November 5, 2009

View of the day-Al tries to plug a few holes in the door of the bin so that the canola does not escape...the BlackBerry had to take the picture, so excuse the quality.

We got rolling a little later than yesterday...a couple of stops in town meant we had to wait until the stores opened. Marilyn had to stop at Staples to get some printing done and purchase some printer ink while Al went to grab some snacks to go. Once we had that done, it was time to head to the machines.

Marilyn dropped Al off at the General and while he unloaded at the yard, she got to go to the combine and service...what a difference from the summer. The grease gun battery was struggling with the stiff grease and the zerks weren't exactly cooperating either. Even though the sun was shining, the wind was strong and bitterly cold...insulated jeans and three jackets couldn't keep it from cutting through. Interestingly enough, getting a day like this in January would feel like we were in the Bahama's...still, it's easier to add layers when it's cold...eventually in the heat, you run out of layers to remove.

By the time Al got back to the field, Marilyn had already cranked up the combine and was making dust...not a lot, mind you...but there was dust coming out the back of the combine. Rudy and Mike showed up a little later and it didn't take long before everyone was getting the job done like a well oiled machine. Al was kept hopping even though the bins were in the field, between the leaking bin doors, a temperamental tractor running the auger and a grain cart that never seemed to get empty, he wasn't able to get any breaks.

We managed to get the field done around 7pm and after lining everything up and dumping the last of the canola for the season into the bin, we called it a night. Al decided to drop the General off in Eugene's yard where we had been camping months earlier...well, it was September back then...and Marilyn picked him up then it was home to Yorkton...on the highway, for a change. We got back home to see lights about a mile across the field from our place...four or five combines with lights flashing and all kinds of action going on...Al did say we could have combined all night the way the wind was blowing.

Tomorrow we tackle some flax...should be interesting...