A Little Grey Fergie called Matilda

Well, the brasher is all very well but for the scale of our thistle problem in the hilly paddock we needed something with a bit more ‘oomph’.

Our neighbour loves his vintage tractor, as well he might because it’s a Ferguson TED20, one of the original ‘little grey Fergies’.  He hasn’t restored it as a pristine museum piece but as a solid working tractor which has a job to do for him.  For something that was manufactured from 1949 for just ten years, it’s still a cracking little workhorse.

This evening, he brought Matilida down our track and into our thistle infested paddock.  An hour or so later our thistles were history!  Seeing him driving round our paddock on this iconic machine was like watching a little bit of agricultural history, although I suspect few farmers would feel nostalgia for the bone shaking experience the metal seat appears to afford!

Sir Edmund Hillary reached The South Pole, after a gruelling journey across some of the worst terrain known to man. Much of his success was down to the Little Grey Fergie which he said,  ‘performed magnificently…and made our trip to the Pole possible.’

Our hilly paddock is hardly the South Pole but  this humble farm tractor and our nice neighbour performed magnificently and made quick thistle topping possible!

Thank you, it was a treat!