Kubota

 I did it.  I bought myself a tractor. It's a compact tractor as there is no need for a full size tractor around here (and they cost almost as much as a house!).  Any snow we had earlier in December is pretty much gone and it's looking like it will be a green Christmas, but when the snow comes I am ready with a snow blower attachment.  

It will take some time for me to feel comfortable driving the tractor on uneven ground as I feel like I might tip over when driving in the field.  It's better to be over cautious than not cautious enough.  It will be a bit of a learning curve as well to understand how the hydraulics of each attachment work and how to change attachments.  At least I won't get bored of it; it was a big investment and I hope to get many years of fun out of it as I put it to work on the property.

You can see behind the tractor where I did not get around to cutting the grass by the shop.  In the spring I will have a mower attachment to cut my lawn although I'm not sure it will mow down all that.  We will have to wait and see. In the meantime, before a load of snow comes, I will remove all the thistles that grew in the area.

Having a tractor will make any plans I have for the property more manageable, not to mention just being able to stay on top of the regular maintenance such as grass cutting and snow blowing. I look forward to being able to move rocks and ground with the tractor instead of with a wheelbarrow.