It's hanging on the wall in the garage

Little man had just gone down for his nap so I headed outside.  While fresh air is excellent for growing children, it is not so advisable when the temperatures struggle to reach the double digits and the wind is blowing steadily above ten miles per hour.  The rabbits and chickens were fed and watered.  Our snow storm had spared us the worst of what New England was hit with, but still the snow measured around eight inches where the wind hadn't blown.   Where it had the snow was drifted to just below my knees.  I thought I would make a quick pass or two with the tractor in hopes of keeping the worst of the drifts at bay.  I went outside to find that neither little man's father nor I had plugged in the oil pan heater.  The weakened battery in the tractor had little chance of firing the glow plugs long enough for the tractor to start with the temperatures this low.  Back inside the garage for an extension cord and then out to the tractor to plug in the heater...

No heater. 

It is a small, black, magnetic box which slowly warms the oil pan, making the fluid more viscous.  Oil and hydraulic fluid become thick when the temperatures are cold, making it harder for the mechanics of the tractor to pump the fluid.  Warming them slightly makes them move that much better and allows the tractor to start with ease.  The heater was not attached to the tractor.

Back inside to look on the work bench, the shelves, the nails in the wall where we hang a lot of the tools - no heater.  Inside the house to the work shop where I checked the work bench, the shelves, and more nails on the wall where we hang various things - no heater.  Into the cellar way, where we keep very little in the way of outside tools or supplies, but I figured I would check there anyway - no heater.  Now more than an hour into Little man's nap, time was fleeting and I still had bread and rolls to make for lunch and dinner.  I called his father, interrupting him at work,

"Honey, where is the pan heater for the tractor?"
"Hanging above the workbench in the garage," he says with the utmost confidence.
"I checked there, and in the shop, and in the cellar way, and I still can't find it - but I will check again"  I said.  "Oh, and can you bring home a gallon of milk please?"  Back out to the garage where I knew I had already looked in hopes of it magically appearing on the wall because Little man's father was assured that was its current location.

No heater.

One of the things I am learning as we travel further into our journey of farming is the need for both organization and communication.  Even the best of marriages can encounter bumps in the road when these two things are present and functioning at optimum levels.  Now add starting and growing a fledgling farm to that mix and the lack of, or at least the very slow progress towards either effective communication or basic organization and it can leave you hoping for a pillow for your seat, new shocks and probably some new leaf springs.  Going on ninety minutes into Little man's snooze, I headed back into the house.  The hood of the tractor was left open in hopes the sun might help to warm the fluids even at the current air temperature.  The driveway would have to wait until the afternoon nap or until after his father gets home. 

As I put my jacket onto its hook and my hat and gloves into the crate that holds such things, I noticed a black electrical cord dangling from the side of the crate.  That is an odd thing to be in with the hats and mittens.   I wish I could say I was surprised to find the pan heater in such an odd place, but such is the story of organization or lack thereof here on this farm.  After I have gotten bread and rolls made and fed Little man his lunch, I will run outside and plug in the heater.