June 7, 2011

View of the day-Another blaze just north of Cherokee.

We started off with good intentions, Marilyn took Al up to the combine and af

ter servicing the combine, left him there to start picking up canola again. It didn’t take long before her phone was ringing…it was Al and the header had given up the ghost. It was the same issue that we had worked on last fall in Carlyle…apparently the jerry-rig didn’t last too long. Perhaps the steep terraces had something to do with it.

We started looking for the part that we needed on the roller shaft…first online, then through our network of dealers that were close by. We figured it wasn’t going to be easy…and we were right…not a lot of call for pick-up heads down here. Straub’s out of Great Bend were able to order us one from Kansas City and it will be in Pratt, KS first thing tomorrow morning, so we have a road trip scheduled.

Al brought the combine in to the local welding shop to see if there was something he could do. The slot that the keyway went into on the roller shaft that drives the draper belt was all busted out from the sheave slopping around. We certainly didn’t want to have to put a whole new roller in, so Dr. Butler put his mind to the situation and fabricated a fabulous piece of work by cutting of the bad part of the shaft and building a coupler. Absolutely amazing…if it works.

While we were at the welding shop the fire sirens went off in town and after looking to the northwest we saw huge plumes of smoke…not a good day for a fire…the wind was blowing at about 30 MPH out of the southwest and, yes, the temperature was warm it was around 104 degrees.

We have a 150 mile round trip in the AM, then we’ll get the combine back together and start back in the canola…at least, that is the plan.

We could have done without this day off…