Very close to the day of her wedding she inherited a large ranch in Montana. Cows and wheat, mostly. Big spread.

She decided to visit it before the marriage. Flew out to Billings, then flew to the ranch. Rode around looking at cows, calves, bulls, pens and fences. Took 4 days, and while she enjoyed the ATVs, that was about it.

She headed over to the wheat farming side. Huge tractors, combines, trucks of all kinds, water, equipment, fuel, repair. Drove a pickup for the foreman, then a dump truck, and then a fuel rig. Was enchanted by it, loved the smell of diesel, fuel AND exhaust.

Her fiance was reminding her about the approaching date, and she put it off for two weeks. She drove a combine around the yard, got good with it. Drove tractors of all kinds, crawlers, three and 4 wheelers. Absolutely fascinated with everything she was doing.

Fiance nagged, she postponed the wedding until after the harvest. He threatened to come out to Montana and get her, but changed his mind when she told him he'd get dirty. Dust, exhaust, cow manure and all, she said. Not enough water to ever get clean, she said.

She pulled a plow, disked, harrowed, seeded, and watched the seeds of her labors grow to maturity. She drove a combine in formation with others, the trucks off-loading each in turn and for the first time in her life she was doing something she loved. More'n anything else she enjoyed operating the equipment, feeling competent, a part of the machine, as if she had been born to do this.

Finally she could take the pressure from her fiance no more.

She wrote him a John Deere letter.

Arf