I have always been grateful that we have not had any serious accidents on our farm. Technically, we don't live on a farm, (at least not one that has livestock) but we do have a lot of farm equipment and of course the trucks are going in and out of the driveway all the time. We have had our share of rolled trucks and tractors and other mishaps, but thankfully nobody has ever been seriously hurt while operating the vehicles. I realize that most every job has its dangers, but farm equipment and trucks just seem to be a little more hazardous and I always breathe a prayer of thanksgiving at the end of each day when all the trucks and tractors are safely home.
We live on a hill. The house and the shop are separated by a hill and then if you go up the road to our compost facility and Josh's house it is another steep climb. With the boys running their business out of the shop and Steve using it as well, there is often not enough space at the shop to park all the vehicles. Over the past several years, they have made a place between Josh's house and the compost where they park the overflow of equipment.
Yesterday, Josh drove the tractor and manure spreader up the hill and backed the spreader into a parking spot. The spreader had injectors on and he put the injectors into the ground and then blocked the back wheels of the spreader with a piece of wood. He unhooked the tractor from the spreader and everything was fine. He really didn't give it a second thought, as this was something he had done plenty of times. As he sat in the tractor, talking on the phone, he noticed something out of the corner of his eye. The spreader was moving! As he watched horrified, it picked up speed and hurtled down the hill. At first it looked like it would miss the shop and then it turned to the right and headed directly for the shop. It rolled over an embankment that surrounds the shop and slammed into the roof and side of the back of the shop. It hit the floor at an angle so fortunately it stopped and didn't continue out through the front. Thankfully, this isn't the main part of the shop but is a section that is only used to park trucks. It was empty so no other vehicles were damaged.
Steve was working in the top part of the shop that was farthest away from the impact. He heard and felt the crash and thought something had exploded. He of course went to investigate and soon realized what had happened. As he stood there looking at it, he suddenly thought, "I hope Josh is alright." He looked up to the top of the hill and with relief saw Josh driving out his driveway. He said Josh was pretty shaken up and kept saying, "I just can't believe it. I just can't believe that happened."
That is how accidents happen. So quickly. Of course, after everyone had time to get over the shock and assess everything, thankfulness is our biggest emotion. No one was hurt. No other vehicles were involved and it was the "best" section of the shop to be destroyed. Your mind goes to what could have been--trucks could have been parked there, someone could have been in that part of the shop, Josh could have been run over--and you just shudder. Insurance will pay for the damage and life will go on. We are so fortunate.
After I got home and surveyed everything, I texted Josh: "Looks like you had an eventful day." He responded, "That's putting it mildly." I think that pretty well sums it up.
Not exactly the way the back of the shop should look.
It's final resting place.
Another angle.
You can see the path it took down the hill and how it turned slightly to hit the shop instead of miss it.
A closer up of the path.
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