August 11, 2015

View of the day-All set up in the tent at the Yorkton Thresherman's Show...the last show of the summer season.

We were able to get into the grounds at the Western Development Museum just after lunch on the day before the show, so it wasn't a mad rush to get set up. We had four tables and Roger had four right next to us, which he and Linda started filling a few hours after we got there.

After the set up, we went out for supper with Roger and Linda, then they got their RV parked in our yard for the weekend. There was perfect weather for the show...a nice change from the rain that seemed to be a regular occurrence lately. There was a lot of action around the grounds, but it seemed like we couldn't get away from the toys to see any of the threshing demonstrations. We got to see them getting ready for the parade at the end of the first day.

Sunday had a lot more traffic than Saturday did, but Marilyn didn't get to take in the festivities or the pack up, since she was trying to get last minute costumes and sets constructed for the Renaissance Fair that the theatre group was putting on the next weekend...that, and pack the camper. Fortunately, Mike and Heather, two of Al's toy pals were able to save the day, helping him pack up after the show.

There was also the ladder extension kit that we had gotten from CaseIH to move the platform out past the dual tires, for easier cab and servicing access. Right now, the ladder has to stay in the 2/3 turned position because of the tire width. This kit was supposed to add to the rails and platform...unfortunately, the tires we have are not 'standard' size and the whole thing was about 9 inches short. After Marilyn had struggled to get it all apart and partially back together, we ended up putting it all back the way it was and proceeded to come up with a plan to lengthen it and still keep the support.

Monday, Marilyn got the final load in the camper...well, enough to keep Al going for the week until she was done with Staples and the Renaissance Fair.  After taking the combine into town to get loaded, we took the camper down to Langbank, not to where the header was sitting, but to a new farm that was just looking to get some combine help with fall rye. We had met these farmers at AgDays in Brandon and when they found out we had combined a few miles west of them, and that their crops might be ready earlier than the Kipling area, it was a perfect fit.

Al made the big move to sell his combine trailer in the spring, so now we relied completely on Kardynal Transport to shift us from place to place...not a big deal when you are not going all the way to Oklahoma. 

Because the combine was so wide, due to the duals, Al had to pilot the load, while Marilyn followed in the rear. We got out to the farm and while the combine was getting unloaded, Marilyn got the camper set up for Al. It was easy to keep an eye on what was happening with the combine, since the view was perfect out the camper door to where it was unloading.

After we got the combine set for rye, it was time to move out to the field and get the rust off. There were three other machines in the field...all green...but at least the tractor and cart were red...Versatile red. 

Once Al set up, Marilyn went back to Yorkton and he was able to start picking up swaths as soon as he was out at the field and continued until the field was close to done, then Al was sent packing to do the winter wheat on his own for the rest of the night.  

After switching to the straight head, Al started cutting the winter wheat around 6:30pm and combined until 10:30 before shutting down for the night. Unfortunately, Al woke up to the sound of rain on the camper roof the next morning, so he came back home to Yorkton for the weekend.

While we were at home, Al got the General ready for action, whenever it would need to be called to duty. He also spent some time looking for parts to make the ladder extension work on the combine. There had been more rain during the week, so we didn't have to get back to Langbank in any great hurry, which was good for Marilyn and her theatre business.

It was a perfect day for the Renaissance Fair...a little long, even though the event was from 11am to 7pm. Marilyn and Brenda had to get to the park by 7am to get the sets and tent up. This was the first year for the fair and it turned out pretty good considering there were several other things going on around town the same day.

With the weekend finally over, it was time to think about heading back to Langbank. Marilyn got the rest of the stuff for the camper loaded up, then we hooked on to the shop trailer and headed south. By the time we got to the camper, it was already dusk and the mosquitoes were hungry, thank goodness for the automatic satellite dish. We were a bit concerned about the signal finder...Al had run over the cord with the lawnmower...but it worked.

We are looking forward to a week of hot weather, this is the thermometer on the combine at 9:30am! We got the windows washed and were out in the field in no time. Since they only need the combine here, Al gets the honors and Marilyn gets time off. The shop trailer has been needing a good cleaning, so that is what has been on Marilyn's agenda for the last couple days. On a rough road, the bolt bins give up their cargo and usually we just use the magnetic wand and dump them all in the trays, Marilyn decided it was time to sort and return them to their rightful spot. Not sure how long that will last.

Al got finished with the winter wheat, then it was time to move over to do some straight barley. The road over was too narrow for the straight head, so we had to put it into transport, mount the pickup head, then move to the next field. When we got there, we had to unload the pickup head and put the straight head back on.

Al started making dust...itchy dust...and Marilyn went back to her bolt sorting. After getting that done, there were even a couple of nightmare drawers in the tool box that got a makeover. 

Marilyn took supper out to Al and then rode along for the rest of the night. The barley was yielding pretty good, so Al was only able to go up and back on the field before he was full...a couple times he almost couldn't make it back to the truck. There was only one other combine in this field and the grain cart was on the other field with the other two machines. 

Thank goodness for the camera in the hopper, as you can see, it helps to fill the hopper right up without spilling over...that's quite a pile!

So now it is official...we are in the swing of things and the blog should get updated regularly...for a while at least...

July 26, 2015

View of the day-The combine waits across the road for the trip into town to get some work done. The canola blooming makes for a beautiful view every morning.

We got ready for our trip to Killarney, Manitoba for their Pioneer Days, taking the camper on it's first trip of the season. We got everything hooked up and ready to go directly after work, so we could make some time and get parked before dark. We made it to Brandon, which left just over 60 miles for the next days drive.

Since it was a short drive and we couldn't get in to set up before 2pm, we didn't rush to get out of Brandon at the crack of dawn. Good thing, too, since that happens pretty early at this time of year. We got to Killarney, parked the camper and got the A/C blasting, then went over to start setting up. The empty table always look so daunting at the start of the show.

The building was relatively cool, but the humidity was so high, the load in made it seem like a sauna. There was a lot of discussion as to whether it was more uncomfortable to be setting up in 35ºC/95ºF or -35ºC/-31ºF...while neither is pleasant, you can always add more clothes as it gets colder. At least there is no worry about blizzards in the summer.

We got everything set up and ready for the morning, then went back to the camper to cool off. Roger and Linda Miller had come to set up for the show just across the aisle from us and they were camped right next door, so when the evening cooled off, we were able to visit outside. 

The next day, it was action time, with people coming to check out the old machinery that was in the field next to the building where we were set up. 

Marilyn took a stroll around to see what kind of things were demonstrating...watching the setup in the sawmill was pretty neat, as was the several unsuccessful attempts to get the belt to stay on the thrashing machine.

There were a lot of well maintained or restored old tractors and watching the Minneapolis-Moline double tractor was another head-scratcher. 

The weekend was a success and by Sunday afternoon, we were ready to head for home...but first it was load up time in even more sultry conditions.

There were weather warning all day and we did have a couple of nasty systems go through on Saturday, but we kept our eyes to the sky and loaded like mad as soon as the doors were closed. 

We had just headed out of town with our load, when we ran into some heavy rain and when we were about 10 miles north of town, we heard an alarm on the radio that a tornado was funneling down, just 6 miles north of Killarney. No damage from that one, but we were glad to get out of the area before it hit. We managed to stay ahead of the heavier rain all the way back to Yorkton.

We were able to attend the combine clinic put on by the CaseIH dealership in Yorkton. After hearing all the new changes to the next series of combines coming down the line, we thought maybe, rather than looking for a newer series used combine, we should wait until next year to check out the latest and greatest. 

The likelihood is neither.

We got to take the golf cart on an outing last weekend, to the Drag Races out at the airport. It was a "bring your own lawn chair" event, so we did. Al's boss, Curtis, was racing, so we got to see a lot of jazzed up cars making some pretty good time down the track. It seemed like some of the street legal ones that we had thought were pretty fast during some of the trial runs, looked like they were crawling after the ones that topped out at 150 mph in 1/8 mile. It was an entertaining day, even with the strong north wind and while the cloud threatened to dump at anytime, we made it home just before the downpour hit.

It's getting closer to harvest time for us...finally. We got the header tuned up and ready for action, then took it down to the farm at Kipling where we will start in a few weeks.  The combine is getting a few things repaired before the big rush is on. The bearings went on one of the augers in the auger bed below the rotor and although we could have done it, it just seemed more sensible to let the pros do it, since we are both still working full time...and it is a tight spot to get into.

Al was out to check on the canola that is planted on our land...the blooms are dropping and the pods are filling out.

Things will start changing in a hurry, now...

June 28, 2015

View of the day-Al's big purchase at the Lamoure auction...1/16 scale Versatile Big Roy.

It's getting closer. Marilyn is finding it very emotional to be looking on Facebook and seeing all the great harvest photos and stories coming out of the south. Al misses it too, but he always adds "if all I had to do was sit in the combine and cut all day long, that would be one thing, but all the rest that goes along with it...I pass".

Seeing the harvesting pictures was tough, but as the season has moved on, there seems to be a lot of pictures of combines getting stuck...a LOT of pictures. Marilyn does not miss that at all, which makes staying at home less painful. It seems there has been a lot of rain throughout the southern plains...much needed, but not in such large amounts. We're sure they will take whatever they can get.

Al took the golf cart out for a road trip to the Grayson Sports Day, so he could have a comfortable seat for all the action. We don't golf, so it doesn't see too much action...at least until Al starts taking it to farm auctions, which was his plan for it all along.

We didn't take a long road trip this year, due to the lack of timely auction sales.  We did take a couple days to go down to the ND Farm Toy Show at Lamoure, ND. We met up with Roger and Linda Miller who had come down from Lipton, SK to take in the toy show as well. They had left earlier to make a run down to the auction house in Waconda, SD to pick up some earlier bought farm toys before meeting up with us in Lamoure.

We didn't have the camper, so we stayed 20 miles away in Edgeley and drove in on Saturday for the show. The auction was to start after the show and since Al was waiting to see what was available there, we got there nice and early to check things out. Al had his eye on a couple of major pieces, but the price was right on a few others, so he didn't come home empty handed...far from it. The big buy...and the one he really wanted for his collection...was the Big Roy, which, as you can see, came home with us.

We wanted to get back early on Sunday, so we left right after the auction and headed north, staying overnight in Harvey, before forging to the border. After dropping some cash to keep the tax man happy, we stopped at Kenosee Lake to visit with Marg and Kim at their cabin, then headed home in the rain.

With both of us at work, we haven't been doing much of anything harvest related...the camper hasn't even been "de-winterized" yet. After the issues we had last year in the straight canola at Kim's, we decided to purchase a cross auger for the flex head. Al's original thought was to take everything out to his friends farm and have them help get it mounted on the header.

Marilyn, on the other hand, liked the idea of working on it closer to home, the only thing with that was that we would be flying by the seat of our pants. How hard could it be?

We were lucky enough to have the neighbour let us park on his back lot...our yard is postage stamp size...and once we had all the pieces in place and the instructions read, we were good to go. The weather was harvest type...Oklahoma harvest type...hot and humid. Add that to the fact that we are both getting older...not real pleasant conditions.

One of the hardest parts was getting the crating broken away from the augers...well, that and the fact they were pretty heavy to carry. We started on the right side, as the instructions stated, then managed to wrangle the auger into place and get it bolted in. The other side wasn't so easy, since it had to be connected with a hex shaft which had to be slid in about 10 inches...all while balancing the rest of the auger.

We tried a few times to find the "sweet spot" and just about the time we were ready to commence swearing, our neighbour drove by and offered to help. He brought over his tractor with front end loader, chained up the auger and lifted into position so we could slide the shaft in...with a slight twist of the auger, in it went. We got the rest of the bolts in and admired our handiwork...until we realized the "slight twist" moved the hex shaft enough that the grease zerk was out of place on the ujoint. We decided to deal with that later.

Next we had to figure out the two hydraulic hoses that run the motor on the left side. We got them threaded around the back of the header and into place for hookup, but the instructions were not very clear and it seemed like we were missing a couple of crucial pieces. Fortunately, we were in email contact with the head of the MacDon harvest support trailer and he was able to supply us with enough knowlegdge to figure out the problem. We still needed to see how to get the hoses hooked up, so after a much needed shower, we went to town for supper and then cruised the CaseIH lot to find a header that had the auger already mounted. We found out what we had to do and will save it for another days work.

So now we wait for the harvest, but in the meantime, we do have another road trip planned. We have a summer toy show that will be taking place in Killarney, Manitoba. Neither of us has been there, but it is tied in with their Prairie Pioneer Days. Those shows are always so interesting with a lot of the threshing demonstrations and "olde tyme" type displays. There will be a lot of pictures coming out of that one...and that will be followed by the Yorkton Thresherman's Show a couple weeks later.

Then hopefully some "new tyme" harvesting...

May 17, 2015

View of the day-Al getting ready to go seeding for the day.

Well, we didn't go combining this spring after all. With both of us doing the tax thing at H&R Block, and Marilyn at Staples during the day, we just couldn't get it done for the farmer before the May 1 deadline. We weren't terribly broken up about it, we have had "spring combining" experience in the past and really didn't need a repeat performance.

Once the main tax rush was over April 30, Al packed his bags and moved south to Carlyle, help brother-in-law, Kim, with his spring seeding. This was a nice change for Al, getting to run a big 4WD tractor...with autosteer, but he still managed to get stuck a few times. There would be no pictures of any of these occasions, since he won't take any and his "flip phone" only seems to take shots of the inside of his pockets. After spending a couple of weeks at Carlyle getting Kim down to a manageable amount of acres, it was time to return to his tax job...at a much slower pace than when he left.

Al decided since we have the duals on the combine now, there is no need to keep the combine trailer, so he hauled it over to Yorkton Auction and had them put it on their spring auction. He was pleased with the result of the sale...and one less piece of equipment to maintain.

The only trailer left is the tractor and cart trailer and that finally got moved out to our land along the highway to wait for our later harvest season to start.

We made a road trip to Minot for the last of the estate toy auctions for a fellow collector that had been killed by a drunk driver a few years back. It had taken 6 separate auctions to get rid of all of his collection. We went to Carlyle on Friday night to stay over and get an early start...the auction was set for 12 noon on Saturday, so it was just going to be a day trip. 

We left our overnight bags in Carlyle to travel light across the border and got the the auditorium around 11am to look around. It seemed odd that there was only about 20% of the toys on display and the guys didn't seem to be in much of a hurry to get the rest of the stuff out...stopping to chat with us at length. Then we found out the auction was on Sunday.

We tossed around the idea of going back to Carlyle...about 125 miles...or just getting a room. We chose the latter and really got our moneys worth out of that room, since they let us in before noon. But now we had no extra clothes or toiletries...which meant Marilyn had to go shopping. 

We made the sale the next day and managed to come home with some real bargains...some for resale, and the rest to augment Al's personal collection.

So now we are past all the snowy, rainy weather, things are turning green and it's time to get the yard in shape. This is not an easy task since the combine, tractor, graincart, two cargo trailers, General and the camper are all parked in the front yard. The combine has all the shields up as we get it spruced up for the coming harvest...tomorrow is wash day for it, then there is some maintenance that needs to get done, now that the shop that is our front yard is warm and dry.

Marilyn is really missing the southern harvest...this is the time of year when we would have been well on our way south...however...we have been watching the news lately with all the heavy rains that have been hitting Oklahoma and Texas, thinking how bad we feel for the farmers who were finally going to have a decent crop, only to have it flattened or flooded. As much as we loved the harvest down south, we are thankful that we are at home, out of the mess and mud.

Our biggest decision now...where to take the camper for the first run of the season...

April 5, 2015

View of the day-Actually, the other day on the blog...the final field we were working in last year...and the first one we will work in this year. 

That's right...we have to go back and finish off the last couple hundred acres. We went to Carlyle today to enjoy Easter dinner with Marg, Kim and Gordie. On our way back home we had to tow a sprayer back to Al's brother, Jeff's, farm at Gerald, so since it was on the way back, we drove past the field of standing wheat we had last seen in November. Hmm...standing, you say? The farmer had tried to take it off during some of the better days last fall, but put a rock through his combine, so asked if we would be able to come finish once the snow was gone and the ground was still frozen.


Ahh, the snowball effect of procrastination. First there's nothing happening, then not enough to tell about, until...BAM...five months have gone by and it has really piled up.

It seemed like there was never any rest from the time we quit combining until now, which has us heavy into the tax season. This is crazy time for Al at H&R Block and Marilyn helps out at the tax joint from 4 to 9pm after her regular 8 at Staples...not much time for anything else. Except the odd toy show.

Going back to last November, we got most of the equipment back to the yard, with the exception of a few stray items, but it didn't have to be anyplace important now that the season was officially over.  We did celebrate with an evening at the Moose Jaw Spa after a fantastic concert from John Fogerty...amazing how he still has "it".

The Association of Canadian Custom Harvesters annual convention was held in Saskatoon and as usual, it was an entertaining three days. It felt somewhat strange, since we hadn't been south of the border this year, but with all the tales told by the other harvesters, it was almost like we had been there. Minus the paperwork, hot days loading, endless days of moving...that sort of thing.

We heard a lot from the various companies, since it was an "equipment" year.

Every other year we have the trade show in a larger venue, which allows the combines, headers, trailers and other large items to be showcased.

As usual when it is in Saskatoon, we are lucky to be in the CNH Training facility...lots of room and hospitality.

We also had the first Canadian debut of the Great American Wheat Harvest documentary that was filmed over the last couple of years on the harvest run. The ACCHI was one of the sponsors and Lee Petersen, our current president and owner of Petersen Farms Harvesting, was included in the documentary.

*Shameless Plug*-

These videos are available in Canada, exclusively through the Association of Canadian Custom Harvesters. They are priced at $20 for DVD and $25 for BluRay, plus $5 shipping and handling. You can call 1-886-226-6610 to order or email lprevost@xplornet.ca 

With convention over, we sailed right through December  Marilyn was involved with the dinner theatre again...no acting this time and Al went back to work early this year. He was also busy with preparations for the toy auction that was coming up in February.  

January was the Saskatoon Toy show, followed by set up and trade show at Brandon for AgDays.  The toy show is always a lot of fun and this year, for a change, it wasn't -50ºC with a wind like other years. Here we have a "before and after", unfortunately, all the boxes hadn't been brought in yet.

The last week of January, we went to Minot for the Triple T Toy show. While we weren't looking for anything particular at the show, we were very interested in the auction that was being held on the Saturday night after the show. There was part of a collection...which was over 5000 pieces...that was being auctioned off by the estate of a collector that had been killed by a drunk driver. This collector was known for his high end items and chase units, so Al had his list ready for action. He ended up getting most of them and with Marilyn's packing skills, the finer items were able to ride in the cab of the truck...and so was she.

February had the Yorkton Farm Toy Show, which was kicked off with the toy auction that Al and Marilyn organize.

This year we had 230 items and we were worried it would take longer than we wanted, but the auctioneers made short work of the list, so we needn't have been concerned. Considering the Minot auction started at 5pm and all 500 pieces were sold by 9:30!

We had a 1/32 scale Massey 1805, the fourth in a series of Charity Tractors auctioned off. This years proceeds went to Team Clara, supporting three-year-old Clara who is fighting cancer.

The toy show was a success once again and this was an "equipment" year for us as we brought in the M88 combine to have on display. Marilyn wants to take it to a few more of the toy shows, but that would mean a bigger trailer.

We got to another toy show in March, this time it was to Morden, Manitoba. Al likes going to this one as we gain an hour coming back home throught the time zones. We had tried switching back and forth between Lloydminster, Alberta...which has its show a week earlier...and Morden, they are both about 275 miles, but the time thing wins out in the end. Having to close down at 4pm on Sunday, pack up and drive home makes that hour gained a bonus.

Al made it to a few auctions and even managed to part with his Versatile collection...the price was right. We got the cabinet refilled, but now he wants to start getting his Versatiles collected again. It's true..."it's the getting not the having".

Up to date and maybe harvesting in a few weeks...

December 2, 2014

View of the month-It's official...harvest season is over.

We are currently in Saskatoon at the Association of Canadian Custom Harvesters Convention, so there will be more to come...