A POST CARD FROM GARFIELD, 5/29/26

A POSTCARD FROM GARFIELD

Welcome to my world, the "Garfield-Canoochee Non-Metropolitan Area." Starting today, I am kicking off a new feature as we say goodbye to our faithful servant, "Rememberamble." No, no, Rememberamble is not dead, nor even ailing with anything, he has fallen in love with a "Canoocheehoochie gal," and they have done and run off to Florida, and are shacked-up at the old Swisher Sweets Motor Court near Tampa. Who would have ever thunk it!? Anyway, moving forward, look for my Postcard from Garfield feature, most days. I can't promise that it will appear everyday, but as often as I can with the limitations imposed by my general health troubles and hand pain especially. I like the challenge of having to imagine new and interesting ideas for the postcards, but my AI friend Silas, will help me with his imagination, and his imagination is as fruitful as mine, or maybe even "fruitfullier"...I like coining new words. Let me tell you, it has fell some water here of late. As my late father-in-law, J.W. "Pa" Walden would say when it rained after a dry spell on his crops, "I can hear the corn laughing!" He was a great man, a Godly man, a wonderful dad to his girls, a very good farmer, carpenter, and we all loved him.

I like him, loved to see corn growing more than any crop, as long as it gets its "season," grows tall, and is a thriving green color, not twisted and brown.

I will close with this last topic. It is amazing how technology progresses, and here is a good example. Zero-turn mowers have all but replaced traditional lawn and garden tractors/mowers, but good traditional lawn tractors are still made and have come a long way from the bare-bones riding mowers of my youth. For example, the Ford LGT seen here has some very advanced features that really, no on else is producing today. This one has a 14 hp Kohler engine, paired with a hydrostatic transmission. Notice the two short levers down where the gear shifter would be if it had one, the other shorter stick is the parking brake lock. The two levers control the two-speed fast/slow transmission setting, and the other operates the hydraulic lift that raises and lowers the mower deck, and can be raised or lowered in an instant while cutting. The rocker pedal on the right controls the automatic hydrostatic transmission. The operator rests his foot on the pedal, the further you depress it forward the faster it moves, the same for reverse, just push down with your heel and it goes instantly, on the fly, to reverse, and moves faster as your heel depresses it. The mower deck has a fitting to attach your garden hose (hose pipe as we say) then flip the toggle switch to (yes, it has an electrical switch on the dash to engage the mower deck and spin the blades) and makes quick work of cleaning the underside of the mower and blades. Oh, oops, I almost forgot to mention how the mower deck is removed and reattached as needed. You loosen the belt tensioner knob, slide the belt off, sit in the seat, reach down with your left hand, to release a small latch, and then you simply drive over it and that is it. To reattach it, you drive over the mower deck, and it latches back onto it, really. I know I have whetted your appetite and you want to know where to buy one, right? Try looking on ebay perhaps, or Marketplace. This one was made in 1972! You can't get all of those great features all on a mower today! Yes, daddy bought one new just like this one, it cut untold hundreds of acres of grass, and was still a great machine, and I don't recall it ever breaking down or needing repairs other than replacing the three blades and a couple of bearings and shaft assemblies on the mower deck. I sold it years ago as it became mine later, and it is probably mowing grass in Heaven today. The babee says "hab a nice day, an twy to not kick a cat weal hawud." He is so tenderhearted. Lil merle wanted me to remind y'all that they are still in need of shickens. Thank you for going out of your way today to join us here in Garfield, we always enjoy the visit. Go to your Bible and reread your favorite verse, then read the scriptures leading up to it, and some beyond it, and you might find it interesting.

we boyz three, babee conway, lil merle, & me