October 6, 2010

View of the day-Kim starting in on the flax...ohhh, it started out so good today...

It was another great day for harvesting, we were ready to start by noon and after doing a test to find out the moisture was 10%, it was go time.

Al made the first couple of rounds while Marilyn went to town for groceries, then she took over. It was going great until she plugged the feeder house. After reversing the wad out, she kicked the front end in to start combining again and since flax tends to bind together, especially after having the feeder chain mash it together, the wad was too much for the rotor...yep, plugged the rotor.

Al was just leaving the field when he saw the smoke coming off the rotor belt, so he turned around and came back...with similar smoke coming out of his ears. It was plugged at the back of the rotor and we had to take the grates out, something we have only had to do once before...a long, long time ago. It took about an hour and we had it back together, then Marilyn went back to combining...being a LOT more cautious.

Kim was having his own problems as the flax kept wrapping on the beater, then the feeder would quit. He struggled for an hour or so, then took the combine to the shop to change out the clutch pads on the feeder house. Bob didn't even bring the 9600 out because we were dropping the flax straw and the wind was so strong that it would have just blown his straw all over the field. The red machines chopped it up so the wind didn't have a lot to blow around.

Marilyn kept on combining until just after dark, then she started having the same trouble Kim was having so that was it for the flax today. Back at the shop, we helped Kim and Gordie get the clutches changed and that was it for the day.

Let's hope tomorrow goes a bit better for both machines...

October 5, 2010

View of the day-All lined up at the bins waiting to get started on the last field of wheat at Carlyle.

Al was up early getting trucks unloaded and moved back to the field so we could get started by 10am. Start time got moved back to 10:30 when he saw how wet the straw was. He had time to move the cart from the south field 6 miles north and across the moat to the present field.

There is a grassy water run that cuts the field from north to south and the only way across it was over a low passing that was holding water. Al was nervous about taking the empty trucks through, never mind a loaded one, but once he drove through he could tell there was a rock base and it was really very solid.

Marilyn, Kim and Bob started combining and Al was running the cart and filling the bin until it was time to top it off, then Kim took over the trucking and Al got to drive the 2388.

It was another great day for combining, the wind was really huffing...which came in handy when Marilyn had the unfortunate luck of clipping a skunk...and he didn't take to kindly to being disturbed. No amount of air fresheners would be helping get rid of...or even effectively cover, that odor. Kim was at the bins 3/4 mile away and he even got a healthy whiff of it. Along with the skunk, she also scared up three coyotes, one fawn, one fox and several rodents who met their demise at the claws of the hawks that were circling around like buzzards all day.

We got finished that half section by 6pm, then roaded the machines with the headers on this time, back to Bob's farm and the 20 acres of standing barley that he had left to do. Well, perhaps "standing" was a bit generous. Most of it was lodged and flattened right down, so there was lots of stopping to dig the dirt out of the headers...by all three of us. A nasty bit of business, but we got it done.

Kim's mom had whipped up some chili for supper and since we were done the field that was right by the yard, we ate in the house instead of the field. After we had finished we went back to the wheat field to get the General and the two pickups that were left there...tomorrow we will get the tractor and cart over to the next field we have to do.

It should be interesting...swathed flax...

October 4, 2010

View of the day-The lights are flashing as Marilyn heads for the truck with another hopper full of wheat.

Another day of beautiful weather which made for a good day of combining with an early start...and this time nobody got stuck...even though it was in a sticky part of the field.

We finally got the field finished and got ready to move north to the next field. We were right across from Precision Ag, so Marilyn pulled in to get the header into transport mode so we could get up the road without blocking any traffic. After Al got the truck unloaded, he hooked up the header to the pickup and we were on our way.

Since we couldn't put the header on in the field, we stopped at an intersection just south of the field to hook it up. Al had talked to his brother Jeff up at Gerald, about 90 miles from where we were and he said he heard Marilyn talking on the radio from the combine as she was lining up to the header...all the way from his house. Bizarre, since half the time the tractor can't reach more than a couple miles with the two way radios.

Once we got everything moved up to the field, we got back to combining. We took a break for pizza when Marg, Gordie and Kim's mom came out to the field for supper. After they left, Al switched from truck driving to running Kim's combine and we put a healthy dent in the acres on that field before quitting for the night.

Tomorrow we finish the wheat...or should...

October 3, 2010

View of the day-Getting the semi weighed empty at Precision Ag...and, no, Marg was not trying to hitch a ride.

We were up early on another gorgeous harvesting day, to get things organized to move to the next field. This field of standing spring wheat had some plots where Kim had used four different chemicals, so we had to keep things separate so they could see the results. Al got the semi weighed empty so we could calibrate the combine for the test loads and Kim cut around them with his combine so Marilyn would have the same size sample on all tests.

We picked up an extra truck to use for the day, one which held more than the General, so there would be less trips...in theory at any rate. Al was in charge of trucking for the day and we didn't bring the grain cart over, so he got lots of exercise walking between the trucks.

Marilyn got the plots combined and all the samples collected, then we started in on the rest of the field. Bob was out with the 9600, so we had three of us in the 50 bu/ac wheat, so Al was really hopping.

At one point during the day, Kim's combine found a wet spot and when he tried to back out...down he went. He went home and got the 4WD tractor and was able to get it out of the hole he had dug. Marilyn inquired about someone over there taking pictures, but the only thing they had was cell phones, so they didn't get any.

Marilyn and Bob were gun shy, so they stayed on high ground most of the day. Al took over combining from Kim later on in the day and things were going fairly well until he got a call from Marilyn who had tried to get "that last little corner of wheat". That's right...dropped down just like Kim did and couldn't back out. She got a few texts wondering where the camera was...it was in the Dodge on the other side of the field and since it was dark, the cell phone took a crappy picture, so no evidence.

Al brought the 4WD tractor over...good thing Kim didn't take it back to the farm...and after a couple of tugs, it came out and Marilyn was back in business...and not taking any more chances for the rest of the night.

We got back to the camper and after getting cleaned up, settled in to catch the season premier of Battle of the Blades. This show is like Dancing with the Stars, but it teams NHL hockey players with world champion figure skaters who compete and get voted of weekly. It is amazing to see how those hockey players are transformed over the course of the program.

But now to get those maps printed...

October 2, 2010

View of the day-Getting used to the straight header again, unloading wheat on the go...never spilled a kernel.

Frozen hose again this morning, but the sun came out and fixed that right up. Al went to pick up a few swaths of canola that were left in one of the fields, then came back to the yard to blow the combine off before starting in on some wheat swaths.

Kim had swathed some of the wheat that was lodged so part of the field was down and the other part was standing. Bob wanted to bale the straw so, he was dropping it with the JD. We swapped out headers after all the swaths were picked up and Marilyn had to get used to going from a three foot swath to a 35 foot straight head. That didn't take too long and she actually got to test out the reverser that was put on a while back...the straw was still pretty tough.

We finished off the first field, then moved to the next one which was just on the other side of the fence. It was only 80 acres and with three machines running it didn't take long to get that lapped up and once the trucks were all filled we parked for the night.

Al got to run Kim's machine, and will again tomorrow, but Marilyn has orders to make sure the Sirius radio is installed so he can listen to all the NFL games.

More straight wheat tomorrow...

October 1, 2010

View of the day-The morning line up, Kim's 2388, our rig and Bob's 9600...ready for action.

Another perfect harvest day and we got a later start today...well, later than normal but WAY earlier than yesterday. All machines were running but we had to be a bit careful because now we had mud issues to deal with.

There had been a lot more rain up here and there were a lot of low spots...and a couple of water runs where the water was still standing and we had to cross to get to other parts of the field. Fortunately, we had the tractor and cart, so nobody got stuck trying to get the trucks loaded.

Al had a hydraulic hose on the tractor wear through, creating a messy leak, so he went into town to get a new hose made. While he was gone Marilyn had a bit of downtime when the hydraulic motor running the pickup belt on the header quit running. After checking it out, we discovered that the key way had worn away and the motor couldn't get a grip to turn the shaft. Al was still in town, so he picked up a piece of key stock and when he got back, we put it all together and were back in business.

We got the field finished by 4:30 and had another day with bankers hours, but that was it for the canola. Once everything was moved back to the yard, we went over to Bob's where Kim's mom had made supper for us, then it was back to the camper.

After all, there was a CFL game on TV that Kim and Al had to watch...

September 30, 2010

View of the day-The wheels are off...well one was, anyway. The only way to get the shaft out to get the bearing changed was to get the big tire out of the way.

The guys from Chicoine Equip. showed up bright and early with the parts and immediately set to work. It seemed like the further they got into the job, the more things had to get removed. After they got the tire shifted, they were able to get started...until the jack and blocks started sinking into the soft ground. They made a road trip to get some steel sheets to put the jacks on, but then decided to put the tire back on so they could remove the pickup head and find some solid ground for the jacks.

It took the better part of the day, but they were able to get everything apart, and since they had it apart, they made a point of changing out both bearings. With things being beefier inside, they had to unpin the feederhouse and almost take it off to get enough room to get the larger rock beater drum out...but they did, and once everything was back where it belonged, it was test time.

While the combine was getting worked on, Marilyn started getting the broken disappearing fingers replaced. Even though there were a couple of openings to reach inside the drum, Al's reach was further than Marilyn's, so with teamwork, that job was accomplished.

The other two combines had finished the canola field and came back to the yard to see what was going on. We were ready to roll with everything running better than ever, so it was time to try the combine out on some canola swaths. We all moved north to the next field and started in...success! Big thanks to the guys from Chicoine Equipment, they did a hell of a job.

There were a lot of low spots that were wet but fortunately no one got stuck and once we finished the first piece, we quit for the day.

No point in starting a new, wet field in the dark...