A visit to Corner Farm

I have developed my own nomenclature for various geographical points in my vicinity. Somtimes it is very abbreviated, such as SMPL for "Snow Machine Parking Lot." Now, there is a block of land along Crystal Lake Road dedicated to "farms," always a subject of intense interest to me. So today I rode my bike (morning exercise) out to Corner Farm, which I named because it is at the corner of Deshka Landing road (officialy known, ominously, as "Mishap Road") and happened to run across the owner. This is a real farm. It raises potatoes and vegetables; the owner, Don, used to farm in Palmer. Palmer, AK is the county seat of the Matanuska-Susitna Borough, better known as Mat-Su. Back in the 30s, full Depression, the government social-engineered a relocation of indigent Minnesota farmers to Palmer. Some of these farms still function qua farms, but avaricious real estate developers can't wait to convert them into suburbs, reaping enormous profits. So Mr. Corner Farm, whose name is Don, relocated to Willow. I am very glad he is here. Maybe I can learn something about farming at first hand. Our conversation, however, was about tractors. Don has a lovely little Massey-Harris Pony.
This is a 1940-50 tractor; I will have to look it up to give you better dates. Sloppy scholarship! Still -- you can see the frame of a cultivator bolted on to a tractor. Before the days of pesticides, cultivators were used to control weeds, and I for one am very sorry they aren't used more instead of chemicals.

This little Pony gem, however, is too small for many operations on Corner Farm. Don has a big Allis-Chalmers 100+ Hp diesel and a Farmall 600. My Farmall H is 1947; his is a bit more modern, 1960s or so.

Lovely visit. Glad to have met Don. Maybe I can learn something from a real farmer.