tractor lessons

it's been an exciting month on the farm and off the farm. this month i've visited some family in the twin cities area (got a manicure and pedicure! wow did it feel good!), a bunch of my family came up to the farm, and just recently i've learned to drive the farm tractor!
the tractor lesson just happened yesterday and yes, it was quite the adventure. farmer dan had me plant some cover crops in two fields. cover crops are planted in fields that won't be used for vegetables and their job is to bind up the soil so it doesn't run off during rains or snow melts and to keep the weeds from growing. they look like green carpets. i did pretty well. i tend to go a little too fast or really really slow. at one point i popped a wheely twice with the tractor! talk about heart stopping! i had stopped to get instructions on the next field to plant. when i started up again the grain drill, the thing that was doing the actual planting of the seed, had dropped it's blades into the ground, which was unknown to me. i slowly let out the clutch and the tractor reared. instantly i put the clutch back in. i tried releasing the clutch a little slower and again the tractor reared but also started to move forward a little so i let out the clutch comletely and drove up the hill i was on. once i reached the top i turned off the tractor and turned, wide-eyed to farmer dan. he very calmly explained what had happened. i was impressed at his calmness. my heart was racing. i was sitting about 8ft off the ground in that beast!
after my heart slowed down a little i went back to work driving the tractor and planting the cover crops. there was a little damage to the grain drill but farmer dan didn't bat and eye and commented he could fix it. he didn't seem sorry that he had taught me to drive the tractor. in fact, i'm scheduled to do more tractor work in a few weeks! hopefully my tractor aerobatics are over. :)
by the way, the county fair was fun. i'm considering entering something next time it comes around!