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View of the day-Well, a couple of days ago...our "machine shed" where we get everything ready for the run. It's a good size with lots of ventilation and light...during the day, of course.
It's time to get back into the swing of things, we got the Freightliner back into shape for the first trip to Oklahoma...it started a lot better than the General did. While Al worked at getting the oil changed on the truck and tractor, Marilyn continued on working at Staples until 4pm, then came home to help get things hooked up.
We got the tractor hooked up to the grain cart and had it all flanged in...it would appear that everything will work just fine. But it wasn't loaded on the trailer yet, so we didn't want to get too cocky. Al got a bit of welding done on the trailer, then took it out to Yorkton Auction, where we have been able to load for the past couple of years.
Tuesday was the day to get the tractor and cart on to the trailer. We had measured several times and it looked pretty good on paper...but we all know it often doesn't work the same in real life. Getting it on the trailer was not a big deal...figuring out how to chain it down was another matter. We hope we have it right, but since the first leg of the journey is 125 miles to Carlyle, so we should have the kinks out by then.
We got everything hooked back up and left it at the auction yard, then went to work on the General. It will be spending the week in at the "doctor" getting a new starter solenoid...and hopefully, they find nothing else wrong. Tomorrow the season officially starts when the Freight hits the highway and we have to be in Carlyle before 3pm, due to the Victoria Day long weekend. Everyone that has been stir crazy from the long winter will be on the highway, heading for the lakes.
We don't want to have to deal with that...
View of the day-Well, actually the view from most days over the past winter and half of the spring.
It's May and all things should be thoughts of the harvest season, but it is a bit tough to do when you have to wait for the snowbanks to melt to get the equipment out. It's been a long four months or so since the last post, but it has been anything but quiet on this end.
We finally got our tractor home and were able to find a snowblower to mount on the back, thanks to Al's connections on the toy circuit...it's not what you know...it's who you know. We had a lot of snow to move around all winter, and it did a great job...after a bit of a learning curve going from pushing with the blade to backing up with the blower.
January was crazy for travel. We went to Saskatoon to look after the trade show booth for the Association of Canadian Custom Harvester at the Crop Production Show. It ended on a Thursday and on Friday we had the Toy Show there for the weekend. As usual, the weather was frigid for loading, but we got home late on Sunday night, then packed up Monday to go to Brandon, MB to man the booth at Ag Days. We only had to do one day, since there were other harvesters to take over for the rest of the week.
By Thursday, Al was on the road to Lethbridge with his toy collecting buddy, Roger, for a first time at that toy show. Because of the chaos of the month, we weren't able to take in the US Custom Harvesters Convention in Kansas City...so we couldn't come home with any "treasures" from the auction.
February had the big Yorkton toy show and auction. Al was busy getting the final touches done on the auction...all the note taking from last year really helped to make sure there were no glitches. This year he decided to have a projector with large pictures of the toys on a slide show, so the buyers could have a better look during the auction, which worked out better than anticipated. Once again we had a charity tractor to auction off, with the procedes going towards a memorial splash park and it raised $700!
This year we decided to take the M88 mini combine to the Yorkton toy show...something we had been planning on doing since we purchased it several years ago. We borrowed a flat bed trailer, loaded it up and after Al's buddy, Mike from
Minute Muffler, gave it the once over at his shop, got it hauled over to the hall to move in. They have the tables pretty tight, so finding room to park was a bit of a task, but after it was backed in between the tables, it was good for the weekend. It got lots of action from the little guys...some of them spent hours on it. By the end of the show, we had decided that perhaps we should get a trailer to haul it to a few more shows...and it just so happened that Mike was looking to sell the one we borrowed.
While the toy shows were going on, we were still managing to fit our work schedules in. Al was now back at H&R Block, getting ready for the tax season and Marilyn was still at Staples and helping Brenda out occasionally at liquidation world. Marilyn had a few extra hours to spare, so she started working at H&R after her Staples shifts, but only in the back office...taxes are not her cup of tea, but she seals a mean envelope.
Marilyn was also busily involved with the theatre group, since they were short of actors for their next production of Noises Off, she took one of the roles, so now there were rehearsals to add to the mix three times a week. The set for this production was a bit of an undertaking...it needed two stories and had to be rotated between scenes, so the audience could see the backstage antics.
Fortunately, she was able to enlist the help of one of the construction guys from the big musicals that used to be held in Yorkton and with the help of Brenda, a fabulous set was built. We had to do the building in Willowbrook, which was 13 miles west of Yorkton...they were good enough to give us the gym rent free in exchange for being able to have a dessert theatre for the dress rehearsal. The people that got to see the rehearsal at Willowbrook would not have recognized the play as being the same if they had come a week later to Yorkton...quite a bit of improvising going on.
We took one final weekend off to take in the Lloyminster toy show which we had missed it for a couple years. We had good weather and the toy show was pretty good, but with so much going on at home, we were glad the season was over...that, and the toy trailer stock was pretty well depleted. Marilyn was always impressed by the dioramas, and especially the one from the couple from Calgary, AB who had been at all the toy shows we had been at. Their cattle trailer accident scene detail was amazing!
So the toy shows were over, the performance at the beginning of April was in the books, which gave Marilyn a bit more free time. Al was still watching his Yorkton Terrier hockey team, who had captured the league title...and bragging rights for another year. They are now in Nanaimo, BC playing in the western finals for a birth in the national playoffs which will be held in Summerside, Prince Edward Island, starting next weekend...they have one more game to go tomorrow to decide if they make the cut. We had bought a ticket on the hockey club's fundraising raffle...grand prize being $100,000 to be drawn in June...and were thrilled to get a call that we had won a prize in the Early Bird Draw...$10,000! Al has decided if the boys are going to to the finals in PEI, thanks to the winnings, so are we. No Jinx.
So now we are waiting...checking the crop reports and calling our farmers down south to see when we need to get rolling. Marilyn is itching to get the camper out of it's spot and opened up, Al is working on repairing the hoops on the grain cart that collapsed under the weight of the massive amounts of snow that we had this winter. It's almost as good as new...ish.
And the blog is back on board...even if we aren't harvesting yet...
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...
