Ripping Time!

We finally had some nice-ish weather last week so I went out and staked out the truffle farm area for Pat, the tractor guy. The soil was perfect for ripping so, after Pat, a master gardener, gave me his two cents' worth on how to start a truffle farm, he finally went to work tilling the field:
He's a shy guy and didn't want me taking pictures of him so I had to hide in the barn and shoot through the dirty window. In case you're looking for a tractor guy, Pat's the kind you want. He has long hair, smokes incessantly, likes cash, and isn't afraid of a little hard work.
His little tractor (a John Deere 70) did quite well but I think we'll use one with bigger rippers to do the final pass before we plant. Still, it got everything fluffed up and confirmed that we have nice, loamy soil to work with. We also picked up a bunch of garbage - beer bottles, old car parts, various pipes, and even and old black and yellow California license plate from 1963 - and some huge rocks that I'll use around the yard for landscaping some day.

I also found a local nursery that will do free soil testing. It's a strange day when you get excited about that sort of thing...