I have wanted some kind of tractor for as long as I can remember. When i was a kid, I ran my friend's Gravely and his grandfather's Jacobsen. My family never had a tractor. In '88, the year I graduated high school, I got my dream summer job. I got to cut a friend of my father's 5 acre lawn! He had, what I am pretty sure was a 128. I have a picture of me on it somewhere. It took about 5 hours to do the whole lawn and he paid me $10/hour to sit on his tractor and burn his gas. Perfect! I did that for a few years and then was tractorless for years. My wife and I bought our house in '03. It is on only 1/4 suburban acres. I still wanted my tractor, but my inherited Honda 21" walk behind, wheelbarrow, and snow shovel were adequate for our "land". I kept telling my wife that I wanted a tractor and she always told me that I should just get one. I have a few friends who live on smaller lots and own tractors and I call them lazy for having a tractor on such a small lot. This spring I finally became a "lazy" man. I figured that I could justify buying a tractor if I found a cheap one and it could be used for snow removal too. I started my search on Craig's List. At first I wasn't searching for any particular brand, just something strong enough to push or blow snow and haul a cart of firewood. I saw a listing for a 127 with a blade and deck. I even talked to the seller and made plans to see it on my next day off. In the mean time I read up on Cub Cadet tractors. The tractor sold before I could get out to see it, but after my research, I decided that I wanted to find an older Cub. About a month later I found my 125 on Craig's List. It was close to home, came with a deck, snow thrower, front blade, chains, wheel weights, and an Agri Fab sweeper. I called the seller and made arrangements to see it the next morning. I had planned the day off for my wife's birthday. I got up early, threw some 2x12s, straps, and a come a long in the old truck, stopped at the bank and went to see it. I was sold immediately. We made a good deal on the price and I loaded my wife's birthday present onto the old flatbed! It wasn't until I was 40 that I finally got my first tractor! I sure am glad that ended up back on a Cub Cadet after all these years.
Here it is loaded on the truck for its ride home.
The birthday girl
