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View of the day-We're not the only ones with problems. This Cat has hair balls, and it's trying to swallow the hired man!
Another early start to the day, not necessarily combining, although we did get rolling before noon. It was a weird day, weather wise...hot (for here), windy and with a haze in the air. It was reminiscent of Oklahoma, right up to the plethora of combines making dust in the area.
We finished the quarter of barley we were on around 5pm and moved a couple miles south to the other half section of barley. The farmer moved over first and opened up a parking lot for the trucks and carts. Those first rounds can have treasures hiding in them, as the picture will attest. The hired man did find the rocks that were jamming up the works, and was rolling within a half an hour of parking.
Things were going way to good. Just as Marilyn was making the last pass around a slough, the combine started making some interesting noises and the rotor alarm went off. She shut off the back end and headed over to the truck to dump and inspect which of the belts in the back was responsible for the heavy blue haze and aroma of burning rubber. Al went up to check it out and found the rotor belt had completely shredded...no problem, we have a spare one tied up in the rotor compartment ready to be installed for just such an occasion.
Upon further inspection, the remnants of the rotor belt had tightly wrapped around twice between a pulley and gearbox and there appeared to be an oil leak from somewhere that we couldn't see. It was impossible to get the belt out, it was jammed that tight, it was also getting dark. We decided to go back to the camper and check what the service manual could tell us and deal with it in the daylight.
Al is sure someone is giving him a sign...
View of the day-First on the bus for the first day of school.
We were roused this morning with at knock at the camper door at 7am. Al got up and checked, but it looked like it was a prank...no one was there. Gordie had decided since he had to get up early for the first day of school, we should be up too. Marilyn went in for coffee and to see him off, while Al kept his pillows from floating away.
We went to town to pick up our clutch cable but the courier hadn't dropped it off yet, so we went for breakfast. As we walked into the restaurant, we ran into an old friend from Grayson, who was working in the area and had a quick catch up on what was happening in his life. We had just sat down and ordered our breakfast when a harvester that we had worked with in the area last year came in for breakfast too. He was staying at the motel we were having breakfast at and was working in the area again. We had another recap of how his summer had been going. We had contacted him when we were in Tuttle to see if he could finish up some work that we couldn't get to, and the last time we had seen him was in Alva, OK. As a matter of fact, he was in the group shot in the "view of the day" at the motel.
We got our part and put it on the General...good as new(well, new for the General). We put the chaff skirt on the combine and then tried to figure out where we were going to combine, since the weather was finally cooperating.
One farmer tested his wheat and it was 17.8 at 2pm, we went out and took the "portable combine" and tested the barley and it was 14.5. It needed to be 13.5, so we waited a bit, then got the "go ahead" to move the machines out to a different field and just start in on it. We decided to move the combine and General, towing the pickup behind it. We got everything hooked up just as Gordie was coming off the school bus so he came along with us, riding in the General with Al. We didn't even make it 1/4 mile from the yard when a couple of bolts broke on the hitch and the pickup was wanting to pass the grain truck. We pulled the grain truck into an approach and just took the pickup and combine the 8 miles to the field. We'll get that hitch working yet.
We did a second test once we got to the field, then stopped to get it tested at the Ag Service Centre where Marilyn's sister works...it was down to 13.8...woo hoo! The wheat had gotten down to 14.4%, but we had already moved, so the barley was where we were staying. After we got back to the camper, Marilyn took the General out to the field and Al brought the tractor and cart, and at 5pm we finally got rolling.
We combined about 30 acres, then called it a night. We had to call to get a ride home since we had left the pickup at the camper when we went back for the grain truck and cart. Kim was just getting home from combining at his field of barley, so he picked us up. He made a point of telling us that a big raccoon had crawled up into the back axle of his semi trailer and must have rode along back to the yard...great.
The semi is only parked 50 feet from the camper...
View of the day-A blast from the past near Alameda, SK!
No rain today...well after 3am anyway...which meant we got to sleep in a bit and then it was a "super do nothing" day.
Al and Kim went out to Kim's 2388 combine and did some tinkering around, fine tuning it for when it would crank up again. Marilyn and Gordie went to Estevan to get the Walmart fix in.
Gordie(12) is used to shopping with his mother, not so much of a leisurely shopper. Marilyn on the other hand likes to cover every aisle, and check out bargains that she couldn't possibly live without. We didn't leave until 2:30pm for Estevan, so the trip was a short one as we got home before dark. It was an early night for Gordie...tomorrow he starts 7th grade in Carlyle...high school (it is there, anyway).
We didn't see anyone making dust in our travels. The rain gauge in the yard showed just under a half an inch, but the sun shone and the wind blew most of the afternoon. The forecast is for the high 80's Thursday and Friday, but who can tell.
Although, it was a Tuesday forecast, so there is hope...
View of the day-The combine waiting to get it's new boot.
Over the years of harvesting we have learned a few things, one of them regarding the weather. Our TV is on the weather channel by default, it is the most important channel during harvest. We have also figured out that the weekend forecasts are conjured up by practicing "lay meteorologists" as we like to call them. Any weekend forecast given after 6pm on a Friday is not to be believed and don't even think about the seven day forecast without adding "once upon a time" in front of it.
That being said, yesterday's blog entry ended with a lapse in judgement by quoting a weekend forecast. In the early hours of the morning, the familiar sound of rain on the roof of the camper wasn't a good omen. It repeated it's wake-up call shortly after, which removed any thoughts of combining unless the sun came out.
We went into town to see if we could get the cable ordered in for the General's clutch and we met with success, only it would be a couple of days. We picked up some fuel, oil and a filter for the General then went out to visit with our farmer. She proceeded to blame us for the rain because she had been following our blog faithfully and had noticed a pattern. Every time we moved to a new place...it rained. Merely coincidence, we can assure you. Anyway, after getting directions to the barley fields we were to do, we went back out to the trailers where Al changed the oil on the General, and Marilyn polished up the Big Top hopper on the combine.
No laundromat in town, and fortunately Marilyn's sister, Marg, hasn't figured out how to but a coin box on her washer and dryer, so we got this week's laundry done. Al and Kim, Marg's husband, went out to check some fields and then joy of joys it was Monday night football...well not the "official" one, just NFL on a Monday. Marilyn helped Marg "re-hue" her hair...what a chemist...and got a little on her nephew Gordie as well(but none on herself).
So, it sprinkled off and on all day, then around 9:30pm it set in and rained steadily until the writing of this entry. No sign of let up according to the satellite radar picture.
But who do you believe anymore...
View of the day-Leaving the field with the first load bound for Canada. The Freight waits in the shade for the return trip.
Well, we slept in a bit, after being up late getting the receipts and forms filled out for the border crossing. We got the camper all battened down and the slides in ready to be hooked up as soon as we got all the equipment loaded. We stopped for an early lunch at the local restaurant and then headed out to the field where everything was scattered, waiting to be assembled.
We got the tractor and cart loaded and hooked up to the Freightliner, then pumped up the completely flat back tire on the combine and got it loaded and hooked up to the General. Once everything was loaded in the field, we took the General's load into town and Al parked it on Main St. Marilyn spotted the shop trailer strategically at the campground so the camper could just back up to it, then picked Al up from downtown to help get the camper flanged in. Once everything was hooked up, it was time to head north.
We got to the Northgate port of entry and stopped so they could check our paperwork and make sure we were taking everything out that was on the import bond. We crossed over to the Canadian side and pretty much did the same thing, only this time we had to add our list of personal purchases. This was way down from other years since Al didn't let Marilyn go on her "farewell tour" through Walmart (like that would have stopped her). We will be going back for sunflower harvest, so she will make up for lost time then.
We left the border and continued on to Carlyle where we parked the General out in the pasture and the camper in the front yard (aren't relatives great?). After a chat with Marilyn's sister, it was back on the road again. We passed through the US border, the officer on duty recognised us from a few hours before, but we still had to show our passports. We forged on to Bowbells and rescued the Freightliner and header from the field and made our last pass through the border, again with no problems.
We got to Carlyle and parked alongside the General in the pasture and proceeded to unload the tractor and grain cart. Al wanted to move the other rig, to line it up with the other trailer, but he was having clutch pedal problems. He had tightened up the cable a few days prior and then again at the border before coming to Carlyle, but it still didn't seem to be working too good, so he tried to do it one more time. Upon closer inspection, he could see the wire cable was holding on by perhaps two threads and it was now stretched so far that it was virtually useless...no clutch, so no gears.
We got the trailer unhooked and set down, since the engine would still run and work the hydraulics. Then the Freight came to the rescue once again buy pulling the General out of the way and parking it next to the tractor. Al can't believe the timing of the breakdowns this year. Of course, the cable is a special one and we had to order the last one from the US. Isn't that bizarre?
The back wheel is off the combine, the General is out of commission, but the dish is getting signal, we have high speed internet, we're back in Canada.
And the weather looks great for the next week...
View of the day-We finished a field outside of Bowbells. A short drive home to the camper.
The wind was blowing, the sun was shining and the day looked like a winner. We went out to the field to service the combine and were able to start combining at 10:30am. We finished the last 20 acres on the field we had started yesterday, then moved across the road to the last field of durum.
The moisture was quite high, ranging from 15-22% in a few spots, so we did the headlands to see what the average was. They had just started swathing on Tuesday and the weather hadn't really been cooperating so it was no surprise that the moisture was high. We did a few more acres, then the farmer had run out of air bin space so we shut it down for the day.
Since we need to get to Carlyle to get started on the crop up there and the farmer here has a 2188 of his own, we decided to start cleaning things up. The farmer assured us he had no problem finishing up what was left, and there was no sense in us waiting for it to dry down. Before we got started cleaning, the farmer invited us in for a delicious roast beef supper to cap off the day.
Marilyn blew the combine off then moved over to the yard to give it a wash and shine, while Al cleaned up the straight header. The back tire on the combine was almost flat when we got back to the field and even after airing it up, it was low again and we could see there was a slow leak. Something else to fix before we leave...or do we just keep airing it up until we get to Carlyle?
Tomorrow we will move the combine and camper up to Marilyn's sister's place at Carlyle, then we will come back to get the tractor, cart and header. Hopefully the border crossing will go well. Well now, this could very well be the last entry from the 2007 US small grains harvest.
Not to worry...there will be lots more blogging to come...
View of the day-The parade passes us by. The local school band gives us a bit of entertainment at coffee time this morning.
The morning started out with heavy fog, so we got to sleep in for a bit. We went into Kenmare and had Chinese buffet for lunch...a nice change from pizza.
After lunch we went across the street and checked out the windmill that is in the centre of the park. It was open and we got to go inside and upstairs to see how the thing worked. It was an actual working mill in the old days...quite amazing.
We went out to see how the mechanic was making out with the grain truck, he showed us what had broken on it and said he would have it done later in the day. We stopped to get the slip tank filled with fuel for the combine and then went back to Bowbells. Al hadn't even tipped the recliner back when the phone rang, it was the mechanic...the truck was ready. It was back to Kenmare to pick it up and bring it back to the field.
We finally got going around 4pm, it was still a bit tough but the farmer had air bins, so we just "shut up and drove". We were working together in the same field, Al was driving the farmer's grain cart when he called me on the radio to tell me that flames were coming out of the farmer's combines engine compartment. He got out of the field in a hurry and was able to get it out with a fire extinguisher, but not before the A/C blew out. From what they could figure out, the chaff had built up on the manifold and there had been the remnants from an earlier diesel fuel leak, so one thing led to another and...poof.
We were still able to continue combining to finish the field and move over to the next piece, where we combined until 10:30pm. No more fires or breakdowns, and we covered a lot of ground considering we didn't start til late in the day.
Looks dry for the next little while...
View of the day-The view out our kitchen window in Bowbells.
A day of clouds as Al went out to the combine to fuel and service first thing in the morning. After moving everything to the new field we did a test and took it into the elevator, where they told us it was 13.1%. That sounded pretty good, but the straw was really tough and it was leaving a thick mat on the stubble.
We went for lunch, then went back out to the field to fix the end cap on the Freightliner. One of the door pins had pulled through the thin aluminum on the end cap that the tarp rolls over, and the back door was popping out at the top. Al had run a strap to one of the chains in the box to pull the door in at the top so the grain wouldn't leak out. We found a couple of long bolts to brace in behind the pins and we were back in business. Of course, we needed to combine some grain to test it out.
We did a couple of rounds and it was a lot higher than before, but it was going in an air bin so Al kept going. Marilyn waited in the pickup and tried to check her eyelids for cracks, but after talking to the farmer, Al decided to shut it down for the day. We went back to the camper where it was Al's turn to check his eyelids.
We had a knock at the camper door and when we answered, it was our farmer carrying two steak dinners! It was "men's night" at the local country club and since Marilyn couldn't get in, he picked up a couple of orders to go and dropped them off. They were excellent and they even came with a side of salad and baked potato...yummm. The rest of the evening was spent digesting.
We now wish for trains to go by to drown out someones barking *%$#ing dog...
View of the day-Marilyn hoping to get to the end of the swath without spilling any.
Al got the word first thing in the morning from the mechanic, that he would be able to work on the General after lunch. Al took off with the truck at the blazing speed of 15mph to drive the 16 miles to Kenmare. Marilyn left an hour later and got to the shop at the same time as Al did.
We got back to Bowbells and while Al unloaded the cart from yesterday, Marilyn fueled and serviced the combine, then moved over to the other field. The rest of the day was spent combining and hauling grain off of 112 acres of durum wheat...that's right, finally broke the 100 acre mark!
Al got a call about the truck, the mechanic told him one of three springs in the back of the transmission had broken, fallen out and gotten jammed. The springs help move the synchronizer into high range, so with one jamming up the works, Al only had low range. Al decided to get the synchronizer replaced while the mechanic had the tranny opened up. We should have it back by Friday, but in the meantime, the Freight comes out to save the day once again.
We filled the farmer's 800 bushel grain cart and our 500 bushel cart so he could fill a semi first thing in the morning. They wanted to quit after filling the carts, but Marilyn insisted on picking up the remaining 6 swaths that were left to finish the field at 11:30pm. A very productive day.
Tomorrow the heater valve gets turned on in the combine, so Marilyn has heat in the cab...
View of the day-Picking up the first canola swaths of the season at Bowbells, ND.
Well, we finally had a good day...sort of. The phone man was here in the morning and got us hooked up, so we didn't need to go into Kenmare to upload today's entry. Again, who would have thought dial-up internet would feel so good?
We went out to do a test on the canola around 12:30pm and it was plenty dry, so we started right in on it. There weren't a lot of swaths, but the field was a mile long which meant not a lot of turning...and no hills...ahhhh. On Al's second load, the range shifter quit working and that left him with only the first five of ten gears to drive in. Fortunately we were only four miles from town, so the fact that he could only go 20 mph top speed wasn't really an issue.
If you watched Ice Road Truckers on the History channel, this was the same thing that happened to Hugh in the early episodes, only our air line isn't frozen. It will however mean getting in to the transmission to repair the linkage (or so we were told over the phone). Al called around to a few mechanics and we might be able to get it in to a repair shop in Kenmare, if he will be able to squeeze it in during this, his busy time of year. If we can't get it fixed down here, we will limp it home to Canada and get it looked after there. We still have the Freightliner for backup.
We finished the canola, which ran close to 30 bu/ac and moved over to a small piece of durum wheat. Al was having to wait in line at the elevator, they were really busy with everyone anxious after the rain, so Marilyn just filled the grain cart and called it a night. The wheat will all be binned and the auger is really fast, so there shouldn't be too much of a delay getting back to the field.
Since starting this entry tonight, there have been four trains go through town. Marilyn lied about the two tracks 50 ft from the camper...there are three and the campground is right between two track signal intersections. That means every train that goes through, sets off the bells and has to blow it's horn at all the intersections!
A 90 acre day...feels pretty good...
View of the day-Al visiting with the owner of the V&R Toy Museum in Kenmare.
We woke to a steady tapping on the roof vent on the camper. It didn’t seem to be raining, that would have been tapping all over the roof. Squirrels and birds also move around a lot. After looking out the window the source became obvious…it was misting quite heavily, there was a power line over the camper and the low spot was right over the roof vent. It stayed misty and occasionally rained until early afternoon.
What do we do when it rains…laundry of course…but where to find a laundromat? Kenmare, 16 miles SE has two, one closed because of vandalism and the other, well, no one seemed to know the hours of operation. We opted to go to Stanley, 40 miles S. We stopped at the combine to pick up an empty oil pail to get filled at the bulk station at the Case dealer in Stanley.
We had a nice winding drive on the way down and after getting things loaded into the washers, we went over to the Case dealer to get the parts (and perhaps a farm toy) we needed. We got back to the Laundromat and filled the dryers, then went to a local café for lunch. We did find some wireless access, but Marilyn figured it was too early in the day to whip up a blog entry…a lot could happen before midnight, so we just got the email.
After the laundry was done it was back to Bowbells to put everything away. Al went out and changed the oil in the pickup while Marilyn got the camper in order, then phoned over to Kenmare to make an appointment at the V&R Toy Museum. We got to go check it out around 8pm, and what an amazing collection! A lot of scratch built toys, all out of the box in a building made especially to display them. Now Al’s thinking…
Tomorrow we get phone service…
View of the day-The valley walls on the way to Kenmare, ND. The "Class of"'s put their year on the side of the hills, they start at the late 50's and go right through to the present year.
When we got up this morning, it was cloudy, misty and windy...and from the SE to help push us along. Once we got the camper all battened down and the shop trailer hooked up behind it, we went down town to get the Freightliner aired up. We stopped to dump our trash at the town dumpster and the mechanic that had fixed our tractor came across the street with a five gallon pail of "slicers" from his garden. He gave us a huge bag full of the cucumbers and then went home and dug up some big onions for us as well...more yum.
Another uneventful drive, it quit misting but the low clouds never did clear off. Once we got to Bowbells, Al parked the Freight at the bulk station and we went to park the camper. After getting it all flanged in, we went searching for a lot in town to unload the tractor, then decided to just go out to the field where the combine was parked. Al was concerned that we might have trouble getting out of the field once we were loaded back up, but he found another entrance that didn't have such a severe drop.
We unloaded the tractor and cart, then moved it a mile to the canola field we would be starting in. We got everything set on the combine, then cut about 50 bushels just to make sure all the setting were right. We also wanted the engine oil to warm up a bit so we could change it and the oil in the feeder gear box that we had been concerned about when the pulley went the other day. After getting the oil changed we went back to the camper to get the dish set up...after all, it is the big finale of the Ice Road Truckers! Of course we will have to DVR it to watch later because we have to go to Kenmare to check out the laundromat, visit with some of the other harvesters and send off the blog, since we didn't find any signal in town.
So now we are a stones throw away from Canada and Al can actually get his favorite radio station, CJGX in Yorkton, so he won't miss a thing. He has plans to call in and win "supper in the field".
We'll invite you down when he wins...
View of the day-Beer clouds over Main Street in Tuttle.
A very productive day, and one where the clouds, humidity and misting rain meant nothing.
We went back to the field at Robinson where Al took the grain truck to the yard, unloaded and settled up with the farmer. He managed to bring home a bonus in the form of homemade bread, cookies and preserves...yum. Marilyn took the shop trailer back to where the combine and trailer was parked at the highway intersection a mile east of Tuttle and blew out the air filters, rad and chaff off the combine. Al brought the tractor and grain cart into Tuttle and after parking the shop trailer strategically by the camper, Marilyn picked him up and went back out to load the combine and hook up the truck to the trailer.
Once that rig was ready to go, it was back to town where Al paid the camping bill and Marilyn picked up lunch at the grocery store, then it was off to load the tractor and grain cart. After that task was done, it was back out to hook up the header to the pickup and move it and the combine north to Bowbells, about 190 miles.
The trip was uneventful. Marilyn tried to buy new air filters for the combine at the Case dealer in Harvey. The parts man told her the "closest store that had one was in Moosomin, Sask., where ever that is". No parts so she bought Al a toy tractor(a 1/16 1568 V8 International) for his birthday, since the hockey tickets fell through. Al fueled up in Drake, and it was straight through to Kenmare where Marilyn needed fuel. While Marilyn fueled up, Al got directions from the farmer on where to park the machinery, and we headed off to Bowbells.
How many times we have passed that little town, occasionally stopping to mail something, but never really exploring? Maybe 8 or 10 times a year for the past 16 years. How many other towns do we pass through without even noticing, that we may end up calling home for a short time, at some point in time? Deep thoughts...
Once we got out to the field and unloaded the combine, the farmer took us out to show us the fields we would be combining, once they were ready. Nice and flat and less than a 5 mile haul, sweet change of pace.
We started back to Tuttle and stopped in Minot for a late supper, then hit the highway. We made it back to Tuttle around 11:30pm, tired but with a good feeling of accomplishment.
We will be camping right in Bowbells and my WiFi finder shows that I might not have to drive too far to get connected for the daily upload. No trees in the campground, about 50 feet from the main rail line with two sets of tracks and a block from the elevator...we will be longing for the quiet solitude of Hamill, SD or Tuttle.
Ah well, a new adventure...
View of the day-Combining hills north of Robinson, ND with the farmers combine picking up swaths just across the way.
An early start to the day as we tried to find the possible parts we might need. We also needed to find out where we could haul the combine if we couldn't fix it ourselves. It looked like the Case dealer in Fessenden (about 60 miles away) would be the best choice since it was sort of on the way north for us. We then headed out to the field to see exactly what the problem was.
We were pretty sure there was a problem in the feeder gear box...the noise that was coming from it when the rotor was engaged sounded pretty severe. Once we took the main pulley off the spline on the feeder gear box, we could see that there weren't any splines left in the centre of the pulley and that was why it would just spin erratically or catch every once and a while. Thankfully the gear box was fine inside, and the spline that the pulley was on seemed to be only slightly worn.
We phoned around to see who had the pulley in stock and we found out Lamoure, ND had one. We were 65 miles away from Jamestown and Lamoure added another 85 miles to the mix...but we needed the part, so "shut up and drive". Fortunately Al remembered our friend Mike from Pingree was occasionally working in the Lamoure area, crop adjusting, so he gave him a call. Mike was indeed in the Lamoure area and was going to be heading home soon. Al got the part ordered and paid for at the dealership and we met Mike in Jamestown for lunch and got our part.
We went back to the field and proceeded to re-assemble the combine, hoping that we had the problem solved. Once we cranked it up, it appeared we had solved the problem, and Marilyn commenced to making dust to finish the last 35 acres.
All the while this was going on there were 60% forecasts for rain and the sky to the south was dark blue most of the day. The rain did stay south of the interstate so we were spared that, at least. It was also a blessing that the farmer had air bins and was willing to take the wheat as long as it was below 15% moisture. We finished!
Marilyn got the header trailer from where it was parked at the first field and loaded the straight header onto it, then roaded the combined back to Tuttle. After unloading the truck, Al came with the pickup and header, and we called it a night, then went back to the camper to figure out the move north tomorrow.
Al's birthday is today and Marilyn wanted to purchase a Yorkton Terrier Junior Hockey season ticket. He has had one for the last few years, and today was the blitz for season tickets, if you purchased one you had your name put into a draw for a chance to get your ticket for free. Marilyn's sister Marg was still in Yorkton, where her son was attending the hockey school, so she went to pick up Al's ticket. She was informed that Al didn't need to purchase a season ticket, because he had been elected to the Terriers executive and they get free tickets. So he sort of won the draw...he got his season pass for free!
Now Marilyn has to come up with a different clever birthday gift...
View of the day-The pull-type combine in the next field picking up wheat swaths.
We actually got rolling by 1pm, what a nice change that was. We finished the 40 acre piece and moved over to the last 100 acres. It was running around 40 bu/ac and was just dry for most of the day.
There was quite a bit of action about 60 miles to the north of us. A suspected murder was loose and had been spotted in the Drake area. They had picked up his accomplice, but he was at large and they were warning everyone to be on the lookout. All the law enforcement had shown up, Border Patrol, FBI, State and local law, even Conservation officers, it was big news on the local stations. Every place was being searched top to bottom.
What was amazing to us was the local people that were being interviewed on the radio, everyone had one or more guns at the ready. One guy said when he was stopped at the road block, he had two rifles sitting on his truck seat beside him, and the officer said "I see you are prepared". No big deal...only in America. Could you imagine that in Canada? You'd be in the slammer!
Anyway, the suspect was from the Louisiana, and they did get him around 6:30am. He gave himself up after unsuccessfully trying to start a couple of buildings on fire...really...95% humidity and 47 degrees outside. No boy scout, that's for sure. They finally flushed him out in a grass field where he dropped his weapon and gave up...three days on the run, too tired, too cold and just couldn't fight the "collective"(again, too much Star Trek Voyager). The community and law enforcement really worked together.
Marilyn was determined to get 100 acres done today, and was down to the last acre and a half, when she decided to get just "one more pass" to get over the top. The feeder plugged up a couple of times since the straw was getting tough, but both times it backed out and she kept on going. With less that 1/2 an acre to go it plugged again and it backed out without a problem, but when she went to start it back up again, there was a loud and strange clunking coming from the side of the combine. Al came over to see what was up, and because it was already 11pm, dark and dusty, we called it a night so we could inspect it in the morning.
So, we're not sure what the problem is, we have an idea it could be the fan drive gear box, which sounds major.
Tomorrow we call the doctor...
View of the day-Finally a day of cutting where we actually get to use the lights!
Yes, it's true...we finally finished the barley...woo hoo!
We got the tractor and grain cart from the hospital, and the bill was quite reasonable, relatively speaking. Al moved it out to the wheat field north of Robinson, while Marilyn did another sample on the barley and took it into the Tuttle elevator to get the depressing news that it was 16% moisture. After picking up Al at the grain cart, we came back to the camper to kill a couple of hours.
We needed to replace the rubber skirt on the back of the combine that keeps the chaff off the axles. The old one had a couple of large holes worn in in, so we decided to revamp the pickup belt we took of the header to use in it's place. Of course, there were 1/4 inch square holes evenly spaced where the pickup teeth were attached. We had picked up some rivets and washers to fill the holes without leaving anything sticking out to catch the straw. The washers didn't have a small enough holes, and there wasn't a hardware store in town to pick up what we needed, so we drilled the right size holes in a roll of pennies and they worked perfectly. They are underneath the skirt, so we won't get thrown in the slammer for defacing currency...but who will know?
After the fixit job, we went out and cut another test and hot damn, it was 13.7% and good to go. We finished it up around 8pm, Marilyn took the straight header off and started down the highway to the field at Robinson. Once Al finished filling the bin, he went back to the field and brought the pickup truck and header over to the wheat field. We cut a hopper, it was surprisingly low in moisture, but with the sun down it was only going to go up, so we called it a night.
Finally a good day...
View of the day-The farmer's son "bale surfs" as his dad pulls a stack of bales on the hauler.
We didn't wake up to rain for a change...no...it showed up just after dinner. It never ends.
While it sprinkled off and on throughout the afternoon, we worked on the books. Al calling out the numbers and Marilyn entering them. It took a couple of shifts to get it done, but by midnight we had that job wrapped up. It quit raining and the sun attempted to show itself a few times, but never really succeeded in winning the battle with the clouds.
We took a break around 5pm, Marilyn walked downtown and Al met her at the community store shortly after. Once we picked up a few groceries, we decided to take a trip to Robinson, ten miles east of Tuttle. We checked out the fields of wheat we will be combining (someday...sigh) then cruised into Robinson to check it out. On our way in, we passed a young lad sitting on a tractor roof by some bales in the ditch, we recognised him as the farmer's son so we stopped for a chat. He was waiting for his dad to show up with the trailer to haul the bales home.
After leaving town, we could see the trailer was in the ditch getting ready to pick up the bales so we stopped to watch and have a chat with the farmer after he was done with the bottom layer. His son scrambled up to the top of the bales just as he was backing under them and proceeded to "surf" them as the trailer moved underneath the stack...kids...
We went back to Tuttle, had supper...Al put a mark on the calendar noting that Marilyn had actually used the stove in the camper. While we were working, we thought we heard a semi passing by on the road, then we realised...oh crap...thunder. Yep, a look on the radar showed a tiny red cell on the map heading our way. Fortunately it was all bark and no bite as it passed by with nary a spritz. We tied back into the bookwork again, and before you knew it, it's 1am and the blog is finally getting done.
Not gonna jinx by saying anything about tomorrow...
View of the day-The jaws of the header as it waits for the combine and the weather.
The meteor shower kept Marilyn up till the early hours, since she figured the "city" lights were cutting in on some of the smaller flights, a trip in the country was in order. Once a couple miles out and on a high hill, the night sky was perfect for viewing. Marilyn had company too as the coyotes were singing, somewhat in unison, to the heavens above. It was after 2:30am when the truck pulled up to the camper and it was time to call it a night...er, morning. What an awesome experience, it makes one feel so small to look up and see a part of the universe overhead and realise how insignificant we really are. We can't possibly be the only life out there...can we? Maybe the daily episode of Star Trek Voyager that we watch is coloring our thoughts.
Unlike the clear night sky, the morning brought low clouds and high humidity, which refused to leave until 6pm. We only did one test today around 5pm...what a waste, 14.8%, the humidity never did get below 58%. And where was the "high 90's" we were supposed to get? Even with the "humidex" it never got above 88 and that won't dry anything out. No one was combining in the area, so it didn't hurt so much.
With no shopping opportunities in town, Marilyn decided it was high time to tackle the bookwork that had been put on hold since, oh...say...May! Yeah, fortunately we do keep a filing system in the pickup with us so it was pretty much sorted, it was just a matter of entering everything into the computer. Except that we had upgraded the accounting software in the spring and it didn't want to work without reloading. It didn't take much convincing to just leave the entering for another day.
That pretty much was the day for us and as the evening rolled in, so did the clouds. The outside of the camper is as wet as if it had rained, with condensation running off of it.
And now looking outside...thick fog...sheesh...
View of the day-The man we seem to see the most often checking yet another sample at the elevator in Tuttle.
With a day full of promise and a sky full of clouds, it was once again a waiting game. It was after noon before the sun started to dry things out...sort of. Al unloaded the truck full from yesterday and Marilyn took a test in around 3pm and it tested 16.8%, far from good enough.
We spent most of the day doing constructive things...watching TV, surfing and hoping the barley would dry down so we could finish the last 50 acres and get on to the wheat. We did another test at 6:30 and it was down to 14.2, but it needed to be below 13.5% so we gave up for the day. It never did get all that warm, maybe 74 and the humidity refused to get below 55% neither of which helped dry things out.
Another "super-do-nothing" day, getting caught up with things at home. Marilyn's sister Marg, and her son Gordie have their camper parked out at our house in Yorkton for the week while Gordie is attending the Highway 10 hockey school. A shame we don't get to entertain them while they are there. Marilyn always needs an excuse to hit the wave pool when Gordie comes to town.
Meanwhile back in Tuttle it's time to head out to watch the meteor shower...
View of the day-The apples in our back yard at Tuttle.
What a night! We must have been roused three different times by the thunder shaking the camper. The first round started just after midnight and passed to the north of us, the second round was about 3am and it too went north. The last blast came through around 5am and it pretty much stayed south and ran along the interstate. We ended up with .3 inches of rain here, so we really lucked out.
We had the tractor at the doctor's so we went to see if they had been able to fix it up. We found out they had put on a new alternator, but needed to get a pressure switch for the A/C compressor. We had just left it in front of their shop on the trailer, still hooked up to the freightliner. We were concerned it was too close to the highway and didn't want to cause an accident, so we parked the trailer on the other side of the shop. We then unloaded the tractor and parked it where they could get to it once the part came in.
When we got to talk to the owner of the shop, he told us there was a bit of excitement there this morning. They must have had 6 or more Case tractors parked around where they were working, and they had finished fixing on one 2290 Case when the owner came to pick it up. For some reason it wouldn't start, so he went out to try and jump it on the starter...well apparently, the reason it wouldn't start was that it was in gear! Talk about action!!! Fortunately for the owner of the tractor, it was parked by the building and didn't run him over. It did however run over a garden tractor, run into an old tractor, had one of the big rear tires flattened and was pushing against one of the other tractors when the mechanic was able to get inside and get it out of gear. A bit of carnage, but no loss to life or limb, and our stuff was out of the way.
We did a test around 3pm, it was 15%, so we stopped at the community store and sat in for a pop and a chat with the locals. While sitting there, we noticed some old pictures of the town and some yellowed newspaper clippings posted on the wall, two of which were written by...you guessed it...Tom Isern. What a small world! He was stating the best place to get the tastiest take out Kuchen, was the Community Store in Tuttle...which we did.
We took another test at 6pm which was 13.7%, so we decided to cut a load. Al did the combining while Marilyn went back to the camper to round up the laundry. After he filled the truck, we were off to Steele for the weekly task. After getting that job done, we fueled up the truck and were on our way back to the camper.
Hopefully tomorrow will see the end of the barley, then we will move east to Robinson for the next 200 acres of straight cut wheat.
The weather looks promising for the next few days...
View of the day-Al gets lined up to hook up the straight cut header to start in on the barley.
Lightning flashes and low rumbles of thunder woke us around 5:30am, but it was moving NE, so we felt reasonably safe and were able to go back to sleep. It never did hit here in Tuttle, but they certainly got hammered bad to the north and east of us.
The combine was still parked in the farmers yard, and the pass to get to the field was through part of a corral which was a bit too soft to haul the header through. The pickup sunk down a fair bit when we went through the corral and pasture to check out the path and do a sample.
We got our "Simple Sampler" out to do a test of the barley. This little box lets you cut stalks of grain by hand and with a rotating cylinder to thresh the grain out of the heads and a fan to blow the chaff away, you get a sample to take to the elevator for moisture testing. It tested 14.3% moisture (13.5 is dry for barley), so we decided to move the combine out on a different road and come in the back way to the field and then just kill a little time having lunch at the camper while it dried down.
While we were having lunch, Tom and Suzanne came by the camper bearing gifts of dessert...Kuchen made at the local grocery store. It was mighty fine. We went back out to the field to give it another try, Tom rode with Al as he made the first few passes to get a sample. They took it into the elevator and this time the moisture was down to 13.8% so the farmer said to go ahead and cut a load. Tom took several "action" photos and rode with Marilyn for a few rounds, then they headed back to Fargo.
The weather was quite spectacular today, as we listened to the Harvey radio station as they described the golf ball size hail and heavy rain and wind that just pummeled them for quite a while. There were also tornado warnings out, with several funnel clouds spotted in rural areas south of I94. We were able to watch the massive clouds forming from a safe distance to the west, north and south. We were very fortunate that they all missed us, but there is another band of nasty weather predicted for tonight before the front finally moves out of the area.
Al had to drive about 6 miles to the bins where he is unloading and the auger is a slower one so he wasn't able to make it back to the field before Marilyn had a hopper full and was waiting. Once he returned to the field, we made one more load and called it a day, since the moisture was getting high. The barley was yielding around 30 bu/ac.
We finally got our phone hooked up at the camper, so there was no need for the "internet road trip".
Sometimes dial-up isn't so bad...
View of the day-Children of the corn...not for several years. The corn at the campground in Menoken.
Up bright and early to get the camper closed up and ready to move north. Al got his daily journals returned when Tom and Suzanne stopped in on their way back to Fargo from Mandan.
We stopped in Sterling to get the Freight with tractor and cart, have a bit of breakfast and then make our way to Tuttle. It was a short and uneventful trip, no wind to speak of, which didn't help us at all when we got to our destination and started to unload the combine.
We got the camper moved to it's home for the next week or so, and after getting the A/C working we went to see if the local mechanic could check the alternator out on the tractor. We were having problems with the tractor not charging the batteries, so we were having to constantly boost it. We didn't unload it at Menoken, so at that time it wasn't too big a deal because we didn't have to use it. But if the barley yield is high, we may need it to keep up.
After getting the combine unloaded and the settings changed for barley, we moved it out to the farmer's yard, but since they had gotten almost an inch of rain yesterday, we were pretty sure it wouldn't go. We stopped at the local bar for lunch and then went back to the camper to wait for the phone guy to show up and get us on line, since the cell service is pretty poor out this way. If he can't get us hooked up, we have to make a run into Steele, about 25 miles south, to post this entry.
Which we did...
View of the day-Al's handy work on the interstate overpass leaving Menoken. His load was just a bit wide, or the crews had their barrels a bit to close.
Well, we thought we had lucked out last night when the weather fizzled out before it reached us. Of course, once again we woke up to lightning, thunder and rain. We decided not to move up to Tuttle with the camper and grain cart, since we wouldn't be cutting for a while. The rain was falling up there as well, and continued on for most of the day.
We met with Tom Isern and his wife Suzanne for breakfast at Sterling, and had a wonderful chat about all things harvesting. We went into Bismarck to do a bit of shopping, then Marilyn dropped Al off at the library with the laptop to do some surfing while she did some "power shopping". After picking him up, we went over to Mandan to the CaseIH dealer to pick up the ball and socket bolt for the engine hood strut to replace the one that had disappeared. Al also managed to find a few farm toys at the dealership that he needed for his collection.
There were severe weather warnings through most of the day and we did get a lot of rain, over an inch and a half in Bismarck, but eventually it moved off to the NE and the sun came out. Again, the cell phone was ringing with farmers looking for harvesters right up until we got back to the camper. By then it was time to take it easy for the rest of the evening.
Al has kept a daily journal during harvest for the past 13 years and Tom thought they might contain some interesting time lines over the years. They stopped in to pick them up to archive them and we chatted further about harvesting. Later, Gerry and Lynn Prevost stopped in for coffee on their way back to Sterling after their Bismarck shopping trip, so we had lots of company.
It started out looking like this entry was going to get posted at a decent time, but once again it will be a trip to the rest stop after midnight.
Another tough day at the mill...
View of the day-A group of "supervisors" unloading a semi at the elevator in Sterling, ND.
We got to sleep in a bit, which was a good thing for Marilyn anyway. The internet connection at the rest stop is just slightly better than dial-up so it took a while to upload. That, and a finicky laptop battery that just seems to last long enough to get the basics done, but not any extra curricular surfing. Laundry also took until 2am again, but when you're a night person, it doesn't hit you til the morning.
We went over to the trailers and started to change the engine fan blade out with the new one we purchased yesterday. It went surprisingly well, we didn't have to remove any extra pieces to get the old one out, or the new one in. Bolting it into place was a bit of a task, since you needed to have four hands to get things lined up, but there was only room for two and a half. After a bit of cursing, we got it together, tested it out and it worked like new. We wanted to change the strut that broke and caused all the problems, but we apparently had lost the extra ball and socket bolt we had purchased, so that didn't get done.
Once the fixing was done, we got the combine cleaned up a bit and then loaded it on the trailer, got it hooked up and ready to roll. We just had to hook the Freight up to the tractor and cart trailer, since we hadn't needed it and never unloaded it. We took the Freight and straight header to the truck stop at Sterling and dropped them off, and returned for the combine and shop trailer. Marilyn dropped the shop off at the campground so it would be ready to hook to the camper when we leave, and then went back to Sterling to hook the header back up and take it to Tuttle. Al headed right down the interstate to Sterling to meet Marilyn, then started north to Tuttle, about 35 miles.
We parked the combine load and header in a farm yard and went into town to confirm our camping reservation. There is a gravel crushing outfit just out of town, so there are extra campers pulling in and out all the time, so it is a crap shoot whether we will get our usual spot. We went back to Menoken via Bismarck which was a bit out of the way, but we had to get at least one steak buffet in before we moved out to the petunias. While we were having our dessert, Al's phone rang and it was someone looking for a harvester for 90 acres of standing wheat. We might be able to get to it after we finish the barley, but it will mean moving the combine back to Sterling, but then, it's what we do.
The sky is lit up with lightning to the north and it is starting to sprinkle and rumble, so we could be in for something before the night is out.
Best get to the internet connection before the road gets to wet...
View of the day-A couple named Al & Marilyn found in a flower bed at Pingree, ND. Honestly named that in honor(?) of Al's impression on the owner.
Marilyn's shopping excursion lasted until 2:30am so when the alarm went off at 8am, getting the eyes open was a bit tough. The sound of rain and thunder was also a wake up call, one that seemed to be coming a regular event.
We went to Sterling to meet fellow harvesters Lynn and Gerry Prevost for breakfast and get caught up on the happenings throughout the season so far. All the while we were there the rain came down, so we made short work of a few pots of coffee.
We left Sterling to go to Pingree, which should have been about 90 miles, but we had to make a couple of slight detours, to see the farmer at our next stop, and pick up some parts at two different CaseIH dealers. We checked things out at Tuttle, which was 25 miles north of Sterling. There we have150 acres of barley to cut straight, but it had rained so we had a bit of grace to get a few things fixed on the combine.
We headed north from Tuttle to the Case IH dealer in Harvey, about 45 miles, to pick up the replacement strut from the engine hood, that had fallen into the engine fan. We carried on from there to Fessenden, another 18 miles, to the CaseIH dealer to pick up the engine fan and some filters. From there we continued on to Pingree another 55 miles, making the trip about 30 miles longer than if we had gone straight from Tuttle.
We did get to see what the rain had done around the Fessenden area, where they had gotten over six inches of rain on Friday night...get the canoe out. We got to have a good visit with friends there, and got the heads up on what our fall harvest there would be like. We have sunflowers to combine in October, so this blog will be going on for a while yet!
After stopping for supper at the 281 Stop, and talking to another harvester from Canada, we started back to Menoken. After checking out our namesakes in the flower garden and getting a few veggies out of the garden (with permission, of course).
The day had one interesting coincidence...Lynn and Marilyn were discussing a history book they were trying to put together, and Marilyn had taken out a book from the library several years ago Custom Combining on the Great Plains. The book had been published by the Western Producer in Canada, and was about 30 years old. Marilyn had searched the internet to get a copy for her own library, without any luck, even doing a search of the author to try and get some more information. She did have the library copy of the book and gave it to Lynn at breakfast, to use to get some information for the book.
We stopped at Carrington to purchase some much needed sunglasses, and after Marilyn came out of the Dollar store with a bag of them(we won't be squinting again), Al said there was a message at home from someone who was doing a story on custom combining. The message said he was working on the Canadian harvester chapter he was planning to include, and wanted to speak with us. Marilyn listened to the message and when the gentleman spelled his name...
...it was the author of the original book!!!!!!!
What a rush!! He is planning on coming out to talk to some of the Canadian harvesters in the area in the next week. There will be more in the blog later. For now, it's back out to the rest stop to upload this entry.
Then back to finish the laundry...
View of the day-The combine waits along sunflowers for the wheat to get dry.
Once again we were roused to the sound of thunder, rain and very dense fog. Just what we didn't need with only 35 acres left to go. We talked to a couple of other harvesters who were over at Sterling, and made plans to meet for coffee after church.
Al and the farmer took the loads from the night before into the elevator, while Marilyn fueled and serviced the combine, then cut a sample to see how long the wait would be. The sun was trying to break out, but the wind was pretty much non-existent, which really doesn't help the drying down. It was testing 14.5% moisture, so it was surprisingly close, but the elevator wouldn't take it that wet.
We tried it again around 2:00 and it was close enough to start and with only 35 acres left to go, everyone was getting antsy. The last swath was cut by 6:30 and that field was a wrap. While Al was hauling his last load in, Marilyn loaded the straight header on the trailer and got the pickup head back on and hooked up to the combine.
The farmers wife brought out a fried chicken feed to celebrate their wheat harvest conclusion, and after supper we headed back over the interstate to the campground. We never did see our company from Sterling, but we hope to maybe meet there for breakfast tomorrow.
Al got the evening off to watch his "Ice Road Truckers" on the History channel, and Marilyn finally got to go into Bismarck to get a hit of Walmart air.
Tomorrow we do a parts run north to Fessenden and Pingree...
View of the day-Al says "Same S**T Different Pile"! Pile of spring wheat at the elevator in Sterling, ND.
Al got up early and went to Sterling to get fuel for the combine, then we went over to the field. We didn't get the forecasted rain during the nigh but it was still overcast so we couldn't start early. Marilyn serviced the combine while Al hauled the load into Sterling, then the plan was to go into Bismarck for more fuel and a few parts at the Case dealer.
We did a test before heading in to town and it was low enough to combine, so Al combined while Marilyn went into Bismarck. Once Marilyn got back with the parts and lunch, she took over and combined for the rest of the day.
The elevator stopped letting the guys back up to the pile to dump which meant they were going to have to sit in the long line ups. The farmer decided to fill one of his bins in the yard, so that helped keep the combine rolling. We combined until after dark, filling two of the trucks after the elevator closed and logged acres then headed back to the campground.
After a shower, a couple of load of laundry and a trip to the "internet", it was lights out.
Tomorrow we finish the field and decide where to go next...
View of the day-The grain cart hides behind the bins in the farmers yard.
We actually got up early enough to go have eggs for breakfast at the Medicine Rock before anything else in town opened up to pay our bills. After that was done, we left town at 9:30am and aimed north to Menoken.
We were about 10 miles south of Sterling, when Marilyn had another tire blow on the camper, it was pretty much shredded by the time we found someplace reasonably safe to pull over to change it. It goes pretty quick with the compressor and impact handy in the shop trailer that's pulled behind the camper, and in 30 minutes we were on our way again.
We stopped at the campground to get the camper parked and then took the combine out to the field. We had to make the short backhaul to Sterling to get the tractor/grain cart and header and take them the 15 miles to the field. Once the combine was unloaded and the pickup head traded for the straight head, Marilyn started combining. The wheat was standing perfectly, the field was flat and a mile long, so there wasn't a lot of turning...or rather there shouldn't have been. Al was driving one truck and the farmer had his own truck so they took turns hauling into Sterling.
The wheat was yielding around 50 bu/ac, so Marilyn couldn't make it down the field and back without being full. There wasn't time to get the tractor/grain cart unloaded, so we were just making due with the two trucks for the rest of the day. They were able to back up to the pile and dump at the elevator, so it went fairly fast, but tomorrow could be a different story.
Marilyn had the farmer's wife ride along for the last round of the night, a first ride in the combine for her. We covered 66 acres, even with moving between states...what a far cry from doing 30 acres in a field a block and a half from the camper.
The only internet access is at the rest stop on the interstate going into Bismarck. Fortunately the rest stop is in the corner of the field we are working on and we can just park along the fence to get hooked up. Otherwise, we have to go into the stop from the interstate highway and the only exit to get turned around and back to the campground is in Bismarck.
Wouldn't that be terrible...
View of the day-The farmer's truck waits for a load of spring wheat for seed.
It's official, we are finished the harvest in South Dakota!
Al got to do the majority of the combining on the last day. Once he had the truck full, Marilyn went out to spell him off and fill the farmers truck with seed.
Once the field was finished, Al took the last load to the elevator and Marilyn blew all the dust and chaff off the combine, before Al moved it back into town. After getting it loaded on the trailer, strapping it down and getting the trailer hooked up to the truck, Marilyn got the pressure washer out and gave the combine a new shine.
Once all the machinery was clean, we got cleaned up and went out for supper. Tomorrow will be an early one and once the bills are paid and the camper is ready to roll, we will be off to Menoken, ND.
We are ready for a change of venue...
View of the day-All that's left in the campground on laundry day.
A new month and we woke up to the sound of thunder at 7:00am, just what we didn't want to hear. It started to rain shortly after and we ended up getting .55 inches of rain-just enough to screw up combining for the day.
We thought we might as well do laundry, apparently the same idea that the remaining harvesters in town had. Our campground has a washer and dryer in the shower house, but since the wind was huffing, we passed on the dryer (it doesn't heat anyway). When you are used to using 5 washers and getting done in a couple of hours, one machine takes a lot longer...just like home.
We did a couple of small jobs on the combine. Putting a new belt on the pickup head, which required bolting all the pickup teeth on to it. We made a couple of brackets to keep the dust caps on the back wheel hubs and changed out a couple of worn bushings on one of the shaker arms.
With the wind blowing and the temperatures in the high 80's we actually decided to try a test around 4:30pm. It tested 15% moisture, so combining was out...hey, we can dream, can't we? The elevator wasn't getting any wheat in from anywhere else that was dry either, so it wasn't just us. With only 60 acres to go, the end seems so close, yet so far, especially when you can't get rolling.
And, they are looking for us up the road...
