October 27, 2009

View of the day-Moisture...it never ends...the wooden combine by the pillar is the only thing that is seeing action today.

Marilyn is back at work while the rain falls and Al just tours around...without a camera most of the time...he fears technology, so now we have an 'every other' daily blog due to lack of pics.

We didn't have any rain yesterday, but it sure wasn't much of a drying day...are any of them anymore? So we found other things to occupy our time...Al washed the pickup and cleaned out the inside...likely why we have rain today. He even discovered the vacuum and used it inside the cab...he is getting it ready for the Dyersville trip next week.

Marilyn worked from 8-4:30pm, came home and made supper, then went back into town for rehearsal and to drop off some posters that she had made for the upcoming dinner theatre that she is Stage Manager for. Earlier in the day she had to drop off some tickets, and found her Christmas present at Colettes Sewing Machine Plus...a four thread embroidery machine...and on sale yet. Heavy hints were dropped.

Today was another day at work for Marilyn and Al entertained, as Jeff came to town for business, stopped by for tea and to check out the farm toys Al had collected over the summer. They came to town to meet Marilyn for lunch, but by the time they had found someplace to eat where there wasn't a lineup, Marilyn had to go back to work...good thing she had a yogurt and a pudding stashed in her locker.

It rained and misted all day and there is a chance that it could turn into...the 's' word tonight.

Will we ever see the sun again...

October 25, 2009

View of the day-Waiting, waiting, forever waiting...actually from a few days ago.

Nothing earth shattering from the harvest end of things for yesterday and Marilyn spent the day driving to Moose Jaw and back...hence...no blog entry.

Yesterday, Al went out to dump the canola that was on the General and get everything serviced so it would be ready to go when the weather allowed...someday. Marilyn drove to Moose Jaw to set up the computer that she had repaired for her parents. She also had to give her mother a quick lesson on the operation of the bread machine she had brought...and of course, had to wait for the fresh loaf to come out for a taste test before leaving for home. The trip home was less hectic because all the traffic from the Roughriders game in Regina had thinned out by the time she went through. It was just after midnight when she got home...a busy day of driving...and it was trying to snow.

Today we had someone come and look at the camper...they played their cards close to their chests...we couldn't tell if they were interested or not...Al is hoping for 'not'. Marilyn worked on posters for the dinner theatre all day and Al...watched football. What else is new.

Another cold dreary day and news from Esterhazy was that it was raining down there for part of the day. It was on the verge here as well, but all we got was mist...almost as bad.

Let's hope a new week brings new weather...

October 23, 2009

View of the day-The old timers stand guard outside the museum at Esterhazy.

Our goal for the day was to get the Freightliner and cart trailer put away for the winter. We started out for Esterhazy to get the Freight first...it has been temperamental to start in the past...well, actually all the time...so Al called Eugene and got him to plug it in, so it would be warmed up enough to help the starting procedure.

We decided to try to find a way of getting to where we were going to park the trailer for the winter without going down the major highway...we didn't have much luck...we were going to have to drive at least 4 miles on it. We got out to Eugene's and with a half a can of ether, we were able to get the old girl running...the Freight, not Marilyn. We went into town to the lot where the trailer had been sitting and got it hooked up to the truck, then headed north of Saltcoats to park it in a friends field. Once we got the trailer unhooked, we stopped for coffee in the house, then started back to the farm with the Freight. The Freightliner had a relatively easy summer...one load in Oklahoma and two in South Dakota.

We decided to take a tour to Calder to have a look at some land that is for sale...it's a bit of a drive from our place...about 30 miles, but we got to check out the crops along the way...there are still lots out there.

Back at home, we got the Freight backing into it's winter spot behind the camper, then went back into town for the Terrier pre game steaks. Marilyn left Al to watch the game and went home to do some work. Normally he gets a ride home with the neighbor, but she is working in the concession and has to do a lot of cleaning after the game, so Al can't wait that long...Marilyn went back into town to pick him up.

Well, we didn't get any rain...but it wasn't a drying day...

October 22, 2009

View of the day-The watch dog makes sure the fueling is properly done, as the guys make a game plan for the day.

We were on the road by 10am today and the sun was actually shining. The forecast was for rain later on in the day and from the looks of the clouds in the west, they were probably going to be right for a change.

While Jeff got his combine moved...taking the header off to make life a bit easier crossing the railroad tracks...Al unloaded the truck and Marilyn serviced and did windows. Once everyone was assembled at the field, the conference began and everyone got their orders.

We were working on the rest of the straight wheat that we had started on, back before the snow hit. The moisture was still 'up there', but again, it was going into air bins and it had to get taken off...it is getting late, after all. It didn't take long for both machines to take care of the 70 acres that were left standing and once that was done it was time to change headers.

While Rudy and Mike worked on getting the draper head into transport mode and hook up their pickup head, Marilyn was having issues with the PTO shafts that refused to break loose. That's what happens when you aren't taking the header off at least once a week, like we do most of the summer...things just seize up...a lot like life really. With a little help...and some pinched fingers...we managed to get it unhooked and loaded onto the trailer.

While the guys moved to the next field, Marilyn had to drive into Esterhazy to the lot where the pickup head had been dropped off. After getting it hooked up and locked on, Marilyn moved up to the next field of swathed canola. The swaths weren't drying down as fast as the standing fields were, which meant the moisture was 'up there' and slow going for both machines. There was a lot of stopping as the swather person had left a lot of 'beaver houses'...huge piles of canola, all very wet underneath. Needless to say, the productivity was halved from this afternoon.

Around 6:30pm the sprinkles finally showed up, and after filling the truck, we shut it down for the night...and perhaps the day tomorrow...and headed back to Yorkton.

Maybe the sun will shine tomorrow...

October 21, 2009

View of the day-The cavalry lined up and waiting in the field next to 'Mount Mosaic'...actually it's the 'leavings' pile at the potash mine near the canola field we are working on.

We left town after grabbing a quick breakfast from McDonalds around 10am, as we got to the corner to turn off the highway at Bredenbury, we were 5 minutes late to see an accident. A pickup pulling a trailer full of old tires must have been turning too soon and a semi clipped him, leaving his trailer on one side of the road and his pickup, with the smashed fender on the other side. Everyone must have been okay, because the semi driver was on his cell phone and the other driver was rounding up the tires in the ditch that had fallen off the truck. Marilyn did not stop to take pictures...she has to draw the line somewhere.

We got to the field and started servicing, while the farmer fueled the combine. Jeff and his crew showed up and got their rigs all serviced, then Jeff did a bit of touch up welding on our header after we straightened up the divider that had seen better days.

We got going around 1pm and with both machines running, the productivity had more than doubled...until the big 8010 bit off more than it could chew around a slough and ended up with a plugged rotor. Fortunately it had the hydraulic rotor reverser and after some coaching over the radio, Mike the driver, got it chewing again. Al was kept hopping hauling grain with the General and with Rudy running the grain cart, there was hardly any time to take a break...of any kind.

We got the field finished around 6:30pm, and for reasons known only to Al, he made the call to move back to the wheat field. That was the field we had left half done to move over to the canola and it was about 5 or 6 miles away...and he was going to lead the way with our grain cart...ahh, the road to hell and good intentions. He started out and had to pull over for a tractor and baler, then carried on...and missed the corner. Not to worry, we would just turn at the next mile...he got too far ahead and those of us following, Marilyn in the combine with the 30ft straight head, Rudy with the big 4 wheel drive tractor and 1100 bushel grain cart and Mike bringing up the rear with our pickup, were left in the dust.

First Marilyn had to cross some tracks...apparently they didn't anticipate wide implements crossing when they put the cross bucks up...it took some squeaking to get through...ugly but effective...then we had to drive down a mile or so of tree lined road...Marilyn is in the tree trimming business now. Al decided to wait until Marilyn was maneuvering the last narrow stretch of road before giving the next turn direction, so she turned the 'other' left and ended up having to turn around in a field to get back on the right track. In the end we all got to the field we were supposed to, got parked and went back to drop off Rudy and Mike at their truck.

Let's hope the rain stays away...

October 20, 2009

View of the day-Al gets the updates from the farmer right after he fueled up the combine.

We stopped in town for breakfast and then made our way back to the field to service and get things ready for what we hoped was another productive day.

It was overcast for most of the day, but the cutting went fairly well. We got the last of the field done that was left from the night before, then we moved over to the next field. The farmer came out to help us move and while Marilyn roaded the cart over, Al got the truck dumped at the bins, then got back to the field in time to help his brother Jeff get moved.

Jeff finished his own combining yesterday and is coming over with his CaseIH 8010 and his grain cart to help us get finished on the canola...hopefully before the weather turns crappy again.

The rest of the day was 'shut up and drive' and Marilyn was able to do that in the combine until around 9:30pm when it took 4 times as long to make one pass down the field. The dew was starting to form on the machines and the crop would not feed smoothly...as a matter of fact, Marilyn spent more time stopped, backing out the wads of canola stalks out of the feeder, than she did driving ahead. Oh well, the plan was just to get the truck loaded and by the time she made it back to the rigs, she even had a bit extra for the cart. It was time to head for home.

Three days in a row of combining...we're on a roll...touch wood...

October 19, 2009

View of the day-The canola stands high waiting for the combine to cut it down to size.

Marilyn was up early to go into Staples for a few hours. She had to pretend to be a cashier to cover for the regular guy who was attending his grandmothers funeral. The cavalry came in at 10:30am, so she was able to go back home, change, then get ready to head for the canola.

Al was fueling up the pickup when she got home, and after stopping in town to grab a quick snack, we were off to the field. Al did a test and Marilyn ran it over to Jeff's to test it...it was as 'dry' as it was yesterday when we started. By the time Marilyn had gotten back to the field with the sample, Al had finished it and it was time to move the rigs to the next patch just down the road. Conveniently, as Marilyn was coming back from Jeff's, the farmer was just in front of her and he helped us to move.

Once everything was parked close at hand, it was business as usual and by the time the lights had been on the combine for a couple hours, the canola had 'dried down' to where we could have gone a lot longer. Of course, we still had the 45 minute drive back home, so once the General was full, we called it quits and headed for home.

A load of laundry and another 15 bags of camper 'stuff' put away and it was time to heed the call of the pillow...

October 18, 2009

View of the day-Nope, it's not from the archives...WE GOT TO COMBINE TODAY!!!

We got to sleep in...nice after a late night...then made plans to visit the combine later on. We stopped for brunch at the Cedar Cafe in the greenhouse, just down the road from us, the grabbed a coffee and hit the road.

We got out to the combine and it started like a top, Al moved it over to the new field and Marilyn followed in the pickup. Al cut a test and after checking it on the little tester, he decided to take it over to his brother, Jeff's shop to test it on his elevator tester. It tested just under 14% moisture...not very good when 9.5-10% is considered dry...but it was going in an air bin and since it looked like it was only going to get dryer, the farmer said we could start.

Marilyn started combining and Al got everything moved with the help of the farmer, by the time he got organized, Marilyn almost had a truckload for him to take to the bin. Straight cutting the canola went surprisingly well because it is standing up pretty good in most places and the freezes we had over the past couple of weeks pretty much killed the stalks. There is some shelling, but that was to be expected and it was a lot less that what there would have been if it had been swathed first, then picked up...at least that is the theory.

We actually got to combine with the lights on, a nice change...everything was going smoothly, until Marilyn got a call from Al on the radio while he was on his way back from the bins. He wondered if it was raining at the field because it was sprinkling at the bins. Marilyn could see some sort of mist in the headlights but there wasn't anything collecting on the windows...or more importantly...the header. By the time Al got back to the field, it had started to collect, so we had to shut down. We did get 40 acres done...not bad considering it was 19 days ago that we last cut.

Then we had the commute home...

October 17, 2009

View of the day-Al gets to back the camper for the last time as it gets parked for the winter.

It turned out to be a beautiful day out, just as the forecasters had predicted...sunny and warm. Since Al had decided we would be commuting to Esterhazy until we were done..about 50 miles one way...Marilyn go to finish unpacking the camper.

Once again the best laid plans fall by the wayside...bring two boxes in unpack and put them away, turns in to...fill everything up in bags and bring inside to cover most of the floor and counter space, so we can deal with it after the camper gets winterized. And 'we' means Al asks where 'item X' is, Marilyn finds it then continues putting everything away. We eventually go everything out, got it cleaned out and winterized just as the sun was going down.

Al got to watch his football/baseball games, then went in for the Terrier game in the evening. Marilyn had to help work a wedding bar in Esterhazy for a member of the theatre group who was tying the knot. The hope was that we would still be staying in the camper at Eugene's, then the trip home would only be three miles...no such luck, so she didn't get back home until 2:30am...hence, the late blog.

But the big news is that we will be in the combine on Sunday! Of course it will just be to move it to the straight canola and do a test.

But at least we will be in the field...

October 15, 2009

View of the day-Not again. We just about got rid of the last round of snow and we woke up to this, this morning.

I has been a few days without a blog entry, mostly due to the fact that Marilyn has been back at work during the day and splitting evening unpacking the camper, doing theatre work, fixing computers...just not enough hours in the day.

Al on the other hand has been doing all sorts of things during the day...none of which have been archived, so Marilyn can only guess at the doings of the day. He has been travelling to Esterhazy, Melville, Gerald and who knows where else...but he does not take the camera with him, so without a view of the day, it just doesn't seem right to have a blog entry. Wouldn't it have been nice to see one of the rain gauge on the combine with an inch of ice in the bottom of it, or some foolish farmer testing canola at 20% moisture?

Marilyn has gotten quite a razzing at work because there hasn't been an entry for a while...those doing the chirping might want to watch the back of their shiny head...it could appear as a view of the day before long.

So the weather has been horrible...cold, rainy, snowy, windy...but, it is supposed to get up to 50ºF this weekend...just before the rain comes back again. So now, Al has made it official...we will be commuting to Esterhazy once we get rolling again...so that means a total clean out of the camper...oh, joy.

There hasn't been a wheel turn in the area and the crop report says the harvest is 75% done in Saskatchewan...we wonder where they get their stats...maybe 75% of the carrots or potatoes have been harvested...there is a LOT waiting to be taken off.

Al actually got to do a bit of harvesting related work, he went down to Esterhazy to unload the truck and grain cart into the bin at the farmers...it won't be that dry and dusty coming out of the truck for a while. When he got home, he was full of promise and started to schedule out the next day...then it snowed...back to square one. Lucky for him he has had hockey and football of all sorts for entertainment, live and on the tube.

We had a recall on the pickup...windshield washer motor...so Al took it in to the local dealer to get fixed. He sat from 8:45am to 10:20am and not one person even drove through the parking lot...those commission guys must be hurting.

Speaking of hurting, Marilyn was making stew for supper the other night and was stirring the pot with a metal spoon...you can see where this is going...she got such a shock that the spoon hit the ceiling and she jumped two feet...WOW, that was something! The house must be purged of the evil thing and a new smooth top range must nestle into it's place...no talk of bad grounds or faulty wiring will change her mind. Might as well match up a new fridge while she's at it.

Marilyn has been busy getting organized for Paper Bag Players upcoming dinner theatre in December, working on sets, sound and lights...and getting the web site set up to sell the reserved seating...a new experience for everyone involved. We are doing four performances, Dec. 17-20, in town. We just started advertising by sending flyers out to the businesses for their Christmas parties and the Saturday night is pretty much sold out...not even one poster has been put up...there will be some cranky people that didn't get tickets, we're sure of that.

Let's hope everyone gets harvesting soon...

October 12, 2009

View of the day-The snow is trying to melt off the camper, it now has some extra stability with the icicles that have reached the ground.

We got to sleep in today, before commencing to unpack the camper. The job never ends...it seems like the bags multiply if you leave them too long in the camper and they aren't filled with anything new.

It was our Canadian thanksgiving and we had the leftover care package that Marilyn had brought home from her mom...almost as good as fresh. Al got to watch football most of the day while Marilyn worked on unpacking, computer repair, script analysis, sound effect prep then got sucked into the 'Dancing with the Stars' vortex.

Al made the mistake of giving Marilyn the remote, since the Monday Night Football game hadn't started...and he never got it back. After DWTS was over, she found the Canadian equivalent...Battle of the Blades. What a brilliant concept...take professional figure skaters and team them up with NHL hockey players for a figure skating competition.

Anything to get out of unpacking...

October 11, 2009

View of the day-A couple of Massey combines waiting for the snow to disappear...at least they are lined up this year.

Marilyn was up before the crack of dawn to get ready for a road trip to Moose Jaw to have Thanksgiving lunch with her parents, her brother Tim and his wife Naomi who were visiting from Calgary, Alberta.


It was pretty dismal all day, low grey clouds that looked like they were ready to dump at any time, but the roads were good and the only snow that fell was around Regina and it didn't last long. After lunch and a visit...and a motherboard catastrophy on her parents computer, Marilyn left for home with a piano keyboard and a desktop computer that badly needs a transplant so her mother can get back online. Because who can last without the various 'pass this on to 10 friends for good luck' and 'good jokes you probably forgot about since you got them the last 30 times' emails?

On the way home Marilyn was amazed by the amount of crop that is still out in the field and it was quite obvious that we did not get near as much snow as they did closer to the Qu'Appelle Valley. The geese were able to find some open water and could be seen picking through some of the swaths burried under the snow in the fields. The field of canary seed looks as though it will be a bit of a nightmare when the snow disappears...all lodged and laying down...not good at all. There was a lot of standing canola that didn't look like it it had made it through the wind without giving up a lot of seeds, but the stuff in swaths...well, rock and a hard place...

Marilyn decided to call Al before she went through town to see if she needed to pick something up in town, but there was no answer at home. Then she remembered that he had gone to Melville to meet his step-dad for supper and coincidentally, she was just passing Melville as she was talking to him, so she stopped in and had a chat with them while they finished their supper. Al went to the hockey game after they had eaten...the return match against the rival team and this time on their turf...the Terriers lost 8-6. You win some, you lose some...

And this internet is slower than dial-up tonight...grrr...

October 10, 2009

View of the day-More of the same...

Another slack day. Marilyn got the desktops all put back into their winter desks, no easy task, but at least the cords are all labeled. Al did more propane tank shifting as the camper seems to think 50ºF requires the furnace to be running constantly. Good thing Marilyn found a nice oil filled heater in her Walmart pit stop last night, so Al will have a break...he claims the tanks are heavy and clumsy.

It is our Canadian thanksgiving weekend and the first anniversary of Al's nephew Myron and his wife Shantal, so the family decided to go to our favorite place for steaks...Slow Helen's in the Waverly Hotel in Melville. There were about 20 of us there and the Roughriders football game was on the big screen, so after everyone had eaten, we decided to stay and watch the end of the game...they won...Al is back on the bandwagon.

We came home and after a long day, Marilyn did the blog, but apparently pressed the 'save now' button instead of the 'publish post' and didn't realize it until she started in on the next entry.

Sorry...won't happen again...

October 9, 2009

View of the day-We knew we would wake up to the white stuff covering everything and it fell off and on during the day, then it kicked up a nasty one just as everyone was heading home from work...ahhh...Saskatchewan weather.

Marilyn was up at the crack of dawn...no, really...she was going in to Staples to do a bit of training in the shipping/receiving department so she had to be in by 8am. Al decided at the last minute to drive her in to town so he could have the truck to gad about in without the worry of getting stuck or sliding off the road somewhere.

Al took a road trip to Melville to pick up a jersey he had won in a charity auction...a Dallas Stars NHL team jersey signed by Marty Turco, the goalie of said team. He had hopes that it was a goalie jersey so that it might fit him...no such luck...BUT, it does fit Marilyn quite nicely! He stopped to have lunch with his H&R Block buddy, Curtis, then picked Marilyn up from work at 4:30pm. The oat swaths along our road were all covered with snow and it looks like some of the 'beaver houses' left by the swatherman will really soak it up once it warms up.

It was Yorkton Terriers hockey night in town and they were hosting their Hwy #10 rivals, the Melville Millionaires...always a good match up. They have a great deal on some excellent steaks in the lounge at the arena and since Marilyn didn't get taken out to lunch, it was decided that we would eat there before the game. Marilyn was just along for the steaks, so once the game started she headed back for the farm.

Of course, she needed some new hair goo...and Walmart was on the way home. Apparently they are expanding the Walmart into a Supercentre, so there was a lot of construction going on and everything was moved around, so she had to cover a lot of the store to find what she was looking for...only to find it where it has always been. Imagine that.

After the Terriers came out with a 4-2 win, Al got a ride home with Darlene from next door, who was working in the concession at the rink. The snow had let up a bit after the white out that hit during the game and the roads were starting to get iced over with all the traffic that had been on them all day and the temperatures hovering just below the freezing mark.

And there is more snow forecast for our Thanksgiving weekend...

October 8, 2009

View of the day-Need we say more? It started around 8:30pm and there is no sign of let up.

We really got to sleep in today and it was nice to be inside and warm. Marilyn spent the day working on emptying the camper and Al took a trip into town to do a bit of shopping and visiting.

The forecast was for snow...most of it was going to fall further east...kind of where we are combining, of course and originally Friday was supposed to be the heavy day. We certainly hope it is over by tomorrow.

Al spent the evening watching hockey/baseball and Marilyn was entertaining, Pam, a fellow Paper Bag Player theatre group member. We spent the evening bundling and addressing 2000 flyers to go out to the surrounding communities for our annual dinner theatre coming up in December...fortunately, there was no envelope licking, just vicious rubber bands. By the time Pam left at 11:30pm we had to find a broom to sweep off her car so she could see to go home...it was starting to pile up already, but she made it back to town safely.

Marilyn had left the awning out so she could get from the camper to the house without getting wet with the unloading...the snow was not sliding off at all, in fact, it was sagging it enough to make a nice little trough to hold the snow. That got cleaned off and the awning rolled up for the night as the snow keeps falling.

Can't wait to see what it looks like in the morning...

October 7, 2009

View of the day-Trying to unload the camper in the rain, sleet and wind...not a nice day at all.

More rain...another 1/2", but we had planned on taking the camper home to unload it so it just didn't matter...except for the strong northwest wind making the 35ºF temps feel even more frigid.

Al got a ride from Eugene into town to get the Dodge out of the body shop...they did a darn nice job, it's ready for another parking lot idiot. We got the camper battened down and hooked up, then left the yard to fight the wind back to Yorkton. Al followed in the van and had to stop for fuel at the #9 junction, so we figured we might as well stop for lunch, then we wouldn't have to stop until we got home.

We made it home, raining all the way and after we got parked in front of the house...close enough to put the awning out to keep dry while unloading...it got cold enough to start sleeting. So far there hasn't been any flakes, but the weekend isn't here yet, either.

First on the list was getting the internet hooked up. Fortunately it was just a matter of bringing in the router and hooking it up. Next priority was the dish...after all there was a baseball game to watch so it good thing it didn't take too long. Actually, it took longer to get the coax untangled than it did to aim the dish.

While Al made sure the fireplace still worked, Marilyn started to move some stuff out of the camper...but we really didn't want to overdo it and have a mess inside and out, so there was a break or two taken to avoid that. Al decided to take a shower and we unpleasantly surprised to find the water wasn't very hot...or even warm. After inspecting the water heater, Marilyn discovered it had just been put on pilot for the summer, so no wonder there was no hot water...that got turned on immediately.

Marilyn went into town to have coffee with one of her friends, who also is the manager at Staples where Marilyn works in the 'off' season...there was a couple of hours spent catching up on all the latest news. If the rain keeps up the red Staples shirt could be making an appearance before we actually finish the harvesting season.

At least we can sleep in a warm house...

October 6, 2009

View of the day-The old rigs sit out in the rain...a daily event lately.

Got to sleep in...again and although the sun was actually shining, it didn't take long to cloud over...and eventually the rain showed up and continued well into the night. Same poo...different pile.

We went into town to do a few errands and have some lunch, then went back to the camper to decide what to do with the next few days. The forecast is for rain right through to the weekend and there is a possibility of the 's' word...that will make for a chilly night or two in the camper.

We agreed the best thing to do was to take the camper home and empty all the summer stuff out of it...it will make the mass panic that hits when we get done combining and move south for soybeans a lot shorter. Besides, Al wants to take the hockey game in on Friday and Marilyn wants to take in the rehearsal for the theatre group...win-win.

And the rain continues to fall...

October 5, 2009

View of the day-The trees are changing along the Kaposvar Valley north of Esterhazy. After the freeze expected tonight things will really start dying off.

We were up early and Al took the Dodge in to the body shop to get the fender fixed...it should be out tomorrow. Marilyn went in to pick him up then we went for breakfast at the motor inn...it was a nice change from leftovers. We stopped out at the combine so Al could get the mileage off the General and do his quarterly fuel tax online...still muddy out there.

Back at the camper, Marilyn worked with some new software on the computer and Al went on a road trip to Whitewood to get out of the camper for a few hours. Of course when he came back it was time for Monday Night Football. It sprinkled off and on most of the day and even though we actually saw the sun for a while, it didn't do a lot of drying.

Another productive day...

October 4, 2009

View of the day-Nothing is moving in the yard as we have another day like the other day...cold and damp.

We got to sleep in again and it was another 'super-do-nothing' day. Marilyn spent it getting the old laptop cleaned up for Al...complete reformat and reload. He wanted something that didn't have all the extra crap slowing it down...and that's what he got.

Al, on the other hand pretty much spent the day in front of the TV watching NFL football mixed in with the occasional trip outside to check the weather. Eugene fired up the BBQ and we all had steaks for supper in the camper. After that, it was time to take it easy for the rest of the night.

It was a day of rest, all right...

October 3, 2009

View of the day-The Steelers were at it again in Regina. What a difference from two weeks ago...then 33ºC/91ºF, this time 33ºF/1ºC...and not dressed for the evening. The boys lost but managed three touchdowns...their best to date.

We got to sleep in after a frosty night...down to 30ºF, we thought the sun would warm things up, but the clouds weren't going to let that happen.

We left for Regina around 11am and did a bit of shopping...browsing, really...to kill some time before the football game. While Marilyn went in to look around one of the outlets stores, Al stayed in the truck and decided to give Kim a call to gab a bit...he got a surprise to find out he was sitting in his pickup in the same parking lot.

We followed Marg and Kim out to the University of Regina football field and waited for the game to start at 5:15pm. We weren't anticipating the weather, although Marilyn did bring two umbrellas, this time in case of rain...it didn't rain but they came in handy to block the biting wind. We really could have used those insulated jeans and flannel jackets hanging at home...you know it's cold when "I don't need a jacket" Al, has the heat jacked up all the way home to thaw out. It was a good game just the same.

We left the field after the game then went to pick Jeff up from his in-laws to give him a ride back home, then we met with Marg, Kim and Gordie for supper before grabbing a Tim Horton's coffee and hitting the road for the 2.5 hour trip back home.

Al dropped Marilyn off at the camper to crank up the heater while he drove Jeff back to his farm over at Gerald, then when he got back to the camper, when directly to sleep.

The fresh air really kicked the stuffing out of us...

October 2, 2009

View of the day-Al blows out the air filter as we find a bunch of things to do at the field.

Al was up early to drop the pickup off at the body shop. He got Eugene to follow him in to give him a ride back home, but he found out it would not be ready until Monday, so he ended up coming back home with the truck.

We had to be in Grayson to visit the friendly banker...and she was friendly...then Al when over to visit with his step dad and Marilyn went to have coffee over at the hardware store with one of her old friends. After a stop at the famous Ottenbreit meat market to pick up some of their fabulous beef jerky, we went back to Esterhazy.

We stopped at the camper to hook up the shop trailer before heading out to the field to do a bit of servicing and cleaning. We changed out the fuel filters, hoping that will cure the power issues...we won't know until we actually get back into the grain. The rain gauge on the combine showed 1.2"...enough to slow things down for a few days. Mind you, back at the camper there was 2.25" of rain, so we weren't that bad off at the field. Marilyn gave the windows a thorough washing inside and out and gave them the RainX treatment...that cuts down on the frequency of hard washed that they need...a quick shot with the dash duster at night and no washing needed in the morning. Al blew out the air and cab filters and that was the end of our work for the day.

We took the scenic route home, stopping at the farmers yard to see how things were going with them. They were putting bins on hoppers, so we didn't want to keep them from their work and after a half hour, we continued on back to the camper.

Al got the shop trailer parked back in its corner of the yard, then came in to start watching football...CFL football. Al's brother, Jeff and his hired guy came over to watch the Rider game...lots of yelling going on.

Tomorrow we hit the really bright lights...we are off to Regina to watch Gordie play football in the afternoon.

But first we might have to hit an auction sale...

October 1, 2009

View of the day-The Qu'Appelle Valley at Round Lake just before the rain started...again.

We woke up to rain on the roof around 4:30am and even though we knew we would be able to sleep in, we were up early...not 8am early...but early for a rainy day.

It came down pretty much all day off and on...sometimes heavy and the last report was over an inch had fallen. That was earlier in the day and we never did go out to the combine to check the rain gauge...could be more.

Al went into town for a garbage run and to see if we could get the pickup in to the body shop to get the fender fixed...from the parking lot incident last winter where someone backed into it and fled the scene. We can take it in tomorrow and leave it for the day and it will finally be good as new by quitting time.

The rest of the day was pretty much spent inside the camper until we left to go down to Chillys bar down at Round Lake for their steak night. We, along with Eugene, were passengers of a couple from England that had moved to the area a couple of years ago. We had an excellent steak supper, then left to come home...in the rain again. Another soaker had started and we drove in it the 25 miles back to the farm.

Back in the camper it was more internet and TV...after all hockey season has started...