Happy New Year!

Well it has been a while since our last update so first we would like to say to all of you Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year! Here is a link to our Christmas newsletter...mostly stuff that the faithful blog readers already know...but in readers digest form.

We had nice weather until the end of November...good enough to finally finish combining at least. Al got the header and combine cleaned up and put away...headers in the barn at Carlyle and the combine in it's winter parking spot...on the lawn right outside the bedroom window. Al wasn't able to get the General parked in it's spot until he finally got the lumber from the deck unloaded...he was able o get into the dump just north of us and the guy was nice enough to only charge him $5 to dump it...as long as it was only wood. The barbecue came back home...

With early December, it was once again time for the annual Canadian Custom Harvesters convention. It was in Edmonton this year and we decided to drive the 600 miles instead of flying...a long drive, but worth it in the end. And really, 600 miles? What's that to us hard driving harvesters...except we for sure didn't need the A/C on his run. At the fund raising auction, Al thought it would be a good idea to support the association by bidding on a John Deere item and yes he became the owner of a piece of John Deere equipment...well, it is only an air compressor...but it is GREEN, none the less. Marilyn, meanwhile, thought she should do her part and bought a pretty blue tool box which covered the New Holland brand of equipment in our collection. All in all, we managed to cover all the manufacturers and it was a good thing we drove...the truck was full, front and back. The drive home from Edmonton was a bit scary because there was a huge blizzard when we left. We managed to stay ahead of it as we headed east for home, driving out of it as we hit the Saskatchewan border.

Marilyn had her production of "The Wild Guys" going on before Christmas and it was received quite well by all who attended for the six nights that it ran. Between that, and working full time at Staples, there wasn't any time to take it easy before Christmas. The temperatures took a turn for the worse as the great November weather gave way to the -40º...C or F, it's the same at that temperature...COLD! Toss in a bit of wind, maybe some blowing snow and you have a recipe for winter...and we choose to stay here??

Christmas was in Grayson, at Al's step dad's place. We had a good meal...too much, as usual...then set off some fireworks and had a good visit with everyone. New Year's Eve we went to Carlyle to spend it with Marilyn's sister and her husband, who was recuperating from a broken leg, which he got while skiing in Montana just before Christmas. Another big meal and lots of visiting before heading back to Yorkton on New Year's Day.

Marilyn cashed in big in the gift department by getting an embroidery machine...although she had to work to get it. Al had the 'goal thermometer' on the fridge and every time a bit of cash rolled in, it went up until he capped it at the 'close enough' level. As you can see from the picture it is a four needle computerized machine with endless capabilities...which Al claims will never be realized because Marilyn has no time to use it. Marilyn is pretty sure we need a bigger camper if she is going to be able to take it with her this summer. The machine is sitting next to the sewing machine she has had for many, many years...one that her mother got for a wedding present 61 years ago. They don't make them like that any more...it sews through four layers of jeans and will do shear curtains with just a few adjustments, and it embroiders...but not by itself...like the new one will. Let the digitizing begin!

It is now early January 2010...yes 2010! It seems like just yesterday we were all worried about the Y2K thing and now here it is 10 years later. What's even weirder is when they recap the last decade and you expect to hear about the 90's...


Al is getting ready for the Toy Show season, here is his Versatile toy collection. This coming weekend he will be in Saskatoon at their toy show and as he comes home Sunday night, Marilyn will be loading up to go to the Crop Production Show in Saskatoon, January 11-13 to man the Canadian Harvesters booth with Lynn Prevost.

Al will be going back to work at H&R Block after the Saskatoon toy show and Marilyn will be working full time in the copy and print centre at Staples...a big change from the computer department...and the furniture department...and the receiving department.

Hope everyone has a great 2010 and may there be good crops for all...

November 23, 2009

View of the day-Shades of the summer...this lineup was at the elevator north of Yorkton that we pass on our way home.

Yesterday Marilyn drove Al to the farmers yard to pick up the combine and road it home to Yorkton, while she got to do some more set construction. We had a cat that was quite interested in what we were doing...or maybe it was just a warm place to sit in the crisp morning air. It took Al 2 and 1/2 hours to get back home even avoiding the traffic by taking the back roads most of the way.

Today Al got the combine all cleaned off...not washed, though...too cold to bring out the pressure washer. Then he loaded up the General with all the branches that he had cut down so we could get around the back of the house to load up the lumber from our deck. It is on the north side of the house and had gotten quite rotten, so it had to go. After driving to the village dump that we are allowed to use, thanks to our outrageous taxes, he discovered that it was locked, pending some sort of environmental report...now we have no where to dump. He check into taking it to the Yorkton dump...they would let him dump it...for $140!

Looks like there might be a big bonfire happening in the near future...

November 21, 2009

View of the day-The Qu'Appelle River runs through the last field that Al combined...he made a point of taking pictures today.

Al was up early this morning and Marilyn got to lay in...for a change. Al left for the field around 8:30am and was able to start combining right after servicing and doing the windows. He finished the straight flax and there were a few canola swaths left in one of the fields, so he switched up the headers and made short work of them...he had to change headers anyway, before coming home.

Marilyn was up at Ebenezer for the afternoon, rehearsing and set building until dark...which is at 4:53 this time of year, which makes for a short day. After having a productive rehearsal, it was time to head back to the farm, meeting Al on his way into town for the hockey game. We stopped on the road and got caught up on the day, then went our separate ways...what a difference from being together 24/7 all summer...

So, now it is officially, official...we are done combining for the season. We still have to clean things up and tuck them away for the winter...if that ever shows up.

November 20, 2009

View of the day-Nope, not out of the archives and not getting ready for storage...we, or rather, Al is still combining!

Just when we thought it was all over...

Yesterday Al got a ride down to Grayson to bring the combine home...he was going to road it the 45 miles rather that get the trailer from its winter storage. Al had roped in Brenda to help him out by driving our pickup back to Yorkton...which she started doing as soon as she dropped Al off at the combine. While he was getting fueled up by the farmer, another neighbor came over and asked if he would be able to stay and do a couple of quarters of straight flax...what the heck...and besides, Marilyn has a sewing machine fund that needs a little help. Of course this meant he had to call Brenda to come back to pick him up and by this time she was only 10 miles from Yorkton...she wasn't getting much done, but she did manage to see the countryside courtesy of Al's directions...and that's all we'll say about that.

The weather has continued to be unseasonably warm and dry, so he thought he would give it a whirl...the cutters the farmer had before blew out the wobble box on their header, so Al was a bit concerned that the same thing might happen to ours. He needn't have worried, it was plenty dead and cut like a dream, so with the farmer supplying the trucks and another neighbor joining him in the field with his combine...today turned out to be quite productive.

Marilyn on the other hand was still spending the day working at Staples, then getting home in time to change, eat and head north to Ebenezer for rehearsal for The Wild Guys. We are still three weeks ahead of our first performance, but it will be here before you know it and we will be gone to Edmonton for the Association of Canadian Custom Harvesters annual convention the first week of December so that only leaves two weeks to doll things up for the cast and crew...no problem...to quote a harvester we used to work for a long time ago..."as long as it looks good"...and it will...you'll see.

Here's hoping Al gets a few more pictures tomorrow...

November 17, 2009

View of the day-Well, not today...but wouldn't it be nice to be back in this again?

Last official day of harvesting for the 2009 harvest season, and what a day it was record setting high temps. 15ºC/60ºF. It is sort of a sad, yet sweet day when you finish the harvest season.

Al picked up the last swath at 6:03 PM Tuesday November 17th. The farmer was happy to have his harvest done as well. His bins were full and a semi came out and picked up a load from the combine and the farmers truck was full when the field was done. There was still about 500 acres of flax in the area where Al was working he called the farmers but they thought they could finish it up on their own. It is deer hunting season here and the back roads by the fields were quite busy so it gave Al something extra to see.

On Wed. Al put away the grain cart and then he came back home and even with the gorgeous weather, he figured he should put the dozer blade on the tractor because at some point in time we will need it this winter and from past years experience it is far easier to put it on the tractor when you don't have to dig it out of a 2 foot snowbank.

Well as this may be our last entry for a while we would like to say thanks to all of our readers from all over the world and we hope that you enjoyed our daily updates.

God willing we will be back at the harvesting next year. Tentative start of 2010 harvest is May 20 only 183 days away.

But wait...there could be more...

November 14, 2009

View of the day-The combine tries to get warmed up in the morning sun before heading into the flax.

It was a frosty morning so there would be no harvesting until at least after lunch. Al got a call in the AM from a former employee who had worked for us on the harvest run in the mid 90's. He was coming into Yorkton and was wondering if we could have coffee and catch up so Al met him in the Mall.

Marilyn also was in the Mall selling tickets for the dinner theater for Paper Bag Players upcoming performance, so after about an hour or two of gabbing and getting caught up with what was going on in Bucky's world, Al headed out to Dubuc to try the flax...turns out there is 275 acres of it in 30' swaths.

He got their about 1:00 PM and after letting the combine warm up, they made a round...it was testing 10.2%...almost dry, but good enough to keep going. He had to leave the outside swath on the north side of the field it still had frost covering it well into the afternoon...in fact it didn't melt all day. It will be picked up Monday when temps get up to 8ºC/50ºF.

After 50 acres it was time to call it a short day and head back home watch some hockey and call it a night.

November 13, 2009

View of the day-A new ride for the combine.

An early morning for both of us, Al was heading out to Balcarress to drive truck again and Marilyn off to Staples to work. Just as Al was heading out the door the phone rang it was a call from a farmer who had some harvesting still needing to be done, he had a local harvester who said he would do it but with the crappy weather through October he didn't get to it and is still working for another farmer. It was near Dubuc about an hour south of Yorkton.

The registration on the combine trailer and the General had expired but the farmer said he could haul the grain so Al decided to take the job and he would road the combine the 50 miles. However before driving the combine Al called his former employer Kardynal Transport to see if he could haul the combine for him fortunately his truck wasn't busy that day so with the help of Al's friend Danny, they loaded the combine and strapped it down and headed out to Dubuc around 2:00 PM got there unloaded and back in Yorkton and before dark which is quite an accomplishment considering it gets dark at 5:30 these days.

Tomorrow we combine flax...