skip to main |
skip to sidebar
View of the day-A change of crop. We are now straight cutting oats.
Since we had the combine all set up and ready to go in the oats, it was just a matter of jumping in the combine and driving out to the first field to get started.
The landlord for this field wanted to bale the straw, so all the combines opened up the back and dropped the straw. We are only three combines now, since the other two left to work on another farm.
With the straw getting dropped, there was no unloading on the go into the cart because those tracks on the rig would be mashing the row of straw into the ground making it all but impossible for the baler to pick it up. Productivity dropped quite a bit due to that and the fact that it was running over 125 bushels/acre, so they were filling up fast and stopping often.
Combining continued on until around 8pm when the straw was too tough to put through.
Hoping for an early start tomorrow...
View of the day-The best of both worlds...Marilyn's sewing machine and Al's farm toy.
A road trip to Windthorst to finally settle up the damages for the pickup head repair. Marilyn almost got a picture of Al choking as he was handed the five digit invoice...and that was without the decimal point! What are you going to do...
We put a new backup alarm on the combine to replace the silent one and that was the extent of the harvest related work today. Al did go out to give the farmer a ride back to the yard after running a test on the straight cut oats we will be doing tomorrow. Plenty dry, just have to get the bin space organized.
The next toy show we attended July 26 - 29 was in Austin, Manitoba. We got there a day early, since we had never been to that show before and had no idea about the camping...which we had booked back in April...or how the setup was going to be in the hall. Or anything really.
We got our camper parked, which was relatively easy since it was well before the festivities were to start. A perfect spot, as well, only 20 steps from the display hall across the road. We only had power and water at this spot, but for some reason they had decided this year...and didn't tell the volunteers or campers... to shut the water off from 8am-9pm! We could have had our tank filled had we known they were going to do that. There were not a lot of happy campers in the park for the weekend.
We got into the building early the next day and ended up getting a sweet spot at the end of the hall, nestled in between two steam engines.
One of them was the exact one that the 175th Anniversary model represented.
This was a killer show, lots of people attended and 85% had to pass through our building to get tickets to enter and Saturday they were lined up and down the inside of the building and out the door. The hours were killer too...10am to 7pm!!
We each got a little time to go check out some of the sites. Wow, there was so much to see and it was kept up quite nice. There were a lot of "Pete's Passes" through the trees that were full of campers parked willy-nilly and most of the passes led to another old tymie display.
It was also the IHC Chapter 38 Roundup...a LOT of red tractors in pristine shape. We are members of the group, which was the reason we set up shop at this show. We didn't have a lot of time to check them out because the main outing was to see Big Roy.
This tractor was the only one of its kind built by Versatile. It was redone a few years back for an anniversary and was out for all to see.
It wasn't as big as we had imagined it to be, but it was still amazing to look at.
We also wanted to see the Versatile pull type combine that had been painted New Holland yellow.
We had seen video of this one on Facebook and though it was fake, but here it was in all its glory.
There were only a couple of these painted yellow.
In the "mini" area, there was a Big Roy working replica that was really cool, too.
Al did get to see the owner crawl in through the cab top and take it for a spin.
Just a lot of neat stuff to see and it would have been nice to have a day to explore it all.
Still one more toy show coming...
View of the day-Al does a daylight fill to get ready for the oats.
We had fixing on the agenda today. A little bit on the pickup head, some tweaking on the straight head and some greasing and crop setting changes on the combine.
We took an ice cream break when we went into Kipling to get some bulbs for warning lights on the header. With everything on the list crossed off, we were finished for the day...on the equipment at least.
Al had gotten a sticker from a friend that had toured an International Harvester Museum in Florida, so he decided it should go on the door of the combine for laughs.
Our second toy show July 7 & 8 was to Killarney, Manitoba. We have gone for the past few years, suffering in the heat, but enjoying the break and talking to the attendees of their annual threshing show.
This year there was a mix up at the campground due to new caretakers, so we had to move to a different campground to have all the hookups. Roger and Linda from Lipton, SK were able to stay in the campground next to the buildings, so because we couldn't camp next to them, Al missed out on the campfire at night. Not really...that's not his idea of camping, at all.
This year we didn't even get to go out on the grounds to check out the goings on. It could have been because this year featured Jon Deere. It was a good show and it actually wasn't as hot as it has been other years.
We're ready for oats, just waiting for the call...
View of the day-Al's birthday present from Marilyn...a mini fridge from CaseIH. It's going to look pretty good on the summer toy show tour, especially when Marilyn puts the JAKz Farm Toys logo on it.
Road trip day today. We went to Windthorst to pick up a couple of parts and pay the damage on the pickup head. They still didn't have the total figured out, so we aren't broke yet...we'll just have to wait for the shoe to drop.
We took the scenic route to Yorkton going north of Windthorst and up through the Qu'Appelle Valley. There were a few fields combined, lots had been swathed but no one was making dust.
We had a few errands to do, but the first stop was to H&R Block to check in on the latest news...actually it was where Marilyn had gotten Al's mini fridge dropped off thanks to Curtis, the owner. After catching up on all the news, we went out to the farm to pick up a few things, then stopped for supper before heading back to the camper. This time there were lots of combines going on the way back.
Tomorrow we get the combine set up for oats...
View of the day-Not today, but the first of our summer toy shows...our Parking Lot Sale at H&R Block in Yorkton.
Al went out early and helped to finish off the last of the winter wheat that was left from last night. They had it lapped up by 10:30 am, so everyone came back to the yard. We did a bit of radiator and filter blowing, cleaned the cab then parked to wait for the oats.
The Saskatchewan Roughriders were playing football at 5pm, so we got cleaned up, then drove down to Carlyle to watch the game with Marilyn's sister, Marg and her husband Kim. Marg missed the first part of the game because she was combining peas and wanted to get the truck filled. It was a great game with the Riders winning 40-27 against a team they hadn't beaten since 2013.
Since we won't be combining this week...unless something comes up to fill the gap...we will cover the toy shows we had during July. The first one was just us set up in the parking lot at H&R Block for the Canada Day weekend. We had a good one last year and decided to do it again...the Mini88 combine even got to see the light of day.
Saturday was a busy day with people showing up before we even opened...some even helped us set up! Sunday we had to dodge the weather and its intermittent rains, but it was a slower day, so we were able to shut down early and get everything packed for the following weekend in Killarney, Manitoba.
Back to the present...we go to Yorkton tomorrow to do a few errands...
View of the day-Al's borrowed wheels for his road trip today to bring home the pick up header from the shop.
Combines were in the field early today in the hopes that we would get the straight winter wheat finished. Everything was going great before lunch, then Marilyn took over combining while Al went to Windthorst to get the pickup head. While he was gone, we got a message that we would be filling the trucks, cart and combines, then shutting down...the grain auger had bearing issues.
We filled everything and went back to the yard and waited for news of the repair. There was no place to get the bearing today, so plan B was to get another auger.
Al had gotten back with the header on the trailer, so while there was time, they got a fork lift to take it off and just set it on the ground. When the straight wheat was finished, there would be a quarter section of swathed winter wheat for seed that we would need it for.
Once the auger had been acquired and set up, the trucks were dumped and everyone went back out to the field to finish. It didn't take too long before it was done and the combines moved back to the yard to swap out headers and move onto the swaths.
The repair job seemed to have all things back in working order on the header, which was a relief.
With the change of auger making a move to a different bin necessary, there were no lights for dumping near this one, so once the trucks and cart were full, we shut down for the night around 11 pm. If we hadn't had the afternoon off, the field would have easily been finished before dark.
Tomorrow will be a short day with what is left in the field...
View of the day-A short jaunt with the drone...
Not an early start to the day, but at least it was before noon. Al hitched a ride out to the field with with the trucker, so Marilyn didn't have to go out right away. By the time she was ready to go, Al called to say they would be finishing the field they were on, then they were moving to the fields around the yard, so she might as well wait and come out then.
Today was going to be grain bagging day, but before anything could get set up, the plans changed due to the weeds that hadn't died down from the spray. It wouldn't have been too good to have all that baking in plastic tubes...no good could come of it, so it was back to the bins.
The rest of the day went smoothly and we were even able to go well after dark. there's light at the end of the winter wheat tunnel.
Tomorrow the pickup head comes back from the doctor...
View of the day-A change of crop. We are now straight cutting oats.
