October 31-Trick or Treat!

View of the day-Well, it's a dig into the archives for one of Al's favorite shots...because he actually took it himself!

Well it's official...the 2007 harvest season is over for us...the cutting part of it anyway. We still have to get everything cleaned up, moved home and put away for the year. Al is working on getting that done and hopes to be home by Friday. Didn't that season go fast?

Marilyn spent part of the day cleaning at home and then took the bus up to Ebenezer to unload the fifty risers...okay, more like 20...clean up the storage space and load the set pieces on the bus. She had help from Brenda, her stage manager...who is also her manager at Staples...and after three hours, it was back home to pack.

Marilyn is also heading north...to Kamsack for Theatre Saskatchewan's short play drama festival. There are nine community theatre groups from around the province taking part, with three different one act plays each night. The adjudications are held the morning after the performances and they have an acting workshop as well. Yorkton Paper Bag Players are taking the first act of a two act play they did for the mental health awareness week, and Marilyn is directing...and driving the busload of performers and sets. We are staying at a motel 5 miles out of Kamsack and they did tell us that there would be a shuttle service. This is a good thing since Marilyn has been known to quaff a few Coors Light in the green room after the evenings performance, and she doesn't drink and drive...anymore. Each night the green room has a different theme...Mexican Fiesta, 70's lounge lizard and formal, and as usual, Marilyn is trying to sew and glue her costumes, while also getting the last minute set pieces repaired.

Didn't have any goblins...

October 30

View of the day-While walking through the trees to the field, an old plow sat at rest near the sunflowers.

Al was up early to go for breakfast with Mike, but he wasn't able to get combining right away, since there were still auger and bin issues. He finally got going after lunch and mad good time until after the rain started at 8pm. It wasn't too much of a rain and with only 70 acres left until he's finished, it might just go tomorrow and he'll be done...barring any breakdowns.

Marilyn cleaned windows in the cool cloudy weather at home, then drove up to Ebenezer to get the stage lights that would be needed for the two rehearsals in the evening. After getting home around 11pm, a second wind hit and some house cleaning was in order...until it was time for bed.

Oh, yeah...the blog needed to get done...

October 29

View of the day-When it's red like that, you know it's going to be a windy one the next day.

Marilyn was up early to have coffee and a visit before heading for Yorkton. Another long familiar drive, but this time everyone was out of the fields. Just as she arrived in Yorkton coming up to the first set of lights, she could see a pilot vehicle leading a semi with a combine on it...it looked like a harvester, but it passed so fast she couldn't read the name...and the white SUV with the flashing blue and red lights made it even harder to read. Nope, it wasn't for Marilyn...the Highways guys decided to pull over the combine...that's why we don't haul our stuff home to Yorkton... The traffic was too thick to turn around and get a shot of the day, and I'm sure the driver was happy about that...still would have like to known who it was.

After getting home and unloading the truck, the first thing on the list was to get the high speed back in action and load up the phone with the long distance bundles...Sasktel doesn't make any money off us when we are at home...toll free numbers?...who need them? Once that was all in order, it was out to the garage to get the lawnmower out and cut the grass for the last time. It was a beautiful day so it didn't take too long to get it clipped down to size.

Al called during the afternoon, it seems he had the truck and combine full, but the auger had been moved to finish off a bin of soybeans, and with 5 acres left to go, the farmers combine broke down...so no one was rolling. He tried to get on the internet on Donna's computer, but her mouse had frozen up and refused to work, even after restarting a number of times...was it the trapline?...or the four cats that roam the house? It's bad enough to do "tech support" when you are there, but over the phone...not good.

Marilyn had a rehearsal so she went back into town for a few hours, then stopped to get her hair cut from one of the theatre group members who does it for her regularly.

And Al never called back so we don't know how he made out...

October 28

View of the day-The mountain comes to mohammed as the combine dumps in the truck at the auger.

Another morning with the usual rituals,...clean, fuel, unload, and go. After getting the truck moved out to the field, Marilyn got to go into Jamestown to get Al a few things before she set off for Canada again. Once she returned with Al's lunch, she unloaded the truck so Al would be able to keep running for the rest of the day without her. The bin was almost full and the farmer needed the auger for soybeans, so there would be no more unloading today anyway.

Marilyn got the truck back in the field, then packed up to go home for the rest of the week for the drama festival her theatre group was entered in. After a short stop in Minot to...ahem..."stretch her legs"...where else? Someplace warm, out of the weather, lots of room to get the heart rate up pushing a cart around...that's right...Walmart...to get the winter's stash of "Flamin' Hot Cheetos"...just can't get them in Canada. And why is cheese so darn expensive at home? The plan had been to go all the way back to Yorkton, but she decided to stay over at her sisters in Carlyle to split the trip up.

And make use of the high speed connection...

October 27

View of the day-The sun sets behind the metal wheat on the family farm sign. There are a lot of unique signs like this one all over the area.

Al was able to talk Marilyn into going for an early breakfast, since there would be no combining for a while. We did get a frost last night so everything was a bit wet after the frost melted. There was a rain shower about 5 miles to the north, but it never amounted to much and it never threatened us.

We got the truck unloaded, the combine serviced and fueled, then replaced two of the plastic collars that the disappearing fingers fit through. Al had been dealing with the constant ticking...more like clunking...as the finger was slopping around in the hole on the auger. It was a steady noise that could be heard across the field, so he was really happy to get the guides in...sort of like the water torture...every two seconds...metal on metal...oh well, it's fixed now.

Marilyn had lots of time on her hands today so she and Donna washed all the windows on the house. Once the sun came out it was really quite nice...a perfect day for windows. Once all the windows were clean, the storm windows got washed and installed and the screens put away for another winter. The box elder bugs (maple bugs where we come from) are unbelievable here. While cleaning the basement windows, it was almost impossible to keep them off the windows, even after flinging them off with a brush. The only repellent Donna had was wasp and hornet killer, so Marilyn used that to keep them away long enough to get the storms back on. It was supposed to kill on contact, but the only way it seemed to work was to drown them in it...which she did.

Al kept going all day, no breakdowns, no fires, quite uneventful, really. Once he decided to call it quits, Marilyn got a ride out to the field with Mike and brought the grain truck back to unload in the morning while Al drove the combine home so he could clean it off in the morning. He's claiming we get to sleep in tomorrow.

After all, Sunday is a day of rest...

October 26

View of the day-Someone is keeping an eye on Al. They are runnin cable on the power poles that run right through the field Al is combining on.

What a change in the weather! Yesterday was a gorgeous day, in the mid 70's...perfect tshirt weather. Today struggled to find 50 and it was cloudy all day.

Al got right to combining after getting the combine cleaned and fueled. He managed another 104 acre day and only had to stop once to use the fire extinguisher in the engine compartment. He thought he could smell something burning, so he went up into the engine compartment and found some smouldering chaff. A quick spray with the water extinguisher and he was back on the rows again.

Marilyn had another heavy day, getting three loads in. This gave plenty of time to work on set design for the Christmas play. While working on the computer, she listened to the Yorkton radio station online to get the latest news from home. The noon agriculture show came on and who do you think they were interviewing? None other that Big Al himself! During the summer Al would call in and let Ray, the ag man, know how things were going along the harvest run. Apparently he had called this morning and had another interview...there was even a summary on the 5:30 news report...the 5:30! Well, it just doesn't get any bigger than that...for Al anyway.

After the last load, Al brought the combine in to plug in and after having supper at the bar, we picked up the loaded grain truck and brought it back to get plugged in.

It's going to get cold tonight...

October 25

View of the day-Some mighty big potatoes! One was almost too much for the frying pan.

Al did his usual morning ritual of blowing off the combine, but he had to wait for the fuel truck to show up since his low fuel alarm was going off last night. Because of that, he wasn't able to get a full truck load for Marilyn, so she had the whole morning off.

Once he got fueled and rolling in the field, he got a couple of loads in before the field was finished. He moved the half mile to the next field and Marilyn picked him up and went back to get the grain truck to dump and then move to the new field. Then it was "more of the same" as Al continued combining and Marilyn went back to get ready for an evening out with Donna, our landlady.

The college in Jamestown was presenting Fiddler on the Roof, and since Marilyn had been a part of the Yorkton production a couple of years back...well...it was a "must see". Of all the productions we have been to see over the course of various harvest seasons, this one was the best...beautiful voices, live orchestra, great sets and lighting. Our performance had better choreography and a real 'fiddler on the roof", who came all the way from Scotland especially for the play, none the less, it really brought back a lot of memories of our performances.

Marilyn had promised Al a Pizza Hut pizza would be coming home with us after the play...but...what college town closes down their Hut at 10pm? Our only option was Little Caesar's and they only had the drive through open, so we took it rather than coming home empty handed. By the time we did get home, Al was already in bed and wasn't getting up and when he found out it wasn't Pizza Hut, he rolled over and went to sleep. All pizzas are not created equal.

And now some combining from inside the cab...

October 24

View of the day-Nope, not California...through the farm sign, the neighbour burns off a field that has been in grass for 10 years.

Al was up early, blowing the dust of all the nooks and crannies on the combine...he has learned in the past that a dust free combine will help prevent static flare-ups. He has also been dragging a length of chain to help ground the machine...we're not sure if it helps, but it makes us feel like we are doing something. Marilyn chose sleep over having an early breakfast, then went out to the field to bring in the truck to unload it. The three traps that had been laid the night before netted another victim...trap line count is now at four.

With the flowers not yielding as much as had been hoped, Marilyn's hauling job was pretty slack. Even so, Al managed to get a 100 acre day in which was cause for celebration after the last week of harvest-stopping weather.

And no rain in the near future should help to whittle down the acres...

October 23

View of the day-Al unloading sunflowers into the truck in the yard.

Your eyes do not deceive you...we actually combined today!

The truck was still full of sunflowers from the 30 acres we did way back when, last week and the auger was still set up at another bin that was getting loaded with corn. Al went out and combined a hopper full while he was waiting for Todd, the farmer, to move the auger to our sunflower bin. Once the combine was full he came over to help Todd move the auger so we could finally get rolling.

Marilyn cleaned out the cab of the General, removing the remnants the mice had left behind. Al's trap line count is 3 dead mice so far and Marilyn laid out a few more traps after leaving the truck for the day...a lot of paper towel had been shredded for bedding for the little varmints.

There were wind advisories all day and they were well deserved because it blew hard until after the sun set. At least the wind was able to keep the dust on the combine to a minimum so we didn't have any fires trying to start. Marilyn unloaded the truck and took it out to the field for Al to fill and then got to call it a night...ahhh...the life of a truck driver.

We added a short video clip of the sunflower combining...in case you never seen it...

October 22

View of the day-The sun sets on the elevator at Carpio, ND.

Al was off early to get his picture taken with the Terriers hockey team and executive. The club is putting together a 35th anniversary commemorative calendar with a different team each month...the first team, the championship teams, etc. While he was doing that, Marilyn was getting things packed again to go back to Pingree.

Al got back from his short excursion and we locked up the house and started the trip back. Marilyn had to pick up a couple things for her sister, and after a stop for lunch, we left Yorkton. We had to stop in Grayson on the way, and then at Carlyle to drop off the goods that we had picked up. We got to the border and for the first time in a long time had a short hold up as the new guy proceeded to try and find something wrong with our paperwork...he didn't find anything, but he still charged us $10 to cross into the US.

The rest of the trip was uneventful and we made it back to Pingree around 10:30. We did see a lot of combines rolling, but it was dark so we didn't know what they were cutting.

Tomorrow that will be us...

October 21

View of the day-The blade is on the tractor, so we're ready for the "old fashioned winter" that the weather man is predicting.

Another early day at the "mill" for Marilyn, although she didn't have to go in until 10am, it still takes an hour or so to "get in the zone". Al spent the day getting the dozer blade on his tractor and then he got roped in to helping the neighbours move a wooden garden shed from our back yard.

We share a well between the three of us close neighbours, and last year there was a time or two when the water was frozen and we were without it a few of times. The small shed was in the trees by the back of the house and we weren't using it for anything, so we decided instead of tearing it down, it would make a darn good pump house for the well. Of course, with the bus, Freighliner, camper and shop trailer all parked in front of it, the tractor couldn't get in to move it, so the four-wheeler was put into comission and with a couple of skids underneath it, they were able to manouever around the trees and get it over to the neighbours where the well was situated.

Al had high hopes of an all football day, but between the tractor, shed and phone calls, he might have gotten a quarter of one of the games in. Marilyn left work around 2, then went up to Ebenezer to get some theatre lights that were needed for the drama festival in Kamsack. After trying to get some work done around the house, it was time to go back into Yorkton for a rehearsal of the play we will be taking to the drama festival. Back at the house, it was time to pack up the suitcase and get ready to go back to the waiting sunflowers. Al talked to the farmer and they had tried the corn...still in the 20's for moisture...but at least the weather was better than predicted...no rain...

And no rest...

October 20

View of the day-Marilyn returns from her first day back at Staples.

Marilyn was up extra early to get ready to go in to her "winter" job at Staples. She decided to go in and do some extra training to get caught up on all the changes that had taken place over the summer. By doing it now when she had a chance, it would make the return to the sales floor a lot easier with the updates already under her belt.

Al went out to the auction sale just out of town to meet his brother and pick up our accumulated mail that he had brought with him. Unlike Marilyn, he came home only with the mail...no bargains to be found. He came back into town and met Marilyn for lunch after she was finished her "schooling" at 12:30pm. After lunch, Marilyn drove him out to the farm where the tractor had been parked so he could bring it home to put the dozer blade on...it's much easier when there isn't a foot of snow.

Marilyn took the pickup back home and was picked up by one of the members of the theatre group to go 10 miles north to Ebenezer to look for some costumes and props for the upcoming performance in the drama festival. The theatre group has no place to call home in Yorkton, so they rent a room in the school in Ebenezer, which has been turned into a community centre. The room hadn't seen to much cleaning over the course of the summer...things just got chucked in when they were dropped off...the manager of the building came in to see us and told us their had been a "visitor" on the premises last night and some of the rooms had been ransacked a bit. The kitchen had a couple cupboards rifled, the fire extinguishers had all been blown off...the residue was obvious in our room, settled all over the place. She told us the RCMP would be coming to look things over...this comment after we had been rummaging around looking for things and had touched pretty much everything. Nothing was missing from any of the rooms, she figured they tried one of the doors and it was open, so they had to do something with the opportunity...not to creative, thank goodness. After getting what we needed, Marilyn got a ride back into Yorkton to get the car which had been left at Staples.

Al went to the hockey game, and his team lost...again. Marilyn dug out the sewing machines and starting doing some major remodeling of the costumes...time flies when you're concentrating, first it's 9:30...all of a sudden it's 2am, and the blog isn't done.

Well, it is now...

October 19

View of the day-And the wait continues. The blackbirds have started their work on one of the sunflower heads that is waiting for big red to take it's bounty.

We got up early and loaded up the truck to head back to Yorkton for a couple of days. There wasn't much room for anything after Al had the back seat jam packed with his farm toys. We stopped at Carrington for a quick breakfast snack then headed for Minot. By the time we were half way there, the sun was shining and there wasn't a cloud in the west...they must not have known we were coming.

Marilyn had to stock up on a few things before going back into Canada...and where else to do that, but in Walmart...surprise, surprise. Al went to the liquor store and picked up a bottle to add to his stash at home...Al doesn't drink, but he knows plenty of folks who do...no Coors Light...wonder what that's all about?

Once the quick trip through Walmart was done, it was on to the border and beyond. No problems at the border, we had all our receipts...good thing the duty free limit is up to $400 dollars now...those toys add up. We stopped to grab a coffee where Marilyn's sister Marg was working in Carlyle, then kept on rolling back to Yorkton...the sun shining all the way.

We got home and Al changed the oil on the pickup while Marilyn got ready for her drama rehearsal. Al kept the couch warm by getting caught up on all the Voyager episodes that had recorded since we had been gone, and by the time Marilyn got home at 10:30 there was enough time to get caught up with the latest gossip he had heard and head to bed.

Seems like we were never gone...

October 18

View of the day-A weather phenomenon we have seen several times over the course of the summer. Once the "beer clouds" gather, so do the farmers, in the best "storm shelter" they can find. This is the 281 Stop at Pingree a place of comfort for those stranded and in need of sustenance.

Still raining...

We spent most of the day debating whether to sit out the weather or go home for a few days. The rain is not supposed to let up until the system finally moves out on Sunday...it's really not promising...and still no sign of frost.

There is an upcoming auction in the town of Pettibone for their school and all of it's contents. We called and were able to go and have a preview of some of the things that would be getting sold. It's so sad to see such a solid building not being used, and all the history in a lot of the things they had for sale. Al was taken back to grade 6 science when he saw the lighted model of the planets...all the books and supplies...it's all going on the block. Al has his list of things he wants and Marilyn has an even longer one. She went to look at the sound, lights and stage stuff they were getting rid of and managed to find a whole bunch more stuff that she might not be able to live without. Hopefully Al will be able to come that day because we just might need the grain truck to haul the stuff home. It's unfortunate the building isn't closer to home...there's a lot of potential there.

They had left up all the pictures of the students that had passed through the halls and had graduated...there were some pretty small classes...but then that's to be expected in the rural areas. Oh how the styles change...

The discussion on going home continued as we drove back to the farm. Pros for going home...well now...there is a Terriers hockey game on Saturday, and Marilyn could make two rehearsals Friday and Sunday, and Al has to get his picture taken with the hockey team and executive for the calendar on Monday. And here...we just have rain every day. The only con for the trip would be the 450 miles we have to drive one way...and then back on Monday.

Oh well, shut up and drive...

October 17

View of the day-A house in Aberdeen, South Dakota is decorated for Halloween. It's amazing how a lot of the yards in the US decorate for every holiday, not just Christmas.

The day started out as a lot of them in the last week, low clouds and fog and then the mist started around 10am and continued off and on for most of the day. Once again everyone in the coffee shop was blaming the Canadians for bringing the rain with them...coincidence...merely, coincidence. Since we knew we wouldn't be cutting any sunflowers, we decided to take a trip down to Aberdeen, SD to check out the great deals at the Dodge dealer on new one ton pickups.

Mike, one of the farmers, decided to go with us to kill the day, so he rode in the front seat with Al while Marilyn rode in the back working on the play they were writing and on the blog on the way home. She knew the conversation would be of farm toys and such stuff, so she decided to stay out of the way. Mike is another of the faithful daily blog readers, so when Al would start to tell him a story from the summer, Mike would cut him off with "read it on the blog". After about three or four such comments, Mike suggested they just sit there and stare out the window since they had nothing new to talk about.

It rained pretty much all the way to Aberdeen, and it looked like there had been a lot more rain there than up north. We went directly to the Dodge dealer and drooled as we drove by all the new one ton trucks...and they had a...well...ton of them. Just to put things in perspective, in 1998 when we bought the pickup we have now, we paid around $47K, that is almost 10 years ago. The truck we were looking at was a 08 one ton, Big Horn and the sticker price...which includes everything but the $50 registration fee...was $38,650! Diesel, 6 speed standard, engine brake, 4X4, 4 door, satellite radio, 17 inch tires (might need to revamp the garage) and quiet running...a real nice truck. At home an 07 one ton was quoted to us at...cough, cough...$53K!

Now before all you KIA's(Know It All's) start in on the "you'll never get it across the border" or "you'll have to pay a whole bunch at the border"(we pay the taxes whether we buy it here or there) or "they can't sell to Canadians". We checked into it at both border crossings when we came down and we have all bases covered. And remember, there is no exchange rate anymore.

We took it for a test drive with the salesman in the back seat telling all the great things about the truck. We parked it back on the street to check out the engine...unbelievable how quiet it runs when idling, although it barks a bit when the engine brake kicks in, a nice addition to the truck. After chatting a bit more with the salesman about a possible purchase after the harvest, he told us he would deliver it for free to Pingree...can you believe it?

We went to the Case and John Deere dealerships to look at the farm toys...less real estate in the back seat for Marilyn on the way home. Marilyn got dropped off at Walmart...no big surprise there...and the guys went to check out the farm toys over at a couple of other stores. Once they picked Marilyn up...with only a half cart full (that's a shock)...it was time to stop for supper before heading back. After stopping for supper at a Chinese buffet, which by the way is going on our list of "never again" restaurants, we were ready to head north to Pingree.

We stopped to get the view of the day that the guys had seen while toy shopping...again, every holiday is like Christmas down here when it comes to decorating...it really puts you in the mood of the season. It rained all the way home and then it got foggy...thank goodness it is still warm out and we didn't have to deal with ice.

More rain tomorrow...what to do, what to do...

October 16

View of the day-Johny catching 120 winks...cats being what they are need more than the usual 40 and this is one BIG cat. Interesting how humans aren't the only ones who try to fit a size 16 body into a size 4 outfit.

It was foggy all day, thicker at times than others and because it had rained during the night, it wasn't what you would call a real "drying day".

Al did make it out to reload his trap line and that was pretty much the only time he was outside. These make for very lazy days when it is so dreary and you don't move around very much...several naps were taken today and they weren't all by cats. The landlady loves to watch Lifetime movies, so Marilyn got sucked into the vortex of suspense, drama and romance...at least this time there were decent endings to these shows.

Tomorrow will be our only chance to get things rolling since there is a forecast for rain on Thursday. We'll see...it's not been a productive week so far...

No work makes for short blog entries...

October 15

View of the day-A beautiful North Dakota sunset...red sky...you know what tomorrow brings.

Oh, the day held such promise. We went to the cafe for breakfast, then decided to go into Jamestown to pick up a few things. We met the farmer and his son having lunch so we got the lowdown on where and when to start...or at least take a sample. After finishing the errands we went back out to the farm to get the windows washed and all the settings made on the combine.

Al went out and did a test just to find out if we were in the neighborhood for moisture. He took the sample to the elevator, but couldn't get it tested since someone had swiped the gram weight measurer (technical term...well, a made up one). The farmer decided to have us fill a truck just to get started while he worked on the corn. The moisture was high on the corn, but it was going into air bins.

While Al combined, Marilyn went to work decoding the mystery of the finicky dish receiver and after trying everything to narrow it down, ended up having to get a new one sent out to replace the faulty one. No NFL football for Al.

Al had to set a trap line in the General for the mouse that had taken up residence. Twice he had to replace the peanut butter that the wily rodent and swiped without setting off the trap...but, third times the charm and when he checked it after filling the truck...Bingo...mouse heaven.

We went to the bar for supper knowing that the owner would have the game on...him being a rabid Vikings fan...and when we got there his mother was running the show and he was at a school board meeting. When we left the bar it was starting to sprinkle... This has been the longest growing season in recorded history, in this area.

Never though we would be looking for frost...

October 14

View of the day-Just waiting for the sun to shine...all set up to go.

Not a very early day, and no sign of the sun, so it really didn't matter. Al spent the day watching football...sometimes here, sometimes over at the neighbors...no time for boredom, of course, that's a matter of opinion.

Marilyn got to get a bit of visiting in and took a stroll around the yard to see what she could find for the view of the day. It's quite bizarre how the sunflower fields are surrounded by some sort of plant that goes to seed with burrs...lots of sticky burrs...not enough incentive to cross the "moat" to get any good pictures, just yet anyway. The evening was spent watching the second part of a two part series that started yesterday. Marilyn was totally disgusted with the fact that the show had such a crappy ending and she had invested all that time watching it. It's shows like that load of...well, you know...that keep us from being regular movie watchers. Al's evening was just as bad as his Seahawks lost to a team that hadn't won this season...Marilyn called them the "Melville Millionaires of the NFL"...he didn't feel any better.

We've had enough rest already...let's get on with the show...

October 13

View of the day-An overhead shot of the sunflower header ready for action. Taken from on top of the combine cab.

Al was up early to work in the fog first thing...another instance of people blaming us for bringing the wet weather. It stayed cloudy and foggy most of the day, although we did see the sun for about 30 minutes shortly before it was to set. Once Marilyn made the scene, it was off to the bustling metropolis of Pingree to see if we could get omelets at 30 minutes to lunch time at the community run cafe. Usually they cut off the breakfast run around 10am, but Al was able to sweet talk the waitress/cook into breaking tradition and building us some eggs. It really didn't take a lot of talking...that's the great thing about a small town community cafe.

After breakfast we went out to get the combine set up for sunflowers, and fixed the few things that had gone wrong at the end of the small grains season. Marilyn went right to work trying to get the header raise to work when moving forward. After taking the console off and checking to see if there were any wires touching or worn out, it was obvious it wouldn't be the easy way out. We checked to see if the controllers on the feeder house had somehow seized up, but they were working like new...another dead end. Finally we decided to try the new switch we had bought back home in Canada. The propulsion lever has an inch and a half diameter handle that is about one foot long and it has four bundles of wires running from the handset to the bottom of the console...which means threading the new one through the tight quarters was going to be a chore. We though we would hook up the wires outside the handle just in case that wasn't the problem and we would have wasted our time trying to get the thing threaded. Once we made sure the problem would be solved by replacing the switch...a number of short jaunts around the yard raising and lowering the feederhouse with the front end running...we ran a scrap piece of tie wire up through the handle and tied it to the bottom of the switch wires...home free!

One job out of the way, but...once we started the combine up and set throttle in the low idle detent, it was running quite a bit faster than it usually did. After checking to make sure nothing had been altered by the removal of the console, we decided to shut it off...it wouldn't...shut off, that is...it just kept chugging, and we couldn't throttle up either. After a quick check in the engine compartment we could see the end of the throttle cable had broken off. Al called up to Carrington to see if they had a new cable and, yes, they had what we needed. We left everything where it sat and ran in to get what we needed before they closed.

Back at the combine, we got the cable repaired, the console back where it belonged, the header attached, greased and chans lubed...a darn productive day all in all, considering we couldn't combine. Back in the house, Marilyn had to do some dish tech work so Al could watch his baseball playoffs, then did a cleanup on the in house computer so the blog could get posted earlier than 1am for a change.

It always starts with good intentions...

October 12

View of the day-The combine rests in Pingree, ND. Tomorrow the header goes on and hopefully the sunflowers are ready.

Another really early morning, we wanted to get up early to see Gordie off to school and Al figured if he had Marilyn rolling, he might as well take advantage of it.

We left Carlyle around 8:30am and made it to the border after stopping once to check on the rad hose fix job. Apparently it wasn't tight enough, but you couldn't tell when the truck was just idling in the yard. One it got up to pressure with a load, it was leaking quite profusely. We tightened it up and forged on.

The Canadian side was really busy, a couple were returning with a brand new camper they had bought in the US and had a bit of paper work to do. There were semis hauling grain, cattle or pigs and there looked to be a hunter or two. We better hit it early when we come back or there could be a wait, what with all the bargains to be had with the exchange rate being what it is.

On the US side, it was business as usual as they stamped our forms, checked the equipment and sent us on our way. We stopped at Kenmare for fuel and lunch, and to retighten the hose clamp, then it was back on the road until we reached Carrington. We stopped at the Case dealer to pick up a couple of idler pulleys for the rotary screen...they only had one, then drove the 25 miles out to the farm.

Once we got in the yard, we unloaded the combine then hooked up the trailer and parked it out in the back away from the traffic zone. We went to check in at the house and got caught up with some of the latest happenings in the area. The farmer was out combining corn with his machine, so Marilyn dragged Al the 20 miles into Jamestown for the Walmart fix...a lot of things were forgotten in the rush to pack, so we had to replenish. We stopped for supper at Arby's then picked up some groceries.

Back at the Casa, it was unpacking time...this load was much easier that the one we left at home. After cleaning up a bit it was time to blog, but this time it had to get done on the local computer since there is no wireless internet here.

Yet...

October 11

View of the day-The rigs sit in the cold misty day waiting to roll.

Al got up early to get the correct hose clamp for the General. After seeing what the weather was like, he called down to the farmer at Pingree to find out what it was like down there. Same sh**, different pile...Al made an executive decision, not to fight the SE wind and rain, and just stay put for another day.

After he got the leak repaired, Marilyn faced the elements to help hook the truck up to the combine trailer. After that job was completed, it was everyone back into the house to warm up and dry off. Al spent some time checking his eyelids for cracks and Marilyn worked on the updated website for the harvesters association.

By the time Al had been revived and Kim came home the table was covered with laptops...again, the faces have been removed to protect the innocent. The day continued it was a relaxing day off.

Tomorrow we go no matter what the wind direction...

October 10

View of the day-Some of the fleet safe in it's winter "garage". The Freightliner will not be able to escape.

We were up early to finally get packed and on our way to Carlyle. Al had set his "AIS" time as usual...that's "A** in seat"...when he expects Marilyn to be strapping on the seat belt as the pickup is rolling out of the yard. With the unpacking still not completely done, he did allow an hour leeway so as not to get Marilyn's "FIA"...that's "foot in -...well, you get it.

We left the yard at 10:30 and after doing a few last minute errands in town, started off for Stockholm. We got to the yard and Al got the General started and then fueled it up from the slip tank on the pickup. Once the header was strapped down and hooked up to the pickup, it was finally time to head south for the last time of the year (we think).

We had an uneventful drive to Carlyle...except for the strong SE wind...it was tough to get into the tall one at times. After we made it out to Kim and Marg's farm, we unloaded the combine and took the pickup head off. We wouldn't be needing it until the next season, so Kim graciously allowed us to park it out by his bins.

Al noticed there was antifreeze leaking out and blowing all over one side of the engine. After checking everything out he discovered it was a 6 inch piece of hose right at the rad that had a small hole in it. We went to town and managed to get another hose...it couldn't have just been a normal size hose...tapered if you could imagine. Once we got back we decided to load the combine back up on the trailer and then get the truck back together...oh, wouldn't it be nice if it was that easy? The hose clamps weren't strong enough and Al didn't want to take the chance of stripping them, so he and Kim went into town to get beefier clamps. The first ones they got were just a touch small, but they could have worked...no sir, it was back to town to swap them for bigger ones...and bigger they were...too big. They called it quits after that and tomorrow they will go back and trade the big ones in on the first ones they had. After supper and some visiting, it was time to get the blog done...at a decent hour for a change.

Tomorrow we reach our destination and hopefully get some combining done...

October 9

View of the day-Al pulls the cart trailer with the tractor instead of the cart trailer carrying the tractor. Getting things parked for the winter at a friends place SE of Yorkton.

We set off for Esterhazy in the morning to get the tractor and cart loaded and moved. first we had to get the trailer from where it was parked after the catastophe of high-centering on the driveway into the field. The farmer brought his tractor over to use the hydraulics to lift the trailer so it could get hooked up to the Freightliner.

The Freight wasn't to happy about starting, even though it was plugged in. Once we realized the farmer had left it in gear when he shut it off after dumping a load of grain, it started a lot easier. However, the air cleaner refused to hold air, so that meant the brakes wouldn't come off because they needed the air pressure. After plugging it up long enough for it to start holding air, and it was under a lot of pressure, it finally did what it was supposed to and we were able to hook up the trailer, and take it over to the main farm to load the tractor.

We unhooked the trailer on the road so we wouldn't have issues with the lift sinking into the soft ground. The only problem was the road was crowned so we had to dig up some more lumber to use as ramps, so the hitch on the back wouldn't catch on the trailer. We finallaly got it loaded and headed off to Saltcoats and north.

Once we got to the farm, we parked on the road again, got the tractor and cart unloaded and parked the grain cart in the field, next to the farmers Versatile pull type combine. After the cart was unhooked, we hooked the trailer up to the tractor and parked it next to the cart. Then it was homeward bound.

Al took the shortcut back to our place and Marilyn went through Yorkton to pick up a few things before going back out to the farm. Al had the Freightliner tucked way in the back behind the camper and bus, so by the time Marilyn got back it was a matter of guiding him back with the bus.

In the evening, Marilyn had a rehearsal in town with the theatre group, and Al stayed home to pack a few things for the next leg of the harvest. That will start tomorrow, as we head out for Pingree, ND going via Carlyle for the night.

We hope the farmer booked us in to the Casa Donna at Pingree...

October 8 - Happy Thankgiving/Columbus Day!

View of the day-An old barn waiting for the big wind to finally take it down and put it to rest.

A pretty laid back Thanksgiving for us, no rain, which was nice. We had decided to finish writing the play that we were going to be doing for the harvesters convention in Banff. Al though cutting the grass in the ditch with a gas push mower was a better thing to do, so that was that. At least until just before it was time to watch the second CFL football game...he did manage a half an hour of creativity before being drawn to the tube.

Al's schedule for the day also included going over to a cousin's house to watch another game and take part in the annual hockey draft. Too many participants, meant his favorite players were getting scooped up before the turn came around to him...oh well, at least the Roughriders won the game.

Marilyn was invited out for turkey supper by the neighbors to the east...once again, she never turns down the chance for turkey dinner. After a lovely supper, she went back home where the two gents that would be acting in the Banff productions were waiting for the first rehearsal. Al the director finally showed up an hour and a half later and got to listen to some of the lines, and he just might admit to having a hand in this one.

Once the guys left, it was more unpacking...someone is refilling the bags during the night, kind of like the "reverse" shoe makers elves. There is light at the end of the tunnel though, and it will have to be done before we leave for Pingree, ND on Wednesday.

Marilyn refuses to come home to more work...

October 7

View of the day-Everything parked in it's winter spot, and Al has the Happy Thanksgiving projection on the side of the shop trailer, which he changes accordingly with the celebrations.

Got to sleep in a bit...had to make sure the tops of the camper slides were dry before they were pulled in for the season. Al kept busy outside rearranging things until everything was strategically placed for optimum snow cleaning in the winter. Marilyn killed most of the afternoon getting the satellites lined up and working...so far so good.

We had been invited out to supper in Grayson at Al's brother's place...an excellent turkey supper for thanksgiving. Al is not too keen on "fowl", so any chance Marilyn gets to have turkey, she takes it. We were able to spend some time catching up on all the goings on in Grayson, and try to figure out who's turn it was to host the family Christmas meal...still aren't sure about that one.

We did get a few days of extra time to get things organized here, since it looks like the weather was not helping to move things along with the sunflowers...a hard frost wouldn't hurt. We will be able to get the tractor and grain cart moved to their winter home, hopefully before the snow flies.

It looks good for the next couple of days...yeah, right...

October 6

View of the day-A couple of soldiers hide from the rain as they wait for next year's harvest.

We went to sleep with the rain falling and woke up to the same thing. Looking out the front window across the field where our "gauge trees" are, they are the ones we use to check the visibility, it was so low it almost looked like snow...but it wasn't. It actually rained all day, we're not sure how much...our rain gauge has disappeared.

Al went out to an auction sale, while Marilyn continued unpacking and made quite a bit of headway...you can see the kitchen floor and counter now...where did all that stuff fit in the camper? Al has a "no way" list he usually compiles at the end of the season where he makes a note of the things that are returned back to their spot in the house. If they didn't see the light of day during the harvest season..."no way are they coming next year". Marilyn had managed to pack a little lighter, which is strange since the campers keep getting bigger, her theory now is "if I need it, I'll just buy it"...that doesn't make Al any happier, it still needs to get unpacked at the end of the season.

An what about packing to go back to do sunflowers? We don't take the camper...the farmer's mother takes extra special care of us...she even renovated our room for us last year. Marilyn struggles to "pack light", you never know what you might need...of course, there's always the "buy it" thing...

Marilyn went into town to do some shopping, but her purse had managed to get left in the pickup, which Al had...coincidence...perhaps not. He had gone out to check on a place to park our trailers and grain cart for the winter just east of town a way. We did meet for supper to check out the new Asian buffet that had just opened in Yorkton...not as good as our old standby, the Hong Kong House, and no where near the buffets we have frequented in the USA, but we tried it and it is off our list.

Al decided not to go to the hockey game in Melville...a good choice. His Terriers lost 3-0. Back at home, with the dish not set up yet, Al had to listen to the baseball playoffs on the satellite radio, which conveniently is set up where he could lie down to enjoy the game in comfort. Marilyn did check her eyelids for cracks for a short while and by the time she got up off the couch it was pretty much time to go to bed. She was going to make a beeline to the bed so she wouldn't lose that "still half asleep" feeling, when Al said "what about the blog?"

Oh yeah...that little item...

October 5

View of the day-Everything changed, loaded and ready to go in the cold blustery weather. Sunflower header where it belongs and the combine loaded and ready to roll on Sunday.

Another early day with lots on the list of things to do. We went hooked up the shop trailer to take to Stockholm to get the combine changed over for sunflowers. It was looking like a miserable day was in store, and we weren't disappointed...oh wait...it was miserable and we were disappointed. It was cold, rainy and windy all day, there didn't seem to be any place to get out of the wind...it was just awful and it never let up.

We got out to the farm, unloaded the combine and while Marilyn tried to blow the chaff, straw and dust off the combine...in the rain...Al got the grain truck box cleaned out and filled up the fluid levels on it. With the shields off the rotor compartment, an attempt was made to get all the lingering dust blown out so we could work at changing out the concaves from small wire to large wire. The job is relatively easy...if you remember to take the middle one of the three out first to eliminate the jam up that happens in the confined space inside the big tire.

After we got the old concaves out and had the new ones ready to install, they went in with just a bit of persuasion...that was one job off the list. We had to take the pickup head off the combine, pick up the straight header off the Bergen header trailer then go to Esterhazy to get the sunflower header from the farmers field. After a quick visit to the accountant, another pit stop for lunch, we got the header hooked up and went back the 10 miles to where the equipment was sitting.

The sunflower header is an older style 810 Case straight cut header with sunflower pans attached and the reels replaced with a spiked drum, which you can sort of see from the view of the day. The header was made to go on a combine that doesn't have a step on the feeder house, so we had a couple of holes cut in underneath the top ledge to accommodate the step brackets on our rig. This makes picking the thing up somewhat of a challenge, since you have to be lined up perfectly to pick it up. Also, the top platform on the header is about 18 inches (you metric babies can convert it yourselves) as opposed to the 5 inches on the present headers which means you can't really see where the feeder house is as you creep forward to pick it up.

We had to unload the sunflower header off the black home built header trailer, which is fine for short runs, and move it over to the Bergen trailer, which is a much beefier header trailer. Because the headers are built slightly different , the brackets that hold the headers are different, also they don't line up. After a presto chango of the brackets, the sunflower header was ready to go on the Bergen, the straight header was loaded onto the homebuilt for winter storage and the pickup head was back on the combine.

After getting the combine loaded and hooked up to the truck, we were able to officially call it a day. We parked the straight header, hooked up the shop trailer and pointed north to Yorkton. We got back in time for Al to thaw out, have a swish, grab his pink scarf and head out to the Terriers hockey game.

His Terriers haven't been doing to good so far this season and tonight's game was in town against their arch rivals from down #10 highway, the Melville Millionaires. The Mills have gone undefeated this season, so it was sure to be an exciting game and at the time of this entry the game ended with the Terriers knocking the Mills off their winning streak with a 3-0 score. They go to Melville tomorrow night for the rematch, and with a couple of fights that broke out tonight, it should be a nail biter.

Oh yeah, Al had to wear something pink to support breast cancer, the team had pink jerseys and everyone was supposed to wear something pink. Marilyn checked out Walmart to see if they had anything pink in the men's department...a tie for $15 that Al would never wear again...she did have an eight foot pink scarf that did the job.

Pink is not Al's color...well, except for the stripes on the Freighliner...

October 4

View of the day-The seeds are all that is left on the tree after the wind has taken the leaves.

Another early day, while Al went to town to get a new fan clutch for the pickup...and get out of unloading bags...Marilyn had the job of doing a thorough cleaning of the camper. With everything out of it, it was just a matter of steam cleaning the carpets, then draining all the tanks and running the antifreeze through the lines. Al made it back in time to help with that much anyway. The weather was so nice today that with the windows open in the camper the rugs were dry in no time.

Al did a bit of cleaning in the shop trailer, trying to figure out what tools we would be taking with us, since the shop trailer will be staying at home. We don't have to make a back haul because we are only taking one grain truck, the combine and the sunflower header back to North Dakota.

We shut down the unpacking early due to the fact that Al had to work at the community bingo for the Yorkton Terriers hockey club. Marilyn decided to keep him company and help the team make a bit of money by playing bingo while he worked. It turned out to be worth while...spent $40 on cards and came out of the hall with $80...that's a change. Since we didn't have time to dine before we went to bingo, we stopped and spent some of the winnings on some fine dining after Al had helped finish cleaning up the hall.

Tomorrow we go to Stockholm to clean the combine off, change the concaves, and do a few more things to get ready to forge south again on Sunday. We plan on getting to Carlyle on Sunday then leave from there on Monday for Pingree, ND.

Of course, that's the latest plan...

October 3

View of the day-The last campground of the season...scenic and secluded.

If you read yesterday's entry and wondered what the heck was going on...it was a formatting issue that made things unintelligible...it's all better now.

Although we didn't need to get up early, the thought of finally getting home for good was enough to chase the sleep away. Al went into town to get a few things done, which left Marilyn to get the camper closed up for the trip home. After doing it all summer, it is pretty much routine, the only thing is one of the slide-out motors has stripped gears and it's a two person job...one holding the switch and the other using brute strength to help the slide close. With Al gone, Marilyn enlisted the help of the farmer to get the last slide pushed in and by the time Al got back, it was a matter of hooking the shop trailer behind the camper and heading out.

Back in Yorkton, we stopped for lunch in town then rolled out to our house to start the arduous task of unloading the camper. Even though we had brought it home and lightened the load once already, there was still a lot of stuff on board. Al was feeling under the weather, so he took some medication and was out like a light for the better part of the afternoon. Marilyn started getting things unloaded...very orderly at first...fill two tubs with stuff, bring it in and put it away. That worked for a while...perhaps 20 tub fulls. With a collection of paper and plastic bags, the rest of the unloading was a matter of filling the bags, setting them by the door until there were so many of them backed into the camper that she would start carting them into the house. Down four camper steps, four steps across the lawn, four steps into the house...at least a thousand times...or so it seemed. The bags didn't get completely put away, but they did end up in the correct rooms...filling most of the space on the floor and counters. Marilyn's job was done for the day...Al's shift would be emptying the bags...she hoped.

Marilyn had rehearsal for a one act play the theatre group will be taking to a drama festival in Kamsack the beginning of November, so she conveniently had to leave Al..."holding the bags"...get it? Sorry. Since the camper was now completely empty, the fall ritual is to steam clean the carpet, so she picked up the RugDoctor to do the job tomorrow before it is nestled into its winter spot. After the rehearsal, she went out for coffee with one of the actors, then drove back home where Al was enjoying local TV...someone didn't set the satellite dish up yet.

And someone only emptied three bags...

October 2

View of the day-Loaded up and ready to roll home…sort of…from Balcarres.

Marilyn had to start the day early to make sure she was back at the camper in Balcarres by noon. Al wanted to get every thing loaded and the combine and header moved out to a friend’s farm south of Stockholm. The yard is right along the #9 highway and is on the way south for us and it shaves about 20 miles off the trip…like 20 miles means anything to us after the summer.

After a couple of stops in Yorkton, Marilyn left for Balcarres…a perfect warm sunny morning with the sun behind her…too good to be true? You bet. For starters, about 25 miles from Yorkton, tracing her tracks back to Balcarres through Ituna (which is 55 miles straight west of Yorkton), she realized…that wasn’t necessary. The field we were working on was 25 miles south of Ituna…makes sense to go to Yorkton that way. Coming back…well…she was going back to the camper which was right off the #10 a road that goes straight to Yorkton…could have saved a few miles…no big deal.

When we had gone to Yorkton last week, we went through Ituna and had commented on the convenience store that was closed when we passed it. On the way through Ituna today, Marilyn saw the store and thought she was on the right road, so she forged south. Something was amiss, the first clue was the “highway” was gravel…not unusual in this nightmare road area…but it was also narrower…hmmm. After driving south, thinking the road would eventually run into the 310, it was time to rethink the situation…a lot of the roads don’t go directly straight through…yes, she knew there were no short cuts in this part of the province...and she wasn’t looking for one. Although finding the highway would be nice.

If you’ve ever been a passenger and noticed all the nice scenery, but not absorbed the road, then had to return on the same road and thought…what the heck?!? Now, it seemed the highway must be east of the road she was on, so she took the next good road going east…it should only be a couple or three miles…right? Six miles later she was cursing the fact that the little GPS handheld that she had gotten Al for Christmas was in the truck and not in the car with her…but, wait just one minute…she had the laptop and another GPS setup with her in the car! After stopping the car, hooking it up and waiting for the signal (just like waiting with bated breath for your winning ticket to be drawn)…oh, the anticipation…there was the green dot on the map showing where she was. Wow…never even imagined she was that far out…the #310 was 12 miles west of where she sat…hmmm. With the help of Microsoft Mary, she got back to the #310, and back to the camper...an extended trip, but what beautiful scenery on such a fine day.

Back at the camper we realized there were two closed convenience stores in Ituna, a block apart…the second one was on the right road. We took the pickup up to where the combine was going to get loaded, switched headers…the header lift worked first try. We think the header lift problem might be a hydraulic problem…like not enough oil in the reservoir…we’ll find out when we unload it. We then got the combine trailer from the first field and found a solid spot to load it without having the trailer lift cylinder pushing through the soft dirt to China. After getting the combine loaded, strapped down and all systems tested, we left for Balcarres to have lunch before striking out for Stockholm.

The trip was anything but smooth…the highway is beyond horrible…but at least we didn’t have any breakdowns and we got to the farmyard around 4:30pm…lots of daylight left. We took the back roads to Grayson to pick up our accumulated mail and have a visit with Al’s step dad, who collects it for us all summer. The discussion on how things have changed so much over the years…who has moved away…all the abandoned yards, fields gone to grass and weeds…changes...a lot of “I remember when” stories.

Back at the camper, preparations were started to get the house ready to move back home to Yorkton for good. Everything will get unloaded and it will get winterized and tucked into its resting spot until inspection time comes in January.

Seems a long time away…

October 1

View of the day-The last day of harvest in Canada for us.

Al went out to the field first thing in the morning and got everything serviced and the repairs made to the disappearing fingers and feeder lats. He was able to get going on the last of the oats by 10:30am. Marilyn stopped in Balcarres to pick up some lunch and then made the journey up to the field to take over for Al.

The oats that was left all went into the General and since the bin wouldn't have held it all anyway, Al took the last of the oats into the elevator in Balcarres after getting the semi spotted out in the field next to the wheat. There was only 35 acres of wheat left to combine in the same field, so Marilyn started in on it. On the first round of the field, she noticed that the header would lower but not raise...not a good thing when you are cutting the crop short and the terrain is rolling. After checking the header calibrations, it seemed the switch on the propulsion lever was the problem...it just wouldn't raise the header. With the header now lowered all the way to the ground, Marilyn backed up a bit while holding the button...and the header went up! So for the rest of the field, every time the header needed to be raised, we would have to stop and back up a bit to raise it...a real pain in the a**.

We decided to just "shut up and drive" to get the rest of the field done...by this time there wasn't much left. Al called up to the Case dealer in Yorkton and they had a new switch and Marilyn was leaving at 4pm to go to Yorkton for theatre business, so they left it out in the "will call" box.

Marilyn had auditions at 6pm for a Christmas play with one of the local theatre groups...not acting...just directing and back stage stuff. They were getting ready for their Nov. 30, Dec 1&2 production for a dinner theatre, pub night and dessert theatre. After getting that out of the way, she went over to see how things were coming with the other theatre group that was getting ready for the big musical Jan. 25-27. Participation in that one is strictly backstage, painting sets and the like...no singing.

Since the drive back to Balcarres would be late, Marilyn decided to suffer through the dial up at home and stay overnight in Yorkton. Al was able to get part of the Monday Night Football game watched before he lost signal on the dish, but he always has his Voyager DVR'd for backup.

Tomorrow the cleanup begins...again...