Rewind to the very beginning of Polaris Star Farm.  Of course when we found this place, we didn’t have a name for it.  But we had dreams for it.  We wanted a place to sprawl, not only for our cats and dogs, but for the livestock that we that we hoped would one day join our family.  With more acreage, we could have a bigger garden.  The house was – and still is – a fixer-upper.  And the barn needs to be replaced.  But it has potential.

Coming from a home on one acre, we had a riding lawn mower.  Little did we realize just how long it would take to mow 5 acres of pasture with a riding lawn mower.

Enter our first real piece of farm equipment – a small tractor complete with bush hog and box blade.

We bought the tractor used.  Because it was an “off brand”, it was more affordable than a name-brand tractor.  Besides the price, the best part is that it mows the pasture a lot faster than the riding lawn mower!

The tractor is probably one of the most important tools that we have.  The box blade and a scraper blade help keep the driveway in driveable condition.  The bush hog (aka brush hog) keeps the pasture grass from overtaking the house.  And when we have a lot of rain and a vehicle ends up stuck in the muddy driveway, the tractor is there to pull us out.

Having a tractor is work.  And you get a workout mowing the pasture without power steering.  But it’s actually kinda fun to put on a straw hat, climb up into the seat, and hear the tractor’s diesel engine come to life.  You can do a lot of thinking and planning as you listen to the munching sound the bush hog makes as it cuts a swath through tall grass.

And that is the beginning of what would become Polaris Star Farm and our adventures.