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View of the day-Crossing the waterway to get to to the last of Kim's wheat...no one got stuck.
We had a 10 acre patch to finish off for Kim then we were ready to swap headers for some pickup work. After a quick lunch back at the yard we headed across the road to the last of Bob's wheat.
Bob had his combine fixed in no time thanks to the guys from Redvers, so there were three machines running on the little bit he had left. Once we finished that, we fueled up in the yard and got things set up to combine some barley...Al's favorite...heavy sarcasm there.
All three machines got rolling in the barley and the conditions were perfect. The weather has really turned around, which has helped a lot and we had a good wind to keep drying the crop.
Al had previously booked the evening off so he could head north to watch his Terriers in the second game of the Highway 10 battle with the Melville Millionaires. Unfortunately, they lost both games, but the season has just started, so they will get them back in the next battle.
We got a picture sent from our little patch of land 5 miles from Yorkton, near Rokeby. We have someone else custom farming it, which includes the harvesting. What's new...the harvester never seems to get to harvest his own crop. This is the first crop we have put in the bin that we had put up several years ago.
More barley for tomorrow...
View of the day-A gorgeous day with...sundogs? Say it isn't so...that usually means cold weather is on the way. At least it means that in January, but that's relative, isn't it.
Even though the dew was heavy, we rushed it a bit and got started by 11am. Kim started combining to see where the wet spots might be...nothing to serious to deal with, so we were off and running. After the first hopper, Al took over combining for the rest of the day.
This field is cut up into several pieces by the water runs that go through it, so we had to find the driest of the wet spots to cross. Fortunately, we had the cart, so it wasn't a worry since it had to do all the crossing.
We finished the really low section of the field and moved over to the last chunk right along side the #9 highway. Everything was going smoothly until Marilyn lost a section knife right in the middle of the header and it was stripping, so time off to fix.
While Marilyn did her fixing, Al kept combining so we could get this field finished.
We figured this would be the last of the wheat that Kim had, but then he got a call from his dad that his combine had a breakdown and wouldn't be fixed for a couple days...no word on the break...but we would have about 70 acres of pickup work right across the road from Kim's yard.
We finished around 5:30pm...too late for Al to go to Yorkton for the big Highway 10 game where the Terriers were playing against their nemesis, the Melville Millionaires. We got the semi loaded, then got the combines in to road mode and started back to the farm.
A gorgeous day and evening, with a promise of more to come...
View of the day-The first tentative round on the last half section...of wheat, at least. Lots of mud hiding, but no one got stuck.
Al and Kim spent the morning moving trucks up to the next field of wheat, then after lunch, we got into the combines and tractor and made the move.
Kim decided to haul grain, so Al got to drive his combine for the day...which made him happy. There were a few water runs through this field, so we had to cut out around them, but there were still a lot of wet spots that we had to be careful around. The dual tires really made a difference, Marilyn was able to drive through the soft spots with a full hopper without sinking, although she isn't getting too cocky just yet.
The tractor and cart were needed most of the time to get across the driest spots along the water run. At least the trucks could get close enough to the other side of the run so it was a short shot for the cart.
A beautiful day and more of the same for tomorrow...
View of the day-The tree finally hit the bank. Actually it was holding on by a hair and was leaning pretty bad, so Marg got Kim to pull it down before it fell.
We got the combine serviced up, did a test...still 15.8%, but there is still some room in the air bin...then started back in on the wheat.
We finished the field just after sunset and moved back to the yard with the combines and trucks. Tomorrow we will move a few miles north to start on more standing wheat.
Here is an article about Harvesters For Hire that is an interesting read...
View of the day-Kim cleans out the fertilizer remnants left in the auger, by drawing it out of the Beaverville Pond.
Kim was out and took a test in the morning and it was official...we were going to get the last of the canola done. We had lunch, then took the grain trucks and cart out to the canola field, to finish off the last 40 acres that was standing.
We got that licked up in no time, thanks to the "buggy man"...no long drives to the truck, and thankfully, no mud. Does that ever make a difference! There was, however, a strong wind that wanted to send the fluffy canola flying out of the header when we were going to the west. We got it all, though.
We moved everything back to the yard and while Kim fueled up his combine and got started swapping out his concaves, Al got the radiators blown out on our rig. The alarm kept going off while Marilyn was in the canola and since we had to go by the yard, it was easier to blow them out at the shop.
We took our combine out to the standing wheat field, which was just behind the home 40 and did a sample...15.8% moisture...good enough to cut 2,000 bushels or so for the air bin. Kim got the canola unloaded and moved the auger to the air bin and we went out in the grain truck to start combining.
Kim finally made it out to the field and Al was kept hopping hauling back to the yard. Fortunately he had a "Pete's Pass" for a short cut to the bins, which were almost in the field. With all the moisture that has fallen, there are a lot more wet areas going across the usual routes back into the yard...as you can see ahead of the combine as the moon is coming up.
Just after sunset, we got our quota cut, parked the combines and rode back to the yard in the grain truck. Marg had supper ready for us and plans were made for tomorrow. Time to get back in the groove.
What a weird year...
View of the week-We took one of the rainy days to go up to Kipling and move the tractor and cart to Carlyle. It took two sets of jumper cables and 30 minutes to get enough charge to start the tractor, it had been sitting that long. Al had a leisurely drive back to the camper.
Sitting in the cold, windy, wet weather, looking out the back window at the beaver's handiwork, wondering when the last chip will take it's toll.
We have done 40 acres since we got here to Carlyle. It rains every day, just enough to make sure we don't try anything and now we are going below freezing during the night. The water hasn't gotten hard in the hose yet, which is a good sign it hasn't been staying there long.
Tomorrow we harvest trees up at Kenosee Lake...
We had a 10 acre patch to finish off for Kim then we were ready to swap headers for some pickup work. After a quick lunch back at the yard we headed across the road to the last of Bob's wheat.
