Sunday Photos: Rusting Metal
It’s not unusual see old farm and ranch equipment put out to pasture and on display around here, but this is one of the best. I’m not sure what it is, other than some type of harvester or baler.
Whatever this is, I bet keeping all those gears and belts oiled and humming along together was quite a challenge.
Photograph something you love in a way that gives you joy, or challenges you, or wakes you up to how amazing life can be, because if you don’t feel it, not only will no one else feel it, but what’s the point? — From The Contact Sheet, October 18, 2020 by David duChemin. Subscribe at MyContactSheet.com. I highly recommend it.
I’m a sucker for old machinery, too. I have fond memories of going with my dad to farm machinery shows when I was a kid; maybe that started it. I certainly don’t have the first clue what this is. Wouldn’t it be great to see it actually operating?
Sometimes, that old stuff gets recycled in interesting ways, like this. Still, there’s something inherently appealing in an old tractor or cultivator that doesn’t need to be made into something else.
I’d love to see that thing running and get an idea of what it does. I’ve considered several possibilities but they all run into a “but then where does stuff go?” problem. The more I study it and see another gear and another belt the more I think about Rube Goldberg meets Steampunk. I’m sure it took a skilled operator to keep it running at peak performance.
And thanks for the musical interlude. It was fun watching the cats figure out where the country music was coming from.
Of course there’s a song for everything. Here’s one for your piece of farm machinery.