skip to main |
skip to sidebar
View of the day-Back at it again, cutting spring wheat south of Carlyle, SK.
We spent the morning getting the rigs unloaded and serviced, then got the trailers parked out of the way. We weren't sure where we were going first, so we checked in with Kim...his barley was too wet to go. Al said "darn".
We grabbed a late breakfast at the Skyline before deciding to move out to Phillip's spring wheat field, 5 miles from the farm. Here we had another job where Al didn't have to haul the grain, so he was able to stay in the cart to keep the combine moving, while Phillip hauled to the bin which was in the field we were cutting. Not a long haul, at all.
There was a bit of worry to start with as a rogue cloud burst passed just to the north of us...right across Kim's barley field. We had clouds and lots of wind for the rest of the day, but the temps never got higher than about 72ºF...chilly with the wind...a nice break from the last week of killer heat and humidity.
We cut 102 acres...a good day...
View of the day-Al coming down the winding road from the farm at Menoken, ND after the fog finally lifted.
We got up early, but when we saw the thick fog, figured we might as well fit another hour of sleep in...we wouldn't be able to move with a wide load in this pea soup.
After we got up, Al took a run into Bismarck to grab some "beverage" from the bottle shop that was closed when Marilyn finished her shopping marathon last night. While he was gone, she started packing up the camper, so it would be ready to go when he got back.
After Al's return, we went out to the General at the farm, where Al stayed to wait for the air system to fill before leaving the field. Marilyn went back to the campground, got hooked up and waited for Al to show. We were ready to leave North Dakota.
We stopped in Wilton again to fuel up the trucks, then continued straight on to the border. Marilyn took a short break to drop off a six-pack of "beverage" to the guys at Mertes Implements who graciously let us park there yesterday. Then, it was on to the crapshoot at the border.
We don't have to stop on the USA side anymore, so the Canadian side was the only concern. We were through there in under 4 minutes, then we were Carlyle bound. We got to the farm around 3pm, local time, and while Marilyn got the camper parked, Al got the General unhooked from the load.
We had a quick chat with Kim, before heading back for the second load. We had originally thought we would go back on Saturday, but since we were closer to the border and it was still early, so we "turned and burned".
We had to cross the USA side and while Al was able to get into the "commercial lane"...and he was first in line...Marilyn had to wait behind 4 motorcycles and two vehicles. They were pretty thorough with the bikers, so Al had a pretty good head start back to Bowbells.
By the time Marilyn got to the lot, Al had already lined up the General and was in the tractor, lifting the trailer to get it hooked up. We got that done in no time at all, then hooked up the header trailer and started back north again.
This time the Canadian border had the lineup, so we had to wait about 5 minutes, then he sent us on our way again. Another trip over the pitiful Saskatchewan roads and we were back in the farmyard by 6pm.
We had supper in the house with Kim, Marg and Gordie, then finished hooking up the camper. Everything present and accounted for in Canada.
Except the Freightliner...
View of the day-Last load is ready to make the trek for the border.
We were up early...really early...about 4:00am, to the sound of the wind blowing hard and lots of thunder. Then it started raining, but fortunately we were only catching the southern tip of the big storm that was passing through the area. By 5:00am, it was all over...here, at least.
We got up for good around 8am and went out to the farm to see if there was going to be a problem getting the rigs out of the field. Once again, we were lucky that the farm was 5 miles south, so there wasn't as much rain...even though the rain gauge on the combine showed 4 inches. That was due to the fact that Marilyn had flushed it out with the pressure washer from the roof of the combine and hadn't emptied it.
The trip up was uneventful, even though there were a lot of law enforcement hiding behind the hills waiting for speeders...but that was not us. We stopped for fuel at Wilton, then didn't stop again until Kenmare...and that was a waste.
We fueled the Dodge again, then when we were paying, asked if we would be able to park in their lot overnight...we would have to ask "Don" over at the Ace Hardware/New Holland store. We went over there and had to wait 45 minutes to talk to him...first he was at lunch and would be back at 1pm, then he was late, then he was on the phone. Anyway, when we did finally get to talk to him, he said that a lot of people had asked to park and they have decided to just say no to everyone. Now what? We said nothing, and left...but someone will hear about it.
Marilyn took off ahead to see if she could find someplace in Bowbells. Nothing. Then she spied an independent equipment/repair place just north of Bowbells, so she stopped in and managed to get permission to "park in the back away from his equipment". Which we did, then we turned around and headed back out to the farm to hook up the combine and get it chained down...then came back to the camper at Menoken.
After getting cleaned up, we went into Bismarck...Al was having supper with Mike Tompkins, from Pingree and Marilyn finally got to do some shopping. Not at any of the good stores, they were closed already.
A midnight run at Walmart...
View of the day-We got chaos happening in the field as we try to organize to get loaded.
It was cleaning and loading day today. The forecast was for rain at some point, so we were looking forward to having some clouds during the day. It never happened. Oh, we got some clouds, but not enough to cool us down...and we could have really used it. It was like loading in Oklahoma.
Marilyn got to clean the straight header and combine, then give them both a wash...almost the first time this season. We got the hot water pressure washer out and spent a good bit of time trying to get it running. We thought there might have been an issue with the water pressure, since the hydrant is gravity fed from a windmill at the top of a hill. Then we thought some of the valves might be plugged due to lack of use. All this discussion taking place in the heat of the afternoon. We finally got it going and the cleaning was started.
Al worked on getting the trailers lined up in the field so we could load, then we were ready to get the pickup head hooked behind the tractor/cart trailer.
We decided around 2:30 to take a break and drive into Lincoln, about 10 miles away, to have lunch and cool down. It was so humid we were dying out there with the heat and we desperately needed ice for the water cooler.
After lunch, we were ready to get back down to business, so Marilyn got the combine washed and then got the shop trailer hooked up behind the combine trailer. It works a lot easier moving them with a chain over the feederhouse, rather than with the General hooked up to the trailer.
We loaded the tractor and cart, chained it down and got it ready to leave tomorrow, then loaded the combine...it will get chained down once it is hooked up to the General.
We were done for the day. Back at the camper, Al figured we needed to fuel up the Dodge in Bismarck, so we decided to have a late supper at Red Lobster...endless shrimp and it was fabulous.
Kenmare bound, tomorrow...
View of the day-Made it just under the wire before the rain hit...it wasn't running off the header.
With the forcast of another hot, humid day, we knew we should be able to get the last 75 acres done. We hoped, at least.
We went out to the field just before noon and Marilyn went directly to combining, while Al kept busy rearranging the General and cart. This field was the one that was on the edge of the big hail that had hit in July, so the yield was lower than the first one, but still ran about 33 bu/ac.
The clouds were starting to build in the SW, but there weren't any weather warnings out. Still, we didn't want to get into the position of having a few acres left to do because of the rain.
As the clouds got darker...and closer...we crossed our fingers and dropped the hammer to try and get done. One problem...besides the weather...was that we hadn't fueled up the combine today. Marilyn thought she should have enough left to finish and we were right beside the fuel tank, so if we needed to, we could just stop to fuel. But time was precious.
With only about 10 acres to go, the first low fuel light came on. Marilyn knew she had some time before the second stage one came on and was hoping it wouldn't come on until after she was finished. But...Al had also told her, "what ever you do...don't run it out of fuel", so being gun shy, she stopped to get enough to finish the field.
It had already started to sprinkle, but the rule is...you don't stop until it is running off the header...and it really wasn't that bad. But it was coming. Al watched as Marilyn made the almost last pass, giving her the "thumbs up", thinking she was finished. Nope. There was a 6 ft swath left that she had to clean up...which wouldn't have been there if she had of had auto steer.
Al got the last load off the cart and finished dumping the last of the wheat into the bin as the sprinkle started to get a bit heavier. After Marilyn got the combine and tractor parked, Al moved the General into the lineup as Roger closed the bin before the big stuff could hit.
Before we left the field, Roger and his wife Shirley had sent out a chicken dinner with watermelon and cantaloupe for dessert. No cereal for supper tonight!
That's it. The last of the combining in the United States for the 2013 harvest season. Now we clean up to go back into Canada this weekend.
But don't worry, we're far from done. You know harvest in Canada...
View of the day-Al dumps the cart into the General.
We had high hopes for the day, even though it was cloudy and humid. Once we heard the tippy-tap of rain drops on the roof, we knew we would be having a late start...if at all.
While we were killing time at the camper, there was a knock at the door...it was Shawn Gallagher, fellow harvester and president of the Association of Canadian Custom Harvesters. We had a good visit with him for a couple hours, as the rain showers came and went...now we knew we wouldn't be combining.
After Shawn left, we figured we might as well go out to the farm, service the combine and get the grain cart unloaded and the load put into the bin at the yard. It looked like there hadn't been as much rain out at the field...as usual...but it settled the dust on the road...and the chaff in the bottom of the rain gauge on the combine.
Al brought the General over to get the cart dumped and Marilyn did the greasing on the combine, then we went back to the yard to dump the truck. That was our day in the field and it was back to the camper to pick up a couple things before heading into Bismarck.
We had lunch at Arby's, then stopped by Menards to design and price out a new deck...kicking tires, really. We stopped to fill up some water jugs at the grocery store, then came back to the camper. Marilyn is holding out her shopping for a full day...not just an hour or two.
After a couple hours of nothing back at the camper, we took a drive north of town to visit with Lynn and Gerry again. They had a lot more rain up there and it was only about 15 miles away.
If the rain stays away...tomorrow...maybe...
View of the day-The sunflowers here are a bit behind others in the area. We saw a couple of fields where the heads had no petals and were already hanging down.
Al was out at the farm early to unload the General after Roger had his new wiring in place. He went out and unloaded the cart, then added that load to the bin before coming back to the camper.
The humidity was high, we knew we wouldn't be starting before 11:30, so we had an early lunch at the camper, then headed out to get started.
Al was hopping with the hauling since this field was going well over 45 bu/ac. Good thing the haul was just 1/4 mile, so he was able to get back in good time. Marilyn finished the last pass on the field just as the sun was setting. A good day with over 100 acres covered.
And as usual, another spectacular sunset...
View of the day-Out our back window in the camper, we were able to keep an eye on the combine from the recliners.
We were up early to get the camper packed up for the move, then after hooking up and getting the General aired up, we were ready for action. Fifteen minutes ahead of schedule!
The drive was uneventful, we still had to stop twice for construction, but for some reason they didn't seem to be as long as they were yesterday, even though we were at the front of the line both times.
When we got close to our destination, Al took the grid road across to the farm, while Marilyn took the highway up to the campground at Menoken. Al unloaded the combine and got the header hooked up when he got out to the field.
Marilyn got the camper parked and set up, but just as she was closing the cargo doors, she saw a puddle of water. After closer inspection, she could see that the small hose going to the water filter was leaking and after moving it to check further, she got a face full of spraying water. It was actually a welcome shower, because it was really hot and humid out. Fortunately, there was enough hose that she was able to cut it behind the pinhole and reconnect it.
Back out at the field, Marilyn got in the combine while Al got the directions on where to start combining, then Marilyn was ready to make some dust. She got a couple of dumps on the General as she cleaned up a small patch across a waterway, then Al came out and moved the General over to the other side of the waterway.
Marilyn combined over to the grain cart on the other side...past an audience of sunflowers... and once the General was topped off, Al went to the yard to dump the load...only he couldn't. Someone had stolen the farmers large power cable adapter for the auger.
Marilyn continued combining until the cart was full, then added just enough to the combine hopper so she could close the hopper. With the threat of rain and the possibility that the guys would not find an adapter in time, we did not want to leave the hopper full. Al had gone back to the camper to see if we had an adapter from the selection we had collected over the years.
We went back to the camper until Roger got back from Bismarck, but he wasn't able to get the right ends and nothing we had would work either...so we were done for the day.
We went into Bismarck to get a few groceries at Walmart, then went back to the camper for the night.
And to watch the DVR of the Sask. Roughriders game that they won today...
View of the day-Preventative maintenance as we get one of the tires changed on the General, before it blows on the highway while we are pulling a big load.
We were out at the farm by 9:30am and while Al went in to settle up, Marilyn got the General started so it could air up, then started to get the rear view camera setup working on the combine. We really didn't need it for the first load, but it would save time when we got back for the second one.
It was only 110 miles from Selby to our destination...a trip that should have only taken three hours...but we had to deal with road construction and pilot cars, twice, so we lost at least an hour going up and coming back. We hope they don't work on the weekend.
It was hot and humid today although we did manage to have the wind pick up in the afternoon, so we had a real good push for the trip north. Not so good coming back south, though.
We got out to the farm at Menoken, ND and unloaded the tractor and cart, then it was time to turn and burn back to Selby. Al had noticed that the cap was starting to come off on one of the inside duals on the General, so he figured we would just forge on to Menoken...hoping that it wouldn't give out...then stop at Hazelton on the way back to see if they would have a new tire...nd the time to put it on...they did.
We killed another hour while they got the new tire on, then took off, stopping for fuel in Herried before going back to the farm to get the combine hooked up.
Out at the farm, we had a chat with the farmer and said our goodbyes before getting the combine hooked up and chained down. We got back into Selby with the load and parked in across the street from the motel for an early getaway.
We were happy to see that our neighbors in the campground had left during the day. They had parked so close and on an angle to the front of our camper, that we weren't sure how we were going to get hooked up...the truck would have had to come in at quite an angle and we haven't had luck trying to accomplish that in the past.
But there were no worries now...
View of the day-Top of the morning and Al is unloading the cart from last night. The truck driver was able to keep up today.
We were making dust by 10:15am, a good start to the day. With this field averaging 75 bu/ac there wasn't any rest for Al...or the truck driver. We found out today that he has three crews running, so that they do not have to clean off the machines between fields. Each crew has their own variety of certified seed wheat. No wonder he was busy at the bins!
We had just under half the field left and were able to get it lapped up before 4pm. Here is a shot of the last pass for South Dakota this year.
After the last semi was loaded, it was time to start cleaning. The bonus this time was that there was a good wind blowing and the temperature was pretty much at 80º...perfect conditions for cleaning.
Once the header was cleaned off, Al hooked it up to the Dodge and took it back to the yard, then got the high speed transport into position so Marilyn could load the header. While he was getting the yard ready for loading, Marilyn got the combine cleaned off, then moved it back to the yard. We went back to the field to get the tractor/grain cart and the shop trailer.
Marilyn had to stop for a chokecherry fix before leaving the field...plenty of choices on this old tree
and it was kind of neat to see the one with the most dead branches seemed to be yielding the most berries.
We got back to the yard and got the header taken out of transport and loaded on the high speed trailer, then got it strapped down, then it was on to the next rig.
We had to move the combine trailer into a better position for loading...it certainly looks like we have been here wayyy too long...we had to fight the grass to get the trailer out. Once Al had it parked on the road, we got the shop trailer hooked up behind it and Marilyn drove the combine up into place.
Next on the list was to get the tractor and cart loaded. Al got the rig driven up on the trailer and Marilyn started chaining it down, while Al got the General started and lined up to hook up to the trailer.
In no time at all were were hooked up, chained down and ready to move...the first load, at least. The combine load will have to wait for the return of the General tomorrow.
Let's hope for an uneventful trip tomorrow...
View of the day-The train was in town, so the elevator was emptied out and they were cleaning up the wheat pile across from the motel.
The day was a lot cooler, hardly getting to 85º, but we did have a good east wind...if an east wind can be good. The humidity was high to start with, but came down in a hurry and we were out of the camper by 10.
We got out to the field, got serviced and were combining by 11:30. It was more of the same, with Al running the cart, but there was a bit of a slowdown in the trucking.
There was another crew working on some of the wheat that was laying down really bad. This crew was using a stripper head so that there wouldn't be a lot of residue...straw and chaff...left behind. If we would have been cutting, we would have had to almost mow the wheat right to the ground and with the high yield, there would have been a solid mat of material which would have caused a nightmare to the seeding equipment. It just wouldn't have cut through the mat.
There was a problem at the bins with one of the augers, so between working on the auger and trying to get all the trucks unloaded from both crews, he was having a time of it. We never had to stop the combine...to wait on a truck, anyways.
Halfway up the field, Marilyn heard an alarm going off, but there were no lights, no strange sounds, all the gauges were normal, she couldn't figure out what the problem was. Until she saw a tiny little bar flashing on the picture of the combine. Something was wrong with the straw spreaders on the back of the machine.
Al came over with the tractor to see what the deal was and after we took one of the shields off, we could see the whole belt tensioner arm was laying in the bottom of the shield. This is what it should have looked like.
We could see that the shaft that was welded into the plate on the side of the combine, that held the unit on through the smaller pulleys had broken off.
We called the farmer to find a welder in town, got the plate taken off the combine and took what we needed in to get buzzed.
We were able to get it fixed right away and he only charged us $6! We took it back out to the field, reassembled it, tested it out...good as new. Back to combining, after losing a couple of hours.
We quit just at sundown...we had run out of space and the straw was getting raggy again. As with every night we have combined, Al drops Marilyn off at the camper and runs into Java to get fuel for the combine. When we got back to town, the pile of wheat had been cleaned right up...like it was never there.
Even with the breakdown, we still managed to get 90 acres done...
View of the day-It's chokecherry time and are there ever a lot of them..big, juicy and way up there. Had to catch these on the fly, but there might be some picking tomorrow.
We were able to get started earlier today, even with the high humidity...again. At least there was more of a wind, but we did top out at 101º today...mighty warm to say the least. Al really appreciated that A/C today!
The going was pretty slow with the yield being as high as it was...reaching 80 bu/ac...but in the low spots and along the water runs, it was still pretty green, which slowed the progression even more.
We got the first field done just before sunset, then moved down the two-track trail a half mile or so to the next field. We got the outside round done and had enough to fill the semi...we even got to use the lights on the combine.
Marilyn got to put, what Al calls "autosteer" in her combine this morning...at the one o'clock position on the steering wheel...a lovely hardwood "speed knob".
Not really what she had in mind...
View of the day-You know it's been a long time since the cart was used when you see this bird's nest tucked nicely under the tarp.
It was a bit foggy again this morning...what's new...but it burned off early, so we had high hopes the wheat was going to be fit. We had lunch at the camper, then headed out to the field around 12:30pm.
FINALLY!
Marilyn got into the combine and was confused when she looked at the calendar that she had put up...it was still on June...that's how long ago it had been since we combined last.
Marilyn went out and cut a patch...enough to park the semis and get some wheat in the hopper of the combine to clean out the "leavings" that might have been hiding. This is certified seed wheat, so everything has to be clean, clean, clean. We were supposed to dump the sample into the farmers smaller grain truck, but as it is on most farms...someone had borrowed the battery from it to use somewhere else.
We took a sample into the elevator and picked up a new battery in town for the grain truck. The sample was 15% moisture, but the good news was that it was being binned on the farm and there was aeration to dry it down. Back to the field we went and after dumping the hopper into the grain truck, we started to do the perimeter of the field.
Al followed in the grain cart as Marilyn opened up the field. This spring wheat was running well over 60 bu/ac, so it was necessary to dump a couple of times just so she could get around the field. Once it was opened up, it was back and forth for the rest of the day.
Al kept busy dumping the combine every round...no time to rest, or take a break.
Fortunately for him, the farmer has a couple semis and it is only a mile and a half back to the bins, so he gets to suck up the A/C in the tractor...and he needed it today with the temperatures finally hitting the mid 90's.
We kept going until the truck driver had to call it quits to go to a meeting, so we filled the semi and called it a night.
Good thing, too. The wind had died down and the humidity was going up.
Again...
View of the day-Actually, view of the "good old days". This one is from 1990.
A day of football and mob week on TV. No combining...and we knew that.
But tomorrow...
View of the day-The pile has started at Selby.
Al got to take the day off...another day...and get his fix of football. He started off with a CFL game to cheer on the Saskatchewan Roughriders, then he gave his channel changing thumb a workout switching between the other CFL game and his NFL Seahawks game.
Marilyn made a road trip over to Mobridge to do a bit of shopping. A roadside stand was selling sweet corn, so she grabbed a bag for supper and after grabbing a few other things to BBQ for supper...and a cheesecake for dessert, headed back home to Selby.
Most of the fields were done along the way, but there were a couple combines making dust and there must have been more going somewhere else, because the pile across from the motel was getting higher.
We have another couple of 90º days coming up, so soon it we be us making dust. Soon...
View of the day-Waiting, waiting, still waiting on the green in the wheat. Soon...very soon.
The fog was so thick this morning that we couldn't see the motel sign 50 yards from the camper. Good thing we weren't combining today, because it wouldn't have been an early start. It stayed overcast until mid afternoon and we stayed in the camper until 4:30.
We went out to the farm and got the combine and header ready to move a couple miles across from the field we will be starting on, then came back to get the tractor and cart moved out. That was the big job for the day.
We started back for town, but went by the far end of the field and walked in to see how much green we were dealing with. The smell of the alfalfa blooms was so sweet...can't you just smell them?
As we left the field and pulled out onto the highway, we were just ahead of a semi with a combine on the trailer and as we got to the stop sign he blew the horn. It was Terrance and his co-pilot from Canada and they were hauling a combine from Pratt, KS to Moose Jaw, SK. We stopped just around the corner for a short gab on the highway shoulder, then went into Selby to have an ice cream while they had a quick burger, then they were on the road again and Al got back to the camper in time to watch his Canadian Football League game.
Might be some shopping in Marilyn's future...
