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View of the day-Al starts the day with a full hopper on the combine with the wind blowing hard again and the temp hitting 102º on the Napa sign in Cherokee.
Another hot windy day Al unloaded the truck from last night then went out to start combining while Marilyn got things organized back at the camper.
We finished the field we were on around 4:00 then we had a 8 mile move to the last field for John, it was a 70 acre patch Marilyn got going by 5:00 and Al took a load into to the elevator at 7:30, unloaded, then he stayed in to watch the hockey game…Vancouver won 3-2 in overtime.
Marilyn meanwhile had the cart and combine to fill…or finish the field whichever came first. She got the field done and after filling the slip tank with fuel at the Coop, got back to the camper by 10:00 PM. A 130 acre day and with a move…not too bad.
The elevator won’t open until 11:00 AM because it is Sunday, so we might move the combine, header and cart to Carmen first then unload after that, where we have one more field of wheat to go. The weather is more of the same…hot, hot, hot and windy…so we may get done with the wheat by tomorrow night, then we move to the canola.
It is now midnite and it’s still almost 80º… glad the AC in the camper keeps it cool…
View of the day-Another good day of cutting by pretty much everyone in the area. Everywhere you looked there were plumes of dust flying…now this is action! We scheduled AIS for 10:30am and with the wind blowing the way it was and the 88º temps at 9:30am meant we could be have been going even earlier. We knew we would be putting in a long day without starting at the crack of dawn, and it was going to be another hot windy one. Marilyn got the combine fuelled up, then went back to get snacks for the day and Al got the rigs moved closer to the next part of the field, then started combining. Once Marilyn made it back, it was round and round until the field was done. This one didn’t yield as good as the first one, only around 20, but the test weight was still up at 62lbs. We took the header off, then moved a few miles over to the next field, put it back on and started right in making dust again. Marilyn combined until the
truck was almost full, got the combine fuelled, then Al took over while she went into town to make sure she got her order of the Friday catfish special from Miss Dotties…awesome stuff. After picking up the fish, then getting the slip tank filled with fuel again, it was back to the camper for Marilyn. Al made another hopper full, then came in with a load on the General to dump in the morning. No rain in the forecast, so we forge on…
View of the day-According to the prediction of one of the locals…”she’s gonna break loose today”…and it certainly did, the dust was flying everywhere around us.
Al had a feeling it would be dry enough to give it a try around 2pm…which means he wants to try it at 12:30-1pm, so we had an early lunch and headed out to the field. Al cut a sample, then we took it in to the elevator…12.3% moisture…good to go!
We started in along the waterway and the combine was showing way higher than the test sample, so we cut over to the road side and were able to blend everything quite nicely since it was down to 10% moisture on that side. Marilyn took over combining while Al got the farmer’s truck out so we could fill it with seed wheat, which didn’t take as long as everyone thought it would. I averaged around 40bu/ac and the test weight was 62lb.
We got the first patch finished, then moved 10 miles over to the next field and started right in on that one. It turned out to be an amazing day…got to hear the hopper full alarm and got to use the lights, which meant no wet ground and we got to combine into the night…at least until the elevator closed.
The weather looks like it will be hot and windy for the weekend, so we should be able to get the rest of the wheat lapped up.
Hopefully the canola will be ready by then…
View of the day-On the road to Fairview, the Cimarron River is looking pretty low.
Al was up early and on the road to Carmen to check out the field we have to do down there…it would be at least a couple of days, so we didn’t have to worry about getting everything moved down right away. It was another hot muggy day and the south wind had returned after taking a day off.
Marilyn continued with her cable wrestling and conquered most of it…it is now bundle and label time. Al wanted to give Sasktel its daily rag about our phones not working. After another 40 minutes on the line, we finally had success…sort of. The phones work, but there is no messaging or data…not that we use data, but text messaging…seriously? At least Al has his right arm back, he was mighty cranky that his phone wasn’t working, as anyone at Sasktel will vouch for.
We went on a road trip to Fairview to visit with the ProHarvest guys…Al needed to get his ProHarvest belt buckles…and on the way we did see a couple of fields getting cut, but nothing major yet. The trucks are still rolling by the camper headed for the elevator, which also makes Al anxious to get going.
We rushed back from Fairview to talk to Ray from ProHarvest, who was at the combine out at the farm, trying to find out about the error message Marilyn had gotten when she moved the combine out yesterday. He was still there when we got back and he informed us that there was a bulb burned out…imagine that, it actually tells you there is a bulb out…what next? After a good visit with Ray, we went back to the camper for supper and to get prepared for the big event tonight…the puck drops for game one of the Stanley Cup playoffs.
That ought to keep Al’s mind off the grain trucks going by…
View of the day-Yes, it’s official, the first sample of the season as Al finished the last pass.
Finally no wind!
Al was up early to get the header trailer trimmed up, he took it in to Burlington and was back home with the completed project in a couple of hours. They did an excellent job and even added some new clearance lights, so now we are ready for action.
ProHarvest was on the move to Fairview so we were able to get hold of them to make sure we had the latest updates for the monitor in the combine. They sent out Clayton with a laptop to get us up and 
running, so while he was working in the combine, we went to work getting the light hook-ups ported out of the back of the combine and cart trailer. Fortunately we had cables run when we fixed the trailers last year, so all we had to do was add the plug end so they would work with the shop/pickup head trailer...always a treat.
With Al helping out at the signal switches, we were able to get both ends working…the right way, the first time, for a change. Once we got finished and Clayton had taken care of the software update, it was time to take a test…just to see where we were at. Al took the header out and Marilyn followed with the combine and we got everything hooked up and ready for action. After cutting out a patch, it appeared as if we might be just a bit early with the testing…although you can never trust the first readings of the season.
We took the test into town and the elevator’s tester read 17.4% moisture…that settled any thoughts of doing anything more. There were a few trucks rolling by the camper…which always makes Al happy…and more crews were moving into town, so it must be getting close. 
Back at the camper, Marilyn decided it was time to tackle the cables and try to set up the computer desk. We only brought laptops this year, so it should have been a piece of cake, but…printer, router, speakers, external hard drives, USB hubs…you know…stuff. But, everything is in its place and it doesn’t have to move again until the end of the season.
And that takes care of another very productive day…
View of the day- Our new pets, two birds that have become infatuated with their reflections in the tinted windows on the camper. They spent the afternoon pecking at their reflections and Marilyn even tapped on the window right at their beaks and they just continued on. They moved to the back window once the sun moved north…cute at first, but irritating after a while.
Another day of strong south winds although the heat was not as severe…at least the wind kept the insects away. Today’s main project was getting the trailer for the pickup header rearranged so we could cut it down short enough to pull it behind the combine trailer. We used to haul the pickup head on the combine, but this newer one is 3 feet wider, which makes it too wide to haul down the highway, so we must improvise.
We had the header on and off the tr
ailer, tweaking the brackets so they would be as close to the front of the trailer without hindering the turning radius. We finally got everything where it would work perfectly, then we had to cut the 2x2inch support tubes to length. Marilyn had purchased a portable band saw a couple years ago and it had made the trip in the shop trailer without being used, which meant it should have stayed at home. Marilyn insisted on bringing it again and since Al had gotten the generator w
orking again, we used the saw to cut off the tubes and it worked like a dream, which earned it a permanent spot in the shop.
We took the trailer and header back to the camper and just as we pulled up, the man who is going to cut off the rest of the main frame stopped by. After setting up a morning appointment to get the job done, we called it a night.
Three more items on the to-do list and Al is itching to do some sampling…
View of the day-Big smoke west of Cherokee made worse by the strong south wind that blew hard all day.
We had another day of getting the to-do list whittled down, this time in the blast furnace heat and wind. It sure must not have been any fun for anyone moving their rigs south today.
While we were working on the combine we heard the sirens going off and then saw the huge clouds of smoke filling the sky. From where we were, we thought there was a possibility that it could get over to the farm yard where the tractor, cart and header were parked, so we made a dash out there to bring them into town where we could work on them.
Marilyn got the cameras mounted on the tractor, cart and combine while Al got the oil changed on the combine and greased everything. We got the header on and ran everything to make sure it was working as it should…no sense in waiting until we are in the field.
The fire had been put out…no word on what it was, have to wait for the Monday gossip to get the rest of the story…so Al took the header trailer back out to the farm. Once we had exhausted ourselves and the water jug in the heat, we called it a day…gotta save something for tomorrow.
We took a drive past the canola field to see how the swaths were holding up…not bad considering the wind gusts hitting 50mph. The wind and the 95º F heat will be bringing the wheat around in a hurry and with the crews starting to roll into town we should be cranking up before very long.
We’re ready…
