June 21-Summer's Here!

View of the day-It could be worse, the two trucks (neither one ours) met on a narrow bridge. The cradle from the combine trailer clipped the guard rail and the other truck was nudged over, blowing a tire and heading into the ditch. No one was hurt, but it took quite a few hours to get the tanker truck loaded on the tow truck. I don't think the front tire is supposed to turn that far.

Well now, what a day it has been. It started out cloudy and very high humidity (what's new), so we headed over to the laundromat for our weekly outing. We fixed a few things on the combine trailer and grain truck, just killing time until it looked like we could get going in the field. We headed out around 4pm and did a test, and it was good and dry...too bad the ground wasn't in the same shape. Al got to start combining while Marilyn moved the grain cart to the other end of the field, although she never got there. Just as she was rounding the corner, came the ominous phrase from the radio from Al..."It looks like I will be buying the beer this summer". When we had a crew, the first person to get stuck had to buy the beer for the summer...so...

First we went back to town to get the chains and tow strap, and then we unhooked the grain cart from the tractor and got things lined up to try and pull out the combine. As soon as we tried that, the wheel dug down deeper, the ladder got buried and the header just couldn't raise high enough, so it started piling up the mud. We unbolted the ladder, and tried again, the tire just went deeper on the one side, and wouldn't budge on the other. The first picture shows the combine at it's worst.

After the tractor tires started digging its own holes trying to get traction, it was time to call in the big artillery. The local construction company brought out a D6 Cat, and in no time at all, he had us pulled out. The second picture shows the combine out and the farmer standing beside the wheel that was buried. Once we got out, it was back to cutting, although a change of venue in the field was in order. Marilyn headed up to the top of the field, thinking that would be the driest area, but noooo. Feeling brave and with nothing to lose, Al took over combining, while Marilyn worked on the grain truck door. Apparently, the latch was broken so it wouldn't open and Al wasn't going to do the "Dukes of Hazzard" entry. When the sun set, we called it a day, no more mud, and a door that now opens (with a Ukrainian handle).

Let's hope for a better tomorrow...