. Am in Jeep, so decide to ride down field road. About 1/2 down in there is a creek bottom which you can't even walk across (for the mud) after a big rain. There sits the tractor. Whoever "borrowed" the tractor has driven around, apparently jacklighting deer, driven off into the bottom (had to be a four-wheel drive to have gotten back that far), gotten stuck, walked back to my barn, etc. Went to Justice Center, talked to sheriff's deputy, who filled out a report and said, "We'll file this, let us know if you find out anything else". Don't really know what else he could have done....Checked with fellow who lives down the road; he saw lights in the field around mid-night, but didn't call me because it was so late. No harm done except to my blood pressure; probably just as well that I didn't catch them; either gotten the hail beat out of me or be in jail for assualting juveniles. Guess I'll start taking the key out of tractor, although it can be started with screwdriver, nail, pocketknife, etc. There, I feel all better now..... ..
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