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This has been the view for the past two weeks...the hoarfrost has been spectacular and is most amazing when we actually get to see the sun.
Since November 4, when the 999th post was made, Marilyn was thinking about what the 1000 post would be. This was, after all a milestone in the six years of harvesting posts and would have to be something special. This turned out to be six weeks of procrastination, because nothing seemed..."special" enough. Of course, it might have had something to do with the utter chaos of the past six weeks.
We got the camper winterized and tucked away along with everything else...Al even got the combine into the dealership in town to have the "Uptime Inspection" done before the warranty runs out. We are still waiting for it to come home...they are waiting for another new straw chopper to install...hopefully that is the only major thing we need. No time to worry about that now.
Marilyn was back at work at Staples full time while trying to prepare for the annual Paper Bag Players dinner theatre. Originally, she was just going to be the Producer and delegate duties, but as people kept backing out, that job included, set design and construction...thankfully we went with a simple set...costuming, which always looks "good from far, but far from good"...and then throw in some sound and lights...pretty much everything but acting.
Her friend Brenda, who had helped us move, was getting a lot of work done...until she went and got a job as General Manager of Liquidation World(LW). Now we had two schedules to work around and time was ticking away. Why does it always seem like we have so much time to get things done, but it is always the last minute panic that gets them done?
Brenda was needing some help getting things organized at LW...there hadn't been a manager there for six weeks and the Christmas stock was piling up...so Marilyn applied for a job to work after store hours to help with the organizing. Now, this is a dream job for Marilyn...stocking shelves with no customers to sidetrack her. The first shift was a biggie, going from 6:30pm to 8:30am...there were a lot of pallets unloaded that night!
Al, on the other hand, was back in the swing of all things farm toys. He took in a one day toy show at Tisdale, 158 miles NW of Yorkton. His buddy, Roger, went along with him and it turned out to be a pretty good show...likely penciled in for next year. He was also heavy into getting the toy auction rolling...here was someone who was not going to have the last minute panic. Yet.
So, the dinner theatre was to be Dec. 7 & 8 at the Painted Hand Casino and December 14 & 15 at the Ukrainian Orthodox Auditorium. The only problem was, we were also in the process of getting ready for our Association of Canadian Custom Harvesters(ACCHI) annual meeting in Saskatoon...which ran Dec. 5, 6 & 7...Marilyn would be missing the first performance. The major problem would be that Brenda would have to be in charge of getting everything loaded in and set up on her own...not that she didn't already have a load of crap going on.
This year marked the 30th anniversary of the ACCHI for an overview of the beginnings of the organization, check out page 5 of the May issue of our magazine, The Cutter's Edge".
While the relationship with the US Custom Harvesters didn't start out too well, it has changed greatly and this year we were thrilled to have several members of their board attend our convention. President, Tracy Zeorian(check out her review of the convention on her blog NebraskaWheatie) and her husband Jim, Vice President, Kent Braathen and board member Jon Orr and his wife.
There were three days of machinery, trade show booths, speakers, meetings, food and fun, fun, fun! It is really great to be able to see all our harvesting friends in one place to compare notes and just unwind from the year's activities. And of course, there is the fundraising auction.
One of the speakers was Greg Johnson, tornado hunter...what an entertaining man. He had stories to tell, beautiful photos...and a book to sell, which we pretty much cleaned him out of. He has live online streaming of his tornado chases, which are pretty cool to watch as you can see on a map exactly where they are moving and a stream from their dash cams. Probably the best way to view some of these storms.
This year we did not come back with a new Dodge for our miniature fleet, but we did manage to get a wireless weather station(that Marilyn is still trying to get to work) and Al bought, yet another, CaseIH shirt of the back of one of their representatives at the convention. And as with the others...it was overpriced and too small. Marilyn, on the other hand, came home with a set of CaseIH coveralls, that do fit...but she is not sure about that black in the Oklahoma heat.
Once we said our farewells on Saturday morning, it was back to Yorkton so Marilyn could get to the Casino...not to play the slots...to help out with day two of the Christmas play. Once it was over, we had to tear down, but we were lucky that the Ukrainain Orthodox Hall would let us set up the next day so we didn't have to do a bunch of unloading, loading and unloading again.
While all of this was going on, Al was on the push to sell the 2390 and he had actually had quite a few calls. He finally got one where the guy was impressed with what he saw...he had his own 2390 that was in rought shape...and he wanted it. Right away. He went into town and came back with a stack of cash and said he would be back to road the tractor back to Canora later on in the week.
He called Al a couple days later and was asking about rigging up the tractor to put his blade on and when Al told him that we had a 12ft blade that we had used on it and that it was for sale...he said "I'll take it...but you have to put it on for me". The price was more than right, so Al had the next few days lined up with mounting the blade.
Now, normally this gets done in the fall when we get back, not when there is 3 feet of snow on the ground. The blade was parked in the back corner of the neighbour, Murray's, yard against the tree row, so the snow had piled up even deeper. Al had his work cut out for him and although he didn't get stuck, he had to enlist the help of Murray's tractor and bucket. He got it mounted and it was ready to go when the guy showed up with his driver. Marilyn tried to get a picture of it leaving the yard, but the guy was in it and gone before she got to the camera. We were on our way to town and did manage to get a shot with the cell phone as he headed down the highway.
So now we are still waiting for our new-er tractor to make it up from Minnesota. The first time, there were broker issues, the second time, there were weight issues...and the tractor ended up even further away. But they promised us in the new year we will see it, but in the meanwhile, Al is trying to decide between a 3 point hitch snowblower or a new dozer blade.
The second weekend of the dinner theatre had Al inviting Bob and Jean from Balcarres and his boss from H&R, Curtis and his wife Jackie. Marilyn got to visit with them for a while before going backstage. Our second night crowd was smaller, but they were the best of the four nights and because they were smaller, we were able to tear down and get out before midnight. Part of the pain of performing in the UK hall is that we have to bring in our own stages to build up their small one. This means loading in and setting up 20, 4x8 platforms that must weigh 175lbs...and feel more like 500lbs by the time the last one is set.
This year, the cast consisted of three women and Brenda and Marilyn filled out the crew...a lot of manual...or "wo-manual" labor involved. Al is always "thrilled" when Marilyn volunteers him to drive her to the hall...he knows he will be rooked in to help with the loading. Fortunately, the theatre group from Kamsack uses the staging and actually has room to store it, so they bring them down for us and pick them up after we are done...unfortunately, it is just a husband and wife that do the transporting, so we end up doing the heavy lifting anyway.
Al had gone back to work at H&R Block...more so to get the year end taxes in order...but he was happy to see they had cleaned up his office.
With the convention and dinner theatres out of the way, we had a week to prepare for our family Christmas...which we were hosting. Al's family takes turns hosting and this was our year, we even had the date set back in August...this was one thing we were getting on early. Unfortunately, Al's brother Jeff and his family were leaving for their Arizona home on the 19th, to celebrate Christmas with his wife, Michele's, family...so we were short four at the table. Marilyn managed to talk Kim and Marg(her sister) into coming up for the day...a good thing too, because she was a big help getting things ready.
We had supper, gift exchange, then went out for the annual ritual of setting off fireworks...they sound so different in the frigid air...or when they go sizzling through the trees due to a malfunction...or maybe it is just in our minds. They were fabulous, just the same.
So here it is, Christmas Day, and we are relaxing after a hectic month, enjoying the day. Next month we have two trade shows, two toy shows and two jobs, so it won't be any better...or worse...we should be practiced up for it!
We hope everyone who follows the blog has a wonderful Christmas and an even better 2013!
Marilyn has decided the 1000th post wasn't any more special than the others...it was just as special as the others!
View of the day-Time to unpack for the last time this year...and a bit of a mess to work through.
What a night. We had not run the furnace while we were driving, so it was going to take some time to get the camper warmed up once we got parked at the Walmart. We got the generator started and it ran for about 30 minutes, then quit...out Al went to check the propane. One tank almost empty and one pretty much full. So that wasn't the problem.
We knew the furnace would run on 12 volt, but didn't want to drain the batteries on the truck, so we tried the generator again...same thing...about 40 minutes this time. It was almost 2am, so we got bundled up and tried to get some sleep.
During the night, Al would get up and run the generator, which would allow us to use the fireplace and charge the batteries so the furnace could take the chill off...it was down in the low 20's and there was snow on the ground, after all. By 6:30am, we decided there would be no more quality sleep, so we closed up the camper, grabbed a quick breakfast at Burger King and started for home.
The roads were not as bad as we had anticipated...to start with, at least...and we made it to Minot just after 11am. Marilyn needed to pick up a few last minute items at Walmart, but in North Dakota, they don't open until noon on Sundays, so we waited. This gave Al a chance to go into the camper and grab a nap while Marilyn stayed in the pickup to upload yesterday's blog.
After shopping was looked after, we headed out, stopping in Carpio to pick up some parcels that had been stored for us. This was a bit of a task, since there was only a short alleyway right off the highway with no exit. We made a couple of rounds looking for the best place to pull in so we could get out easily...a task to do with the camper on behind. We finally just pulled in, got our packages, then Marilyn guided Al back out into the highway so we could get turned around.
We did some rearranging of packages at Kenmare, got our receipts in order, then took off to see what the border held in store for us. Roger and Ken were about 2 hours ahead of us and they reported no problem with their crossing...but we would be hitting the shift change. We didn't have to stop on the USA side and were glad to see it was one of the regulars on the Canadian side, so he looked at our papers and sent us on our way. We also handed in our work visas...now it is official...our harvest season is done.
We stopped in Carlyle for fuel...the fog was really thick and it was trying to snow and mist, which we knew would make the highways "interesting". And it did. It was slow going until we were about 30 miles from Yorkton, then the highway seemed to dry off a bit...but there was more snow on the side of the road than what we had seen further south.
We cruised right through town and started down our 3.5 miles of gravel road, which had about 4 inches of snow on it. We wondered how our yard was going to be to pull the camper in so it could get unloaded...it was heavy, but we managed to pull up by the front door and get it opened up. We got it plugged in and started the furnace...we need to winterize it, but were not going to do it in the dark. Fortunately, it has heating pads under the tanks and the underbelly is all insulated and heated, so at least nothing will bust from freezing and we can get it winterized and parked tomorrow. Marilyn got the camper cleaned out in a record 20 minutes.
Oh, if the fall unpacking could go so fast...
View of the day-The guys say farewell outside the TOMY store at Dyersville.
Al had another early morning as he got ready for Roger and Ken to pick him up to go to the big auction. Marilyn stayed back at the camper, her job was to get it ready and hooked up for the trip home.
We had decided we had seen enough of the toy show and should start back for Canada. Marilyn got the camper all flanged in and was on the road to Dyersville by 11:30am. Even though the water had froze during the night, the sun had it thawed out so Marilyn could get the fresh water tank filled up...because we would surely need iton the road.
The plan was to park the right up at the Shopko lot by the school, but the traffic was insane and although it was a right turn on to the street where the Shopko was, that would mean makings left turn on to the main street...with no lights at the intersection. A long wait, indeed.
Marilyn opted to make a left off the highway and parked in the TOMY lot, then called Al to him know where she was. The auction was still in full swing,so they weren't leaving to pick her up,but as luck would have it, there was a shuttle bus and Marilyn took advantage of it by catching it for a ride to the school.
At the school, she went in through the side door...what a lineup and crowd...she could hardly get into the gym, never mind trying to get through the masses to the auditorium where the auction was being held. Since she was near the rooms where the dioramas were, she stopped to take some pictures of some of them.
She couldn't stop thinking about the one she had seen yesterday with some culvert work being done..the attention to detail...stunning. The barn with the farrowing crates, the tiling being done in the field...there was even one that had a black cover over it and there was a tractor working the field with its lights on, and the combine was dumping into a cart with its lights flashing. Unfortunately, taking a picture would not have done it justice...as with so many of these works of art.
After the picture taking was done,she fought the crowd again to try and find the guys...fortunately they were just down the next hallway. They were pretty much done with the auction...a little too rich for their blood. That, and they had pretty much spent their allowance for the show. Marilyn hadn't, so she was able to pick up a set of Big Roy 1/32 tractors...the price was right, and they are an amazing set.
We got a ride with the guys back over to the TOMY lot and the camper, but we couldn't leave without taking Roger and Ken through the TOMY store. We all came out empty handed, but they had a nice wrapping table if we would have found something we wanted.
Time to head for home. Neither of us had any idea of how far we would be going today...it was time to "shut up and drive"...something we do a lot of.
Al drove the first shift until we turned north on to I35, then Marilyn took over so Al could have a nap. Once we got into Minnesota, Al took the wheel again and we dropped the hammer hoping to make Jamestown, ND.
Which we did...and parked in the Walmart parking lot for the night...in the snow...
View of the day-Some of the amazing things we saw today at the toy show. The details on these machines is not done any justice by the picture alone...this man loves his work.
Al was up early and out the door with Roger and Ken as they stopped by on their way to Dyersville from Dubuque. Marilyn had the morning off, since the main thing on her agenda was to browse through the displays in the toy museum and the high school...but this would not happen until after 2pm.
Al took the guys around the yard sales and to the Scale Models factory, where they got to see the tail end of the process to ship out the current model of pedal tractor that on the assembly line. They checked out a few of the other sales that were open early and by this time the outdoor market in the parking lot of the sale barn was set up and they were able to go through there.
Marilyn had gotten in to Dyersville, parked at the high school lot, then walked across the way to the museum, where she picked up the floor pass buttons for her and Al. These $25 buttons gave us the right to "preview" the vendors from 2-6pm and would get us in for the three days of the show. After the tickets were purchased, she called Al and found out they were at the sale barn about 4 blocks from the museum, so rather than move the truck and lose a premium parking spot, she walked up the hill to meet the guys.
After a pass around all the vendors there, it was time to go downtown for lunch at Nora's again...we were becoming regulars. After lunch, we killed some time walking through the tents that were set up on the lots around the plaza and museum. Then it was time...2pm...time to get down to business.
We went through the museum vendors...everything was pretty high priced and these guys were not budging at all in their prices. According to them "the prices are already too low"...that mixed with tired from walking already meant they weren't seeing any of our cash in their tills.
We walked over to the school to see if there was anything better over there...and there was. They gym had its share of those guys with attitude, but as we worked our way through the hall displays and the dioramas in the classrooms, we actually had a couple of things to carry out to the truck.
Marilyn didn't get a lot of pictures today of the dioramas, but did manage to take a few of a Massey display. The detail in these displays will have you looking for hours...just when you think you've seen it all, some little thing catches your eye and it starts all over again.
We met up with Roger and Ken out in the Shopko parking lot next to the school...they hadn't been through the school yet. We were going out for supper, but they wanted to shop around a bit more, so Al stayed in the truck and read his magazines and Marilyn checked out the Shopko.
Once we were all done with buying for the day, it was time to go to the Ritz for their "all you can eat" jumbo shrimp Friday special. Wow. The place was packed and with good reason...the shrimp was fabulous...and there was lots of it. Too much, in fact...we could hardly move when we were finished. Of course, it could have been the 10 miles we walked today...but more likely it was the fact that we were stuffed.
By now, we were pretty much shot for the day. They guys want to get up early to be at the school for the big auction that starts at 10am, so they will pick Al up at the camper again. Marilyn will get the camper cleaned up, closed up and hooked up for the start of the trip home.
Originally, Al wanted to stay until Sunday to get in on some of the last minute deals that one gets when the vendors just don't want to be bothered repacking and hauling the stuff...they just want to get rid of it and that is when you get the best deals. That plan changed to leaving by 6pm on Saturday and getting halfway home...then it changed to 3pm...then after the day we had today, it changed to 12 noon.
But that could all change again...
View of the day-This was how we spent the better part of the day...rooting around in people's garages for treasures...and Al actually found a few.
We had clouds during the night, so we didn't have frozen water this morning...a pleasant change. It was supposed to be a bit warmer out, but at this time of year, as long as it isn't wet, it is a nice day. We still had wind, but thanks to the tents and buildings, it was cut off and it wasn't so bad...as a matter of fact, Al was in short sleeves all day. Marilyn, on the other hand had two tshirts, one hoodie and a jacket.
We got to Dyersville and the first thing we had to do was meet a "guy" out by the storage lockers on the north end of town. We got there to find two other guys rooting around in the locker and they told us the "guy" would be there shortly. Al felt like he was doing a drug deal, sneaking around like that. The "guy" showed up, right on time and found Al the two toys that he had ordered. We don't know how...this place was jammed full to the front door...and it wasn't his only locker!
Once we got the tractors, we checked out the garage sales around town. Al found a few items that he picked up, but wasn't committing to anything really big...just in case. Just in case...the price came down or he saw one cheaper...that sort of thing.
While we were looking around, we ran into Tom Waterhouse and his wife Audrey, from Davidson, SK. They are at all the shows we are at...and then some...so we stopped to have a chat and look at one of the custom built threshing machines that he had bought here. Wow...the detail was absolutely amazing! Pictures just don't do it justice...but will have to do.
We continued on our way, checking out the various tents on the grounds that were getting set up...some let us in, some told us to come back later and some wouldn't let us even close. Since it didn't officially start until tomorrow, we didn't take offence.
We went downtown for an early supper, where Al spotted this Halloween decoration...complete with head turning horse, then came back to the camper. Roger and Ken had made it to Dubuque and were checking in at the hotel before coming over to Dyersville. Apparently they didn't get away from Bossen's at Lamont, without thinning out their wallets before heading to the hotel.
Al had them stop at the camper on the way to Dyersville to pick him up for the auction sale...Marilyn didn't see anything she couldn't live without, so didn't want to go sit through all that "rhroofelling"(Al's German slang for the sound made by the auctioneer-you really need to roll those r's). She will be resting up for the big walk yet to come.
Another early morning tomorrow, but this time we get to check out all the displays...
View of the day-Today's road trip took us 3 miles from Dyersville to the movie site for "Field of Dreams".
It was another laid back day as we got a late breakfast in Dyersville, then did a bit of toy shopping. The toy show does not officially start until Friday, but there are some places that are set up early, and Al figured there were bargains to be found.
We started out in the TOMY store, filling up the back seat of the truck with cases of toys, then toured town looking for garage sales...we found only two, but there are sure to be more by the weekend. We came out empty-handed from the garage sales, even though there was still some room left in the truck...no bargains yet.
Next we took a tour through the Plaza Antique Mall which was next to the toy museum. This place is two floors of consigned...stuff...dolls, games, antique dishes and furniture...and of course, farm toys. You can see the shelves at the top of the picture with all the toys on them and on the bottom, just past the cars are glass cabinets, all filled with treasures from various consignors. This took a loooong time to go through and the only thing we came out with, were two programs for the weekend. The first trip through most of these places is just a "scouting" tour...the real buying will start on the weekend...if the stuff is still on the shelves.
We took a coffee break at McDonald's...Marilyn managed to get the seniors rate on her beverage...there are some perks to "getting up there". Now it was time to check out the items going up for auction on Thursday night.
The viewing was in a hall that was in the town park...the place where we had inquired about parking the camper and got no reply...so we were surprised to see five or six campers parked here and there on the grass behind the building. Oh, well, we have big power, sewer and water...at least after the sun thaws out the hose...where we are now and they only have 110 power in the park. We're OK with that.
We strolled along the tables of toys that would be up for auction...Al said most of them looked better online, but is never one to miss out on a bargain...should there be one on Thursday. Once that was done, it was time to head back to the camper and get the latest batch of boxes put away.
Tomorrow we will get to check some of the other places that will be opening up for the show, then Roger and Ken will show up from Canada and Al will get to take them on a tour of all the places he has been.
Marilyn will figure out a schedule for all the craft shows going on in the area this weekend. Originally, Roger was coming down with his wife, Linda, so Marilyn would have had a travelling partner, but Linda decided to stay home, since Roger told her there was nothing to do in Dyersville.
And she fell for it...
View of the day-We managed to find another combine looking for a grain cart on our three state road trip today.
Today's list had finding a place to fill a propane tank at the top of the list. After searching online, we found a place in Cascade, 10 miles south of Farley, where we were camped. The road down was scenic and we got to see a lot due to the fact that it was really curvy and rough, so the going was slow...but we had nothing else on the agenda, so we enjoyed the view.
We got our propane tank filled, then took yet another scenic route, this time to Dubuque to check things out over there. Marilyn had been checking online and had discovered the riverboat cruises ran until the end of October, so we were hoping to fit one in...until we saw the website had a notice up that October 28 was the final one for the season. So much for that plan.
We crossed the bridge and went down to the lookout point to see the river, from the shore, at least. Al found his bench by the lookout and sat there until it got too chilly...the sun was shining but the wind was howling out of the north, so it made short work of any enjoyable water watching.
We decided to cross back to Dubuque on the bridge to the north of us and since we were now in the state of Illinois, the 10 mile trip around to the other bridge would take us through Wisconsin before crossing back into Iowa...hence the reference to the three state tour that we took today. While we were crossing back across the bridge, Al noticed that there was a barge being moved down the river that he wanted to watch, so we looped back around to the lookout where we had been to check out its progress...this time the jacket came out.
We watched as the barge lined up to go through the pass where the train bridge had swiveled out of the way. It took some time, but finally it came through, but then had to rearrange aim to make it under the main bridge, while the train tressle turned back to position. It was really quite interesting for us flatlanders to watch the procedure...it must be like someone from the mountains watching a field being combined...simply, mesmerizing.
Al stood down on the dock and was impressed by how close the barge front got as the tug pivoted at the back to line up We watched as it passed under the second bridge, then crossed back to Dubuque to find the Applebees so we could have supper before going back to the camper.
Back at the camper, we got the propane tank hooked back up, then fired up the furnace and called it a night.
This "professional tourist" thing is something Marilyn could get used to...
View of the day-The Wapsipinicon Mill in Independence, Iowa this morning...we didn't do a tour, however.
We got up to a frozen hose...and the hydrant handle was frozen open, too. It got down to 23ºF during the night and the water never had a chance...good thing we had gotten the tank filled when we stopped in Sac City, so the holding tank was full for showers.
Back to Sunday. We left Wakonda and started for Dyersville, we weren't sure where we would be spending the night...apparently there isn't a real good place to find RV parks. Marilyn spent most of the drive trying to find a campground online, finally after dark, we found one in Independence and it was by asking someone at the local gas station.
This morning after closing up the camper, we drove around town and managed to find a restaurant that served real eggs. After breakfast we hooked up and started for...well...someplace to park the camper for the week. We knew there would be no place in Dyersville...we parked in the Pamida parking lot the last time we had the camper...so we had to find something that wasn't to far from the action.
Before we had to find our new camping spot, we had to make a side trip to Lamont and Bossen Implements, where Al had to pick up about 14 cases of farm toys. We were there for the better part of an hour as Al and Katey went through the list of things that Al had purchased and was there to pick up...Marilyn made sure there was plenty of room to pack them under the camper, then we were on our way again.
Marilyn had found a campground at Earlville, which was 9 miles west of Dyersville, so we pulled in and found a spot to park. The campground was quite scenic...big trees with a pond nearby. The thing about "scenic" is that it usually means uneven ground...there was not one site that had a flat spot...so we tried to find the best one of the bunch.
We got the camper parked, blocked the tires so it wouldn't roll down the hill into the pond, then used the "auto level" feature to get it set just right...we didn't know the front jacks could go that far out. It looked pretty precarious and we were a bit nervous about staying there, so we went on a road trip to see what else we could find. Apparently we weren't the worst off...there was a motor home that had the front wheels about 6 inches off the ground, so it would be level.
Al remembered seeing a campground east of Dyersville on the way to Dubuque, so we drove out to see if he was remembering correctly. He was. It was only 6 miles from Dyersville, in Farley, so we pulled in to see if it was still open and we could park for the week...it was a bit pricey at $30 a night, but at least it was flat, with cement pads and a good road in and out.
We figured we should check Dyersville, so Marilyn went into the city hall and got a couple of phone numbers for possible places to try. One was the town park...no one answered the phone and we couldn't see any posts in the obvious places, so we were pretty sure that one was out.
The second place was 4 miles north of town in a county park. It was kind of narrow, winding roads, up and down little valleys...and narrow bridges...not really meant for a big camper. So that one was out and it was settled...Farley would be our home for the week.
Now we had to go back to Earlville to get the camper off the cliff it was parked on. It didn't take long to hook up and make the move, so we were set up in the new campground just as the sun was setting. We went in to Dyersville to have supper at Pizza Hut, then came back to the camper to call it a night.
So if any blog readers are harvesting near the Dyersville area, email us (kunthzharvesting@gmail.com) so we can check out the corn harvest close up...
View of the day-Well...yesterday...something we didn't come home with. A calendar from Lipton, SK, just north of Fort Qu'Appelle...where Al's toy show buddy, Roger, is from.
We have been pretty laid back here in Wakonda, outside of the regular trips to get water...two five gallon jugs at a time. We never did get the tank on the camper filled...that portable water pump that we left at home would have made short work of the jugs. We are getting good shoulder work done using that hand pump to transfer the water from the jugs to the camper.
We went to the auction last night and came away with a few brochures...Al wanted the JD 7020 4WD and the Case 1200 4WD, because they were the tractors that his dad had owned back in his youth. And being a Versatile collector, he had to get the playing cards...too bad they were the 5 of spades short. He likely wouldn't use them for playing anyway.
This morning, we were up early to get ready for the big day of sales. Al was rechecking his "need it/got it" list and making a note of the lot numbers, so we could take off during the long stretches. We were hoping to get eggs in at the local coffee shop, but had to wait for a break in the action since we got to the hall in time to browse through the toys one last time before they started selling.
Once we did get a break, we went across the street and had a fine feed of eggs and an omelet. This was the last day for the restaurant according to the sign, they were moving away and would be closing down. Too bad, the eggs were delicious.
Marilyn got to take a couple of breaks...to go get water, of course. It was cold enough out that it wasn't a pleasant job pumping it into the camper, but it had to be done...Al would get the next shift. After going back to the auction and helping Al carry out his purchases, we grabbed another couple of jugs of water, then went back to the camper.
It was still pretty early, so Al managed a nap in between watching the college football on TV and Marilyn worked on the computer and watched a little TV, too. We decided to take a road trip into Yankton...about 25 miles away...to have supper at the Pizza Ranch. It had started to rain just as we were leaving the camper and it rained all the way there...and back.
Let's hope we don't have the white stuff for the next leg of our trip tomorrow...
This has been the view for the past two weeks...the hoarfrost has been spectacular and is most amazing when we actually get to see the sun.
