First published in The Study of Light, on Substack, on December 2, 2025
An old tractor is like, like, like nothing else. Built to last forever. Stronger than an elephant. You can actually fix one. Many of them are still doing the work they were made for, fifty years ago, and not just gathering ribbons at an antique fair (though those are nice too). For nostalgic reasons, but also in their original design, I think they are beautiful. I especially appreciate the way the makers sorted themselves into colors a long time ago.
Now, when you’re driving toward an old barn and you approach a tractor, you can usually guess its make from a few hundred feet, and that often indicates a very strong loyalty on the farmer’s part.
There's an advance level art and design course built into every solid tractor.
It would be swell if some farmer chimed in to tell us what this thing does.
