June 30, 2008

View of the day-The header makes short work of the wheat.

We left town just around noon and made a detour to Otis to check on the availability of a pay phone so Al could take part in his Terriers meeting by speakerphone tonight. Marilyn moved the combine to the other side of the field as Al went to get the shop trailer so we could air up the tires on the combine.

Just as we got ready to fire things up, a pickup truck stopped on the highway, then backed up and pulled into the field. It was the Peterson crew from back home on their way to Great Bend for parts. We got caught up with the news of their harvest and then got down to the business of getting some cutting done.

We finished the field we were on, then the farmer brought our header trailer over so we could unload it and move to the next field. After we got moved, we started all over again, this field was going 45 bu/ac so far and it had 25% hail on it!

Al wasn't able to connect with the Terrier meeting...no technology...no speaker phone...in 2008 if you could imagine...sheesh. So he hauled in a couple more loads then we called it a night. Marilyn picked him up at the Albert elevator after getting fuel for the combine.

It's official...the rain gauge doesn't work...or it won't anymore. Marilyn went to put in into its holder and it dropped and smashed into the header. It was bad news anyway.

With the laptop along for the ride, the blog was able to get written and uploaded before we got back to the trailer.

Finally an early night...

June 29, 2008

View of the day-How can something that looks like this be bad?

We got to sleep in again...good thing for Marilyn since the coffee from yesterday kept her up until 3am.

After a call out to the farm, we discovered that we had gotten another .6 inches from yesterday morning's rain. The grain was soft and so was the field which meant we wouldn't be cutting today...no till farming means no ruts.

We went out to the fireworks superstore to stock up for July 4th...talk about a selection. It's too bad you really don't know what you're buying until you blow them off...except of course for the rolls of firecrackers which Al seems to be addicted to. Marilyn managed to talk him out of the 10,000 cracker roll...400's were enough.

Al decided to visit the library to do a bit of surfing in air conditioned comfort...and Marilyn spent the time getting some exercise...shopping, of course. Just shopping...not buying...much.

After we closed the library, we decided to go out to the field to do a bit of fixing...and to check if it had miraculously dried down enough to do a test. Well...we got the fixing done, at least...too wet to try it, but we did get the servicing and fueling done so when it is ready to go we will be too.

It's looking good...

June 28,2008

View of the day-A windmill in wheat.

Well, the old rain gauge let us down again. This time we were rattled out of slumber with the crack of thunder and it continued right through the morning. We never even attempted to go out to the field...we knew it would be wet, so we don't know how much it rained at the field.

We checked out a few places around town, intending to hit the big fireworks store to stock up for the 4th, but time was short and we had a appointment to keep after lunch. We spent the better part of the after noon at the My Coffee cafe, getting caffeined up and discussing all things harvesting with Jason Holcomb, an Associate Professor of Geography from Morehead State University in Morehead, Kentucky and his girlfriend and reasearch assistant, Heather. Jason had gone on the harvest run for several seasons and is working on a project dealing with the change to international laborers on the harvest run. He is also going to be working on an oral history of custom harvesting. It was a fascinating afternoon and once he has his own blog up and running we will include a link so you can find out more about his work.

After we parted ways, we brought the laptop into the cafe and Al did a bit of catching up on the internet...all but killing the battery on the laptop. After a late supper, Al went back to the camper to recover and Marilyn got her exercise by doing a few laps around Wal-Mart...not to much heavy lifting and only double digits on the receipt...

Marilyn decided to try and get the blog update done before driving back to the camper, since the wireless hotspot is right next to the Wal-Mart lot. There wasn't enough juice left on the laptop, so she went back to the camper, finished it off, then went back on the road to upload.

The sun came out in the afternoon and it was really pleasant out...not too hot and a dry wind from the north.

It seems promising for tomorrow...

June 27, 2008

View of the day-Combining among the terraces.

Okay...well, maybe the rain gauge thing was over rated. We had a terrific storm last night and ended up with .6 in town and .3 inches at the combine. But...just maybe it did work...we could have gotten over 3 inches like they did in the area. It's up again tonight and there isn't a cloud in our sky.

We knew we could sleep in thanks to the rain, but we had items to look after and we thought we might as well do the laundry as well. You never know when the weather will cooperate and if it does, there won't be time to get anything done...just combine.

We called the ProHarvest guys to check on the header lift on the combine. It had been creeping down while it was loaded on the combine trailer and was starting to work a hole in the fenders. It looked like they had come out and changed a few things and it seemed to be working fine.

After dropping Al off at the General, which had been parked at the elevator, Marilyn went out to the field to fuel and service. We waited until 3pm to go out, just to give the grain time to dry out after the rain. The humidity never did go down, but the wheat was dry enough to combine, even though the straw was extremely tough...but it went through and we were able to get 60 acres done.

We had stopped by the local Nex-Tech dealer for free hotdogs at lunch...the local radio stations were doing a remote...to check on internet service and they told us to park outside their store and use the Hot Spot service they have.

So...into the truck and down town to load the blog...

June 26, 2008

View of the day-Al unloads his first load of Kansas wheat in the elevator at...Albert, Kansas!

We had a pretty productive day...and this time we did start early. We left Cherokee and took the scenic short cut...only met one grain truck and he pulled over for us...what a nice guy. We made Great Bend around 11am, temporarily parked the truck, combine and shop trailer so we could get the camper parked at the RV park.

We got parked, hooked everything up and while Al went to get a few parts from the Case dealer for the header...yes, Ron, we finally changed that broken guard...Marilyn got the camper organized and set a Great Bend campground record for aiming the dish...5 minutes!

After we had lunch and loaded up with ice, we headed over to the bins where the other equipment was parked...a 20 mile trip from Great Bend. Once there, we got everything unloaded and fixed up, ready for action. We went out to check some fields and the first one we got to seemed like it was ready to go, so we moved the combine over and commenced to cuttin'.

It was plenty dry and running close to 40 bu/ac. Al got to haul one load in to the elevator before they closed then came back to the field to fill the truck again. He got to combine for a while before we called it a day...nasty storms were brewing to the north all day and we did get a few sprinkles before we left the field. We don't need to worry about the rain because Marilyn finally got the rain gauge mounted on the combine and when that's on, it rarely gets used...again, famous last words.

Bad news...no internet at this campground, so we have to drive a few blocks over to the Days Inn to get hooked up. Marilyn figured by the time we got phone hooked up from the big company, it would be time to leave again. One of the places to get internet is in the parking lot over at the 24 hour Wal-Mart...now, isn't that convenient?

Let's hope the rain gauge works and the weather misses us tonight...

June 25, 2008

View of the day-Poised and ready on the street in Cherokee, OK...mere moments before the wheels could have fallen off...

We got up earlier than normal with the intention of being "AIS" (a$$ in seat) by 8am. Ahh..the best laid plans...

We were up until 2am rehashing the results of the Terrier elections...quite bizarre, but water under the bridge now. By the time we had breakfast and paid our tab and the...gulp...fuel bill, we were finally ready to go. Well, that was until Al discovered a wheel seal was gone when he made his morning circle check of his rig. We called the local mechanic to see if he could get the General in for repair. He said he could get to it right away, so we changed up our plans and took the header and Freight/Tractor load up with the header.

We unhooked the combine on the street and took the truck over to the shop and headed north to Great Bend, quite a bit behind schedule, but since we couldn't get both loads up this time, we weren't too worried. We would just come back, stay over in Cherokee another night and get everything up to Timken tomorrow.

We got out to the field at Timken around 1:30, parked the rigs, had a quick visit with the farmer and started back for Cherokee. Well...after we stopped for lunch at the Great Wall Super Buffet...had to get the Chinese food fix in.

Our usual fuel station is "restructuring", so we had to look for another source of Ag fuel. We went to the main office of the coop in Great Bend...they also own a few in the small centres around where we work...and Al had to fill out a credit application. It's been quite a while since we had to do one of these and it was like having a pop quiz thrown at us. We just kept looking at each other, wondering what the answers were supposed to be. The credit guy wasn't in, which was a shame since it is so much easier to sell yourself in person. It would make sense to just use a credit card at the Ag pump, but for some reason they have it kick out after every $50...is that insane?? What is that three and a half gallons?? Plus you get charged a credit card fee for every transaction...sheesh.

We were surprised at the number of fields that hadn't been combined, while a few miles north there would be miles and miles of fields that had been cut and already had the weeds taking over. There is still a lot of trucks rolling by the camper to the elevator here in Cherokee. The Cherokee paper says they brought in 2.5 million bushels, and the price at the Great Bend elevator was $8.78. A good year for everyone down here.

We made it back to Cherokee in time to pick up the General from the hospital and have a chat to find out a different way to get north of town...around the paving that is getting done. The machinery they were using was so wide they made Al back up and drive with his wheels off the edge of the new asphalt...an eight inch drop...very uncomfortable, not to mention chancy on those soft shoulders.

We hooked the trailer back up to the truck then decided to check out the back road we were told about about tonight rather than driving blind tomorrow and getting a surprise. If we don't meet anybody, we should be alright.

Famous last words...

June 24,2008

View of the day-Our crop from last year. This is the spot where we cleaned the combine last year and our landlord left it to grow until our return.

We got both rigs loaded and parked out on the street ready to go, thankfully it was an overcast day...still 95 degrees though.

Back at the camper Marilyn decided to give the pickup and shop trailer a cleaning since the pressure washer was out from the day before. After both were cleaned, it was time to tackle the holding tanks on the camper...can't move until they are fixed. Al helped get everything sealed back up then it was finally time to call it a day...in the work department, anyway.

We went out for supper with our two farmers, Ron and John, and their wives to the Smok Shak...and ate way too much. After visiting for a while and receiving a big bag of shelled pecans from John and Peggy's pecan tree, we said goodnight and went back to the camper to wait for "the call"

The call we speak of was the one that was to come from anyone who had attended the Yorkton Terrier annual meeting. This is the junior hockey team in Yorkton that Al is an executive board member of. There had been a bit of turmoil before he left and the board was about to change in a big way, of course, Al couldn't be there to voice his concerns. Too bad really...we got ONE call...it wasn't good news. So bad in fact that Al doesn't even want to continue on with the old boys network...er...board. It's like some bad dream, only we know we won't wake up from this one. It should be interesting this fall...

What the H-E-double hockey sticks, were they thinking...

June 23, 2008

View of the day-A farmer making the turn with his 10 bottom plow. Now that's "turning the soil"...no need to worry about rocks down here.

Well, it's official...we are done combining in Oklahoma...and Al got to finish!

Marilyn went out and serviced the combine while Al got his truck unloaded at the elevator. Once he made it back to the field, Marilyn got to go do laundry while Al finished the last 30 acres.

Once Al was finished, Marilyn went out to bring the header and trailer in to clean up for the move, while Al brought the last two loads into town to dump. On his way back to the field he picked Marilyn up so she could bring the combine back to town to start the cleanup on it.

While we were giving the tractor and combine a pressure wash, the Schwanns man came by...mmm...good thing the freezer is empty...well...it was!

Marilyn worked on the combine until it was too dark to see...that, and the mosquitoes were trying to take her away. Hopefully when the sun comes up there won't be too many misses on the combine.

Tomorrow we load...

June 22, 2008

View of the day-While moving, Marilyn passes a field of local combiners finishing up.

Another early start to get the last 20 acres of the field done. Once Marilyn got the header loaded on to the header trailer, she started the drive west to the last Oklahoma field for the '08 harvest.

After getting everything moved over and hooked up, it was time to start cutting and try not to get stuck. About two hours into the field, the head of the cutter bar broke which brought everything to a standstill until Al got the farmer to pick up the spare knife we had on hand that was back at the combine trailers. Once that was assembled and installed back in the header, it was back to cutting.

The sky was threatening to let go most of the afternoon and it even sprinkled a bit, but the bad stuff moved SW and left us to continue on. As darkness fell we knew we wouldn't be able to get finished tonight anyway and the straw was pretty tough so we called it a night around 9:30pm and went back to the camper after getting fuel for tomorrow.

Soon it will be clean up time...

June 21, 2008

View of the day-Three young bucks that got chased out of the crop while combining today. The doe and spotted fawn were too fast to catch.

How depressing...the days are now getting shorter...

The horse Al has a share in, Shiver and Shake, got first in his harness race on Friday and posted his personal best!

We got an early start to the day even though the straw was a bit tough for the first load. Marilyn had a rider with her for a few rounds, one of the landlords of the field. We have combined this field almost every year since we have been coming south, first with Johnston Harvesting and then on our own. This was the first meeting for us with this landlord after all those years..it was kind of neat to finally put a face to the name. It is somewhat interesting that a lot of the farmers we cut for are on shares with other landlords who rarely even get out to see their land.

In the winter, when Marilyn thinks of combining in Oklahoma, this is the field that comes to mind. The windmill, the terraces...the fact that it seems to take forever, even though it is only 150 acres.

It was a beautiful day, the wind was gentle which caused a lot of dust to hang around and didn't help to dry anything out. The clouds kept coming and going and at one point as Al was hauling a load on the highway, he called to say it was raining pretty hard where he was at. Marilyn noticed a few sprinkles on the windshield, but it was one of those "sun showers" that happen...kind of a freak thing. She kept combining until...as the rule states..."the water runs off the header". After tarping the cart and moving back to the pickup across the field with the combine, she decided to do a bit of cleaning while waiting for the sun to come out again. It did about five minutes later and she decided to go where the crop was thinner on the high spots of the field so she wouldn't have to chew through so much wet straw.

Al was able to easily keep up with the hauling until they closed the elevator at 9:30. It was just as well since the humidity went way up and the straw was laying like a blanket on the stubble...that, and the next thing Marilyn had to move to was the terraces which have standing water in them. Tomorrow should be interesting getting those cut out...it's no-till and she can't leave ruts in the field. Even with the short rain delay, we managed just under 100 acres.

Not much left there to finish...

June 20, 2008

View of the day-Al wondering what the heck we got ourselves into as he examines what's left of the dash.

What a great day it turned out to be!

We put off getting down to the dash as long as we could..the sun was finally shining and we wondered if we would be able to get the job done before we got a chance to do some combining. We parked under the shade tree, bit the bullet and started to gut the dash to get to the blend door that was preventing the air from coming through the vents.

We had downloaded a service manual, which was a big help and the Dodge Forum had a lot of posts stating how it would take 8-10 hours to get the job done...that was the biggest deterrent to starting the task. Once we got down to business, it really didn't take that long to dismantle...but that's never the hard part of any job, is it? We tried to keep track of which screws went where and discovered some interesting things in behind the dash...not of them crawling, thank goodness.

Speaking of crawling...we had a spider in the camper...a BIG BLACK spider. Marilyn can handle most anything, but spiders are just too creepy, especially when they are that big...the body was at least an inch long and it had interesting colors on it's back...not that she got that close. Al managed to save the day and chucked it outside...it might still have a couple of legs left to get around...

Back to the dash. Once we got everything moved out of the way Marilyn was able to reach in behind to get the door out of it's housing and then the task of removing the old fitting started. We had to drill out the old plastic, but just enough so that we didn't remove the two ridges that held it in place...mission accomplished with only a small, non-crucial, chuck of plastic missing. Once that was removed, Marilyn was able to get the door back in it's place and put the new fitting in. Removing the dash was really the only way to get to the door.

After getting the dash back in place we hooked the battery back up and gave it a test...SUCCESS! Worked like a charm and after monkeying around with a few wires under the hood, we actually had cold air blowing out of the vents. What was supposed to take 8 hours, we had done in about 3.5, and now that we know how the dash comes out we could have shaved another hour off the time.

All the time we were working on the pickup, grain trucks were driving by on their way to the elevator...Al was getting antsy. After we had the heavy lifting done, he went out to the field with the General and cut a test...13.5 moisture...it was a go. Marilyn finished putting the pickup back together, then headed out to the field to take over.

Al took a load into town while Marilyn took over the bridge (watching to much Star Trek Voyager lately) and tooled out 50 acres before calling it quits for the night. Only one casualty in the pickup...the cable from the two-way radio antenna was on the wrong side of the e-brake pedal and when Marilyn set the brake in the field...she cut the cable.

Tomorrows job...fix the radio...

June 19, 2008

View of the day-Six miles as the crow flies and Cherokee has disappeared into the rain.

Another day to sleep in because of the rain. A gloomy and overcast day with weather warnings out for the better part of it.

We had an early lunch then went out to the field to do some fixing on the Freightliner. The sky kept getting darker and darker, but it looked like everything was going east so we carried on with our work. At one point Al looked up and said "Oh, God, Cherokee has disappeared!". The rain was closing in and we knew what the road gets like when it gets wet...greasy...really, greasy. Al wanted to take the General into town to get a new tire on the front, but it had to air up first to get the brakes off, and the rain was getting closer by the minute. After getting the shop trailer hooked up and on to the road, Marilyn waited for Al to get moving before heading to the highway. We got out just as it hit, and in the five minutes it took to get to town it had rained 6/10 and water was laying everywhere.

It rained off and on all afternoon, but Marilyn managed to get some fixing done in between showers. The power seat in the pickup hasn't worked for quite a while, making it uncomfortable to drive without a booster seat...it works fine now. It's funny how you can find so many things to do to avoid the BIG tasks at hand.

We got a phone call to collect the rain check for the steak supper we missed the other day...no combining to prevent it this time. We had a good visit and a fabulous steak supper...they would give Slow Helen's in Melville a run for their money...and we ate way too much.

Tomorrow the dash comes out of the pickup...

June 18, 2008

View of the day-Some of the power poles still laying on the side of the road north of Cherokee...snapped like a toothpick.

More rain during the night so we slept in until there was a knock at the camper door. Someone who was able to track us down from one of last year's blog pictures, and who had been in email contact with us for the last year or so, came a-callin'. Al chatted with him and was invited over to his place for supper, unless we were combining...fat chance.

We went to pick up the part for the pickup and after trying unsuccessfully to find an easy way to get the small plastic part installed way in behind the dash, we gave up for the time being. Al went out with the landlord to get some welding done on the Freightliner, while Marilyn continued to work on the pickup.

We never did get combining but our supper host did, so our date for supper was postponed. We went over to Ingersol to the Smok Shak for supper, then came home to do more of nothing...how did we survive before satellite and internet?

And now the lightning flashes are getting closer and it's sprinkling again...

June 17, 2008

View of the day-An Oklahoma canola field just north of Cherokee. Almost like home, but the stalks are quite a bit bigger, not a good place to wear shorts.

2.5 inches of rain...

Guess what we didn't do today. A loud crack of thunder woke us up around 3:30am and shortly after the rain started pouring down and continued right through until around 8:30am. We found out that 2.5 inches fell during that time so we knew we wouldn't be combining for a day or two anyway.

We killed some time in the camper then went out to the sale barn for lunch and then to the NAPA dealer for our daily parts fix. We had to order the two shocks for the General and try to figure out what other part we needed to get the A/C fixed in the pickup. So far we have put in two parts that we really didn't need, or rather, didn't fix the problems.

We came back to the camper and proceeded to listen to the local Yorkton radio station, CJGX 940, on the internet for a while to kill some time. It was time for the local request show so we emailed in a request for "International Harvester" to the farmers at home. It is so nice to be able to find out what is going on at home, it used to be we would only get the local news from a phone call or email...now, it's just like home...have your morning coffee and listen to the news and morning show...and find out the stupid answer to the "ribtickler" that no one could figure out for 6 months. Now, if only we could convince the local paper to "get with it" and have an online version...

And continuing on with all things from Saskatchewan, we are able to watch episodes of the home grown "Corner Gas" here on the Dishnetwork satellite, now that it has been syndicated on the WGN channel. For anyone who lives in a small town, it is a hilarious look at the simple things that affect everyone. Last night's episode had one of the characters deciding to have a blog...made us wonder about a few things. If you get a chance to catch an episode it comes on M-T at 11pm on WGN. You can also do some combine racing at their website!

We needed to do a water run since Marilyn forgot to take the water bottles to Enid to get them filled. We use bottled water in the camper because you never know what kind of water you are getting out of the hose. We made a trip into to Alva Walmart...just for water...and after filling the jugs, decided to take a drive around town to see which harvesters were staying there. We caught up with a harvester that we worked with back at home and had a nice visit, comparing notes before heading back to Cherokee. The trip home was where we came across a couple of canola fields...that's winter canola...they had the best conditions for it this year, we'll see how it turns out.

We also took a trip up the highway north of town to see all the damage that the wind had caused...huge power poles broken off and laying down on the ground...to dark for pictures...maybe tomorrow. Two big bins also bit the dust at the feed lot.

We got back to Cherokee and it was a super-do-nothing night, even though there were a ton of things we could be doing...but, all in good time. At one point we heard a loud explosion...we still don't know what it was, there was no signs of smoke or flames when we went out to look.

We'll find out at coffee row tomorrow...

June 16, 2008

View of the day-A few of the elevators in Enid, OK...they hold a lot of grain!

We got to sleep in a bit since it had rained last night and it was fairly overcast this morning so we knew it wouldn't be an early start...oh, yeah...the combine needed to get fixed. Ray from ProHarvest called to let us know they had found a part and that they would have it around noon and be out shortly after.

We had an early lunch then went out to the combine to service it and the grain trucks. While we were out there it started to sprinkle, then rain, so we knew we probably wouldn't get going at all today. We went back into town and decided to go to Enid for the afternoon so Marilyn could get her WalMart fix in...after all it has been three weeks...

Al had called in to talk to the agriculture reporter at home on our local radio station and it was to be on today during his noon report. We knew we wouldn't be in the camper when the report came on the internet feed, so Marilyn hooked up her digital voice recorder to "tape" the show so we could listen to it later. Al figures Marilyn should talk to him next time, but all she sees is the inside of the combine and the beautiful landscape...no way she could be as interesting as Al is...he gets to talk to the locals in the looonng line ups, so he knows it all.

Before going shopping, we went to check out the big inland terminals in Enid...it's hard to imagine the smaller elevators would run out of room with all the space there is in those elevators. That is where the local elevators haul out to.

While Marilyn was in shopping at WalMart another round of nasty weather passed through Enid, lots of thunder, lightning and rain. A lot of the other harvesters had time on their hands and were shopping as well. Marilyn ran into a few of them in various aisles all speaking in their native tongues...she recognized the German ones at least. She finally purchased a coffee pot since she had left hers at home...now there will be some real coffee made...the coffee down here is just not strong enough, unless you grab the first run through the filter when it is being made.

Ray called to let us know the combine had been repaired and was ready for action.

If only the weather would cooperate...

June 15, 2008 - Happy Father's Day!

View of the day-Al gets to combine almost all day. Here he cuts a patch in the new field to park the rigs.

Another wet morning, this time it wasn't just the dew, but a shower that passed through and left enough moisture to hold us up for a while. The sun came out around noon and with the sun shining and the wind blowing...making it feel like 102...the combines started rolling around 3pm.

Since there was a bit of a wait, Marilyn decided to get some laundry done...along with a pile of harvesters and locals. The laundromat here in Cherokee has been the victim of various forms of vandalism and has really gone downhill. A lot of the washers and dryers weren't working, so it took a lot of time to get things dried...well, not completely dry...there are a lot of things hanging to dry in the camper. It looks like a

clothes fight took place. A real shame about the laundromat.

Al finished the field that Marilyn had started yesterday and by the time he was done and moved to the next field, Marilyn had the laundry back at the camper and was ready to take over combining so he could dump the trucks he had filled.

Marilyn started in on the field and made a couple of short rounds, working out the wheat around the crevasses left from the water running from the rains. About halfway through the second pass the separating fan alarm went off. After going out and inspecting what the problem was, with the help of the farmers, it was time to call the Pro Harvest brigade in...they would figure it out.

The clouds had started to bubble up and the severe warnings were out for the area and it seemed like lightning was flashing all around us as we waited for Ray from ProHarvest to show up. By the time they made it out to the combine, it was dark but they were able to determine that we needed a new shaft for the fan...we'll know more about what happened when they take out the old one. The rain came, once again we only got a short shot, but who knows what fell out at the field.

The line up was shorter today at the elevator. The road past the camper was busy all night as the semis were loading out to Enid to make room for more grain. The rain slowed things down and it was a good thing because the 10,000 bushel leg that moves the grain blew a belt on the top and was out of commission for the day.

What a treat it is to be combining such a good crop here in Cherokee. After the last couple of disaster years, it really is a blessing for these farmers...

June 14, 2008

View of the day-Everyone is rolling...and they aren't all new machines. The next field neighbor cuts a bounty crop.

We woke up to moisture everywhere...not from rain, just a heavy dew on everything. We had breakfast then headed out to the field to service and do a bit of repairs...nothing serious, a broken grease zerk that refused to come out. Of course it would be in an uncomfortable spot in the engine compartment. Just before we started there was big smoke again and since we had moved further south, we were just west of the fire...which was in the same field as yesterday. Never did get the rest of the story.

Al had all the trucks unloaded to start the day, and once Marilyn started combining he was able to get unloaded and back even with the ever present line ups a the elevator. He got 8 loads in today, which was just short of a miracle...of course, the field was yielding 58 bu/ac...amazing!

Marilyn got finished with one field and moved a few miles to the next field and it was yielding 50 bu/ac...but the elevator was full, so after the Freight was loaded, she shut it down for the day...it was dark anyway. The elevator was going to be loading out all night to make room for tomorrow. There is no rail line here, so it's all trucked.

Missed the rain today...

June 13, 2008

View of the day-The last three blocks of a ten block line, that includes the side streets that feed the main line.

We went to Miss Dotties for breakfast, then drove out to Carmen to get the machines moved back to Cherokee. We took the slow moving vehicles...combine and tractor...in the first load, then the farmer gave us a ride back for the pickup and grain truck. Al took the truck to unload...not a long wait compared with later in the day.

Al started combining while Marilyn went to pick up lunch and parts for the pickup...yes, again...his time it was the switch for the A/C that had been ordered in. Once she was back in the field, she took over combining and Al went back to waiting in line. The first field was only 27 acres, so it didn't take long to finish and move over to the bigger field a few miles away.

This field was running around 50 bu/ac so that meant tie ups with the trucks again. Our farmer helped out by driving one of the trucks into the elevator, and once Marilyn had the combine and grain cart full, she went into town to get fuel for the combine. After fueling up the combine and getting half her windows washed, the farmer came back with the truck which gave her some more room.

Al finally made it back with his truck and took the full one back...they told him if he got in line before 10pm he would be able to dump...and he did. Marilyn filled the General, but since it was getting dark and the field was soft in places she couldn't see at night, she called it a day and went back into get another tank of fuel since the first one didn't fill the combine...double ouch.

It was a bit cooler today, only 87 and it actually cooled off later on. There had been a fire just two miles from the field we were working in...a slip clutch on a combine started on fire, which led to the field catching on fire...we'll get the rest of the story tomorrow on coffee row.

It's unbelievable the grain that is being hauled into the elevator. Today they took in 200,000 bushels...a really good normal day would have been 50,000.

Nobody's sitting around...

June 12, 2008

View of the day-Trouble is trying to start...those little puffs that build into something big.

Another good day even with the "moist" fields and terraces. Al changed oil on the combine and Marilyn fueled and serviced, then it was time to tackle the rest of the field.

Al spent most of the day sitting in line at the elevator, but it didn't hold Marilyn up back at the field. The only time the combine stopped was when Marilyn had to take the cart up to the yard to fill the farmers small grain truck with seed wheat...no mean task with the cart and the wind...made lining up to hit the box a challenge.

It seemed like the field would never end, but as the sun was setting the end was in site and by 9:30 we had finished the 100 acres that remained. Al brought the loaded General into Cherokee to dump, the lineup was pretty long but since the elevator is only 1/2 block from the camper he decided to wait it out.

Tomorrow we move back to Cherokee...

June 11, 2008

View of the day-The line up for the elevator in Cherokee...Oklahoma elevators...lotta unhappy farmers.

We decided to get the starter fixed on the Dodge...we had to pull start it in the morning. We stopped at the NAPA dealer and they had one on hand, so we took it back to the camper and proceeded to try and take the old one off...then we took it to the professionals. Our landlord gave us the keys to his service truck for us to use while the truck was getting fixed. We had an early lunch to kill some time, and when we were done, so was he...and it was worth the $50 to get them to put it in. We just have the A/C left to fix...that's the weekend job.

We got everything unloaded and started to move the combine south to Carmen. Once we got the combine and header to the field, we did a test and it was plenty dry enough...the field was another story.

We got a ride back to Cherokee with the farmer and Marilyn took the General while Al roaded the cart. Back in the field, Marilyn started picking out the higher ground so as not to get stuck. There had been a lot of rain in the area and even though the field had pretty good drainage, there were some real soft spots. This also meant she couldn't combine til the hopper was full since the extra weight would make the combine sink even more.

Al got to spend time in line...no change there...he did think about going to Cherokee, but when he heard how long the lines were, he decided to stay put. He only had to drive 6 miles to Carmen as opposed to 15 to Cherokee. Once Marilyn had the cart and combine full, she picked up the farmer from Al's grain truck in town and went back to Cherokee to get the Freightliner...yes, she actually had to drive the grain trucks. After that it was "shut up and drive", and she did that until it got too dark to see the wet spots, so they called it a night.

Sixty acres, not bad for a late start...

June 10, 2008

View of the day-That round flat thing behind the pickup is actually what is left of a bin the same size as the one that is standing. It got blown off it's base and flattened.

We had to take the pickup in to get the clutch safety switch replaced first thing in the morning. Because we only had one vehicle in Frederick, we had to get extra early to get the combine loaded and back into town before the pickup could get fixed. It only took 10 minutes for the mechanic to get the part put in...unfortunately, we found out later...that wasn't the problem.

After a 'real' breakfast of bacon and eggs at a local restaurant, a stop at the Case dealer to pick up a toy tractor and battening down the hatches on the camper, it was time to move north. Marilyn was draining the holding tanks on the camper and hooked up the in tank sprayer to fill it for a final cleaning. After going back into the camper to try and get the late blog organized, she realized, after looking at the water level indicator, that the tanks were full...she forgot about leaving the water on. Nothing like a "make work" project. The hose blew off the side of the black water tank, and since the holding tanks are enclosed and insulated...well...you get the picture. The good news was that it was 'clean' water that had gotten into the insulation.

We started the drive to Cherokee for the last time this season, kind of a bitter sweet feeling. It's kind of neat when we leave home to see the complete growing cycle of the wheat. From being seeded when we leave Canada, to sprouts, various heights of growth, to headed out, then turning color and finally golden waving fields of wheat...all within 5 days! The feeling of anticipation as you pull into a town that is just seeing the beginning of harvest, the testing, calibrating and all the preparations being made for what looks to be a bountiful crop. Within a week or more, everyone has loaded up and moved on, leaving the town to carry on with it's regular life, like we had never even been there, except to leave our mark on the cut fields.

Marilyn watched one day as the people came and went from the post office, picking up their mail and checking out the "transients" that had taken over their town for a couple of weeks. That's all we rated, just a friendly "good morning" and they were on their way...back to their life. That's Al's dream...to sit on the bench and watch the transients and traffic go by. Marilyn prefers to be the transient, wondering about the lives of the locals, seeing different faces in different towns, all going back to life in the slow lane...perhaps not so slow for them.

There weren't any combines running anywhere on the way up to Cherokee, but they were sitting in the fields along the way...getting serviced, cleaned and ready for action. We got to Cherokee and parked the camper, then searched through town for a place to park the big rigs to unload. That's one thing about only being in town once a year...you never know what has happened in town while you've been gone. We found a spot, parked then went back to the camper, where Marilyn got the dish aimed...we need the weather channel because we are in a tornado watch this evening. Marilyn then got to dismantle the holding tanks to repair her hose blow out. Good news...the fitting was still in the tank, it was just the hose clamp that had given way. After getting it all back together, except for the outside cover so the insulation could dry out, it was pretty much time to call it a day.

Two blogs to get done, and the best place for wireless seemed to be out by where the combine was parked, if memory served from last year...but meanwhile, back at the camper...

Internet service!!! Woo hoo!!! Who could ask for anything more...

June 9, 2008

View of the day-Last Thursday's storm remnants in at our farmers house in Cherokee, OK.

We had plans of getting the combine and header moved up to Cherokee, but the ProHarvest guys showed up to replace the oil cooler rad. While Marilyn was blowing off the machine yesterday, she went to clean the rads and when she pulled the first one out...only half of it came out. It seems the weld broke on the bracket on the top of it...a common occurence the ProHarvest team thought had been corrected.

Since they were going to be a while, we decided to just go with the grain cart and header. We left around 2pm and made the 220 mile drive to Cherokee. A lot of harvester traffic on the highway, everyone moving north to their next stops. There had been a lot of rain, the rivers were all up and you could see the straw in the ditches and along the fence wires where the flowing water had washed it up.

Once we parked and stopped in to visit a bit with the farmers, we headed back to Davidson. A long day, a late arrival home and the reason there wasn't an early entry today.

Sorry...

June 8, 2008

View of the day-A pretty thick crop trying to get into the combine.

We started combining at 11am, with only 40 acres left, we didn't need to start as early. Al took the load from the cart to Harrold...they now had rail cars AND power. Are you sitting down? HE WAS THE ONLY TRUCK THERE!!! What a change. He was able to keep up quite nicely for the rest of the day.

Marilyn had a rider with her again, this time River came along for his annual ride...a short one...to short to get the camera out for a pic. Once the field was done, it was time to blow the combine off and move back to Davidson where the trailers were sitting.

Al had to unload both trucks at a bin that was for seed, so while he was doing that, Marilyn started moving the combine back across the river. Once Al met her back at the trailers, the farmer gave them a ride back for the the shop and the grain cart.

It would appear that Al had contracted what Marilyn had last week...so it wasn't food poisoning. He wasn't in the mood or shape to do any loading. Besides it was hot, sunny and that damn wind was blowing again...surprised?

Here's no surprise...tomorrow we will move one load north and guess which way the wind will be blowing??? Yep...outta the north...for only one day.

Al hit the hay early and Marilyn...well...back to the laundromat...

June 7,2008

View of the day-Beam of sunlight promising better weather...or warning what is to come.

Al went out to unload the trucks...or try to, at least. He went into Vernon and found an elevator that had some room, then came back to the field to take the cart load in. He figured he would take a test before getting Marilyn to come out...it was 16% moisture, but the wind was blowing so there was hope for later on in the afternoon.

Marilyn stayed at the camper until 1pm, then forged out to the field to fuel and service. Once all the servicing was done, we were able to get started and even though the moisture had come down, it was still a bit high. The elevator told Al that he could bring in a wet load...just one, mind you.

Al sat in line at the elevator for two hours as the lineup waited for the rail cars to show up. He looked across the street at the other elevator and could see the line was shorter...and moving, at least. He pulled out and went where the grass was greener, got dumped and made it back to the field with the empty truck. It was going to get a load of seed wheat off the field so it would be going to the farmers yard.

Marilyn continued combining until the seed truck and cart were full. Al wasn't going to be getting back very soon, so she changed a couple of guards on the header, fixed the warning light on the header, washed the windows and cleaned the cab before driving in to Vernon to meet Al for supper. Al decided to go back to the field and pick up the General and leave it in Davidson so it would be shorter to take it out to the farm to unload the seed. Marilyn went and picked up some grub, then picked up Al and fuel in Davidson before driving back to Frederick for the night.

Didn't the elevators have a plan before harvest?

Frustrating...extremely frustrating...

June 6, 2008

View of the day-As promised yesterday, the flat storage at Frederick just ate too much...we've had those days after the Chinese buffet!

No power all night and all day actually. It was promised at noon, then 5, then...we gave up when we met someone from Davidson when we were in Frederick and he said he had heard two days! He was buying 6 bags of ice, so we decided we had better make a plan.

It was too hot to stay in the camper with no A/C and with the power out everywhere else...the elevator where the General was sitting at Harrold, the city of Vernon...it was not a good day in the area. The winds had knocked high line poles down and crippled a lot of the area and not just the rural areas. The good news was that there wasn't any hail in this area.

We came into Frederick to settle up with one of our farmers and then get the new radiator put into the pickup, since the rain had given us time. The "Rad King" had given us a vehicle to use while he worked on our truck and we were just going to spend the afternoon in the library surfing and doing a bit of reading. By the time we checked into the Napa for parts and a few other things, it was time to pick up the truck.

On the way into Frederick, we came upon this vehicle and it looks like he had made his destination...don't have any back story on it yet.

We decided we wouldn't be able to last another night without A/C...it had been another brutally hot day...not as strong a wind, but extremely humid so it would take the better part of the night to cool the place off. No sir, we couldn't do it...then it came to us...we're turtles, we can pick up our house and move where there is power. Which is just what we did. Quite a coincidence that the "Rad King", was also the RV park man, and he was able to accommodate us.

Marilyn took Al to Harrold to get the General and bring it to Frederick to sit in line while they unloaded. On his way back through Davidson, he stopped to help Marilyn get the "shell" hooked up and then settled up with the landlady. The poor woman was at her wits end trying to stay cool, but she understood and wished us well. After the camper was parked and flanged in, Al went to wait in line while Marilyn finished things up. Al was pretty happy when he got to the elevator and got pushed to the head of the line because a lineup of semis were bringing in wet wheat and they needed dry to blend it off.

So now we are stationed in Frederick, 15 miles north of Davidson and another 12 miles from the field...a long drive, especially since Al will have to be hauling here to Frederick. Oh, well, shut up and drive, we're in the bright lights now. No phone, but...wireless everywhere!!

Time to think about a generator...

June 5, 2008

View of the day-Al rushes back for another waiting cart load.

What a day!!

We were rolling early since Marilyn had to drop Al off at Harrold to dump the grain truck. Back at the field, Marilyn serviced the combine, discovering at one point that the auto shut-off nozzle on the fuel pump doesn't work anymore...that is, it doesn't "shut off". The first "Valdez" of the season. Now, either the fuel isn't that great or the 45 mph winds did a better job of cleaning off the two gallon spill that had splashed all over the back and sides of the combine...into the wind, no less.

A 9:30am start to the combining day...Al was already on his second load of the day, but it wouldn't last. The lineups got longer and longer as other crews discovered Harrold was the only place with room. They had put some grain in flat storage in Frederick and the end wall buckled...no pics...yet. It is pretty frustrating to have such a great crop and no where to put it...which means not getting it off the field. Combines sit loaded everywhere waiting for trucks to return. Al talked to one truck driver who said he got in line at Frederick yesterday at 1pm and weighed off at 7pm!

Marilyn finished the 100 acres that were left on the big field and moved over to the other field to open it up. After driving until the combine was full, it was exercise time...a walk back to the other field to get the grain cart...don't laugh now...it was uphill and against the wind although only about a block to the gate. The Freight was parked about three blocks into the field(best description of distance for the 'city folk' that check in here), the cart two blocks and the pickup and shop, one block. Al wanted to make sure the Freight was close to the gate so it wouldn't get stuck if it should rain, so that was the first thing that got moved. After moving the tractor up to the pickup, Marilyn hooked up the shop trailer and planned on moving it to the gate as well, but once at the gate decided-what the hell, and moved it over to the field that the combine was in and then walked back for the last time. Finally it was time to move the tractor and cart over to the other field so she could get back to combining.

For the past two days there have been forecasts of nasty weather for today, but they all claimed it was going to be to the west of us, moving north. While Al waited at the elevator, Marilyn continued combining, watching as the occasional puff of happy little clouds started to form a larger and larger gang with every round of the field. Still not too concerned, but with a watchful eye to the west...she thinks it's west, Texas fields are a bit on tilt...she watched as the wind blew harder, lifting the dirt off the plowed fields almost to the clouds. It still didn't seem to be getting closer, but because this field was in a bit of a hole, there was no weather band signal to find out exactly what was going on...phone signal was in the crapper, too. And the radio...

We like to listen to the local stations to find out what is happening on the weather front. Kansas is amazing for shutting all programming down and going live, even to the extent of storm chasing. This area is a whole 'nother country, as they like to say...we can't even get a local news report in the morning, never mind some weather.

Well, as usual, the forecasters were wrong and the storm started getting uncomfortably close, so Marilyn decided to bail...and no, she did not follow the rule of "not leaving the field till the water is running off the header"...it wasn't even raining at that point. After dumping the combine and tarping the cart...no easy task in that gale force wind. She had a quick chat with the farmer and headed for Harrold to pick up Al. He was the next one in line when they shut the elevator down...what luck. We got around four miles from the elevator when the rain and wind hit hard, and we drove through it all the way back to Davidson, about 15 miles.

When we got back to town it was black..no power for us, so this is getting done on laptop battery power. No phone either...dial up would look pretty good about now. It could be worse, our farmer at the next stop called Al to let him know there had been some nasty weather go through taking out barns, big trees, and power poles were snapped...they might be looking at days before they get it back. It's interesting to note that the weather forecasts kept talking about "power fluctuations"...kind of a bizarre thing that we have never heard before, at least on the weather band. Are they up to something...?

Conspiracy...hmmm...

June 4, 2008

View of the day-Al moving the grain cart across the Red River into Texas.

Well, it wasn't such an early start to the day, combining-wise. We had trucks to unload and a 20 mile move to the new field, and it took three trips. Fortunately only one had the slow moving vehicles.

Al took the General over first and came back with the farmer, then the combine got serviced and the header went on the trailer...too far to move with it on and there are a couple of narrow bridges...and one wide busy one. Once the slow stuff was moved, we came back and Marilyn took the pickup and shop, while Al went on a mission to find a place to unload the Freight.

On the way over Marilyn had a call from CNH tech support regarding the yield monitor. The ProHarvest specialist couldn't come up with an answer, so he sent it higher up. There was a lot of head scratching going on, but the tech came through about four hours later with the answer...and now Marilyn can tell Al what the averages are at the touch of a...screen button.

We also had the ProHarvest vets hi-jack us as we were passing through Oklaunion on our way to the field. Cam and Ed had a look at the feeder chain that had been rattling so much in the first few fields we were in. They still get around pretty good, and they left us with a few answers to our questions.

Considering we didn't start combining until 1pm, Marilyn still managed to get 120 acres done. Al took a load into Vernon, but it was too busy, so he started hauling east to Harrold. He had to leave the General loaded at the elevator in Harrold, and was going to wait an hour for Marilyn to finish filling the grain cart. He was happy when someone from Davidson that was at the elevator offered to give him a ride home before midnight.

Leaving Marilyn to tarp the cart and grain truck in the 40 mph wind...

June 3, 2008

View of the day-The red dirt road blowing to beat the band. The corn fights to stay upright in the howling wind. If you click on the picture you can see our combine in the field on the left side of the far field waiting to be serviced.

We got going after 10 today but we had to move to a new field, so there was some time used up there. Al continued to haul the loads left from yesterday and once he got back to the new field, took over combining so Marilyn could run into Frederick to get parts and do the laundry.

We, and the temperature, went over 100 today. We hit 140 and the temp was just over 100. And the wind...boy, does it blow...still from the south, but that will probably change once we start heading north.

Line ups at the elevators are getting longer. Al had to take his loads to Frederick and he said at one point there were 16 trucks ahead of him. Apparently they are not to efficient, with the pits sometimes sitting empty for up to ten minutes, while they shuffle the trucks around.

It's almost 11:30pm and the temp is still 89.

Tomorrow we move across the Red River into Texas...

June 2, 2008

View of the day-All day actually. Unloading into the grain cart at sunset.

Dial-up wouldn't allow an upload of the view of the day yesterday...and there's no way a post will go up without one.

Got an early start and Marilyn was feeling 75% better...at least the aching joints and muscles were gone. It was a good thing since she combined until midnight to finish the field.

Al was kept hopping hauling grain, but he did get a bit of a reprieve as the farmer came out with his semi to haul a couple of loads of seed wheat. The only time the combine really stopped was when the low fuel alarm went off and Marilyn had to refuel. We haven't been able to get the tank full since it holds over 200 gallons and our slip tank only holds 100 gallons. Marilyn had to make run into town in the afternoon to get an extra tank of fuel, which gave Al a chance to run the combine and soak up some of that cool air.

Woo hoo we finally broke 100 acres today...120...

June 1, 2008

View of the day-Al coming down the road for another load.

Wow, June already...

Marilyn woke up in the middle of the night with fever, chills and with aching joints and muscles...no idea what from. So with a sleepless night, the day wasn't looking too promising especially since gravity was turning out to be the enemy for Marilyn most of the day, as was the thought of anything going into her stomach.

We were rolling again before 10am and had a productive day, sort of...it's slow going with such a thick crop, so it's tough to make our 100 acre goal. Maybe tomorrow. Marilyn stayed long enough to finish the first field and get moved over to the next one, before she was able to go back to the camper and sack out...which she did directly.

And that's why the blog is late...and so short...