October 24, 2010

View of the week-Yes, it's come to that...weekly. Al is getting the holes lined up to get the dozer blade on the tractor...it's now ready for it's winter job.

We have been going hot and heavy, trying to get everything cleaned up and put away for the season. Marilyn has been slaving away in the camper, getting everything moved into the house and getting it winterized and spotless for the new owner...whoever that might be.

Al decided to get the snowblower working before we got a dumping of the white stuff...a novel idea. A belt had broken, so we had to split the machine to get to it, and after finding the right one in town, we got it back together and it works like new. Bring it on, Mother Nature!

Al got to work for a day driving a pilot truck for Kardynal Transport, who he had driven truck for a couple of winters ago. They were moving a New Holland tank and drill from Saskatoon to Swan River, MB. They had to stop in Elfros for the night because it got dark and Al took the last leg of the journey from Elfros to Swan River...about 190 miles one way...top speed of 30 mph.

Marilyn has been recruited to help out with the production of Macbeth that is being performed Halloween weekend and is trying to get up to speed with a play she has not even seen at rehearsal...that makes it interesting to figure out where she has to move things. She will be back working at Staples for a few days, filling in at the last minute for a co-worker...got to get back into it slowly, before going back full time Nov. 8.

Al just found out about a toy show in Regina, so he decided to get a few tables to try to make some extra cash for our trip to Dyersville, IA for the National Farm Toy Show coming up the first week in November. He had to get the cargo trailer of toys out of storage at his brother Jeff's place so he could reorganize it for the upcoming toy show season. They are even thinking about having an auction before the Yorkton Toy Show, so he will be busy getting that up and running.

It is now eight years that we have been living in this house and it is the first time we have ever had a mouse in the house...must be the season for them what with Al trapping 12 of them in the General and two in the Freightliner. Marilyn was in the laundry room when one went scampering by...they have no fear the little buggers...two minutes later in the kitchen, he was making a return run back into the laundry room. He ran along the wall and took the corner so fast on the lino floor, he was just pealing out...right out of the cartoons...before hightailing it down the heat register. About a half hour later he was out making the rounds again, so we brought a couple of traps in and set them along his run.

While Al was watching his Sunday NFL games, he notice the little bugger on the top of one of the 3ft vases Marilyn had made that were filled with layers of combined grain from different states. Marilyn went in for a closer inspection and discovered that he had chewed a hole in the plastic cover and had lifted the first divider...and was actually enjoying the flax underneath it. He took off in a hurry and we changed the trap line so it would be on his run under the fireplace...when he came out he was running all over the trap, but smart enough to miss tripping it. We put saucers on top of the vases, and while we were in there with the lights and TV on, he was up there trying to get back in to the flax. Needless to say, the rest of the traps have come in out of the trucks...we will be waiting for the SNAP tonight.

We couldn't get close enough to mark it, so we hope there is only one...

October 17, 2010

View of the day-On our trip home, we saw this poor old girl...looks like she couldn't make it to the slough to get the fire put out...RIP.

A day late, but there was no way Marilyn was going to deal with the dial-up internet again...she doesn't mind the looong wait for things to load, it's the error message that comes up after the wait that is irritating. Not to worry, we are back on the high speed so it is update time.

We were up early to get more unpacking and rearranging of the yard done while we waited for Brenda, Marilyn's friend from Staples, to give us a ride back to Esterhazy so we could bring the tractor/cart and combine back to our yard. Once she showed up we went to the Parkland Greenhouse for Sunday Brunch...the best brunch in all our travels...then we hit the road.

When we got to Eugene's yard, we got the rigs started and waited for them to warm up...the tractor has battery issues, so a boost was in order. Brenda took the Dodge back to Yorkton, going on the highway...it seems she didn't want to follow us at 18mph for some reason...and we started back going on the gravel.

It was a long trek, but we figured by the time we got everything loaded on the trailers and moved up, then had to find someplace to unload...since our yard isn't that big...it was easier to just road them. And what a better way to spend a Sunday afternoon than taking a 'leisurely' drive through the country?

On the trip we only saw one field being combined and there were five or six machines making dust, so it was sure to be finished quickly...although the 4WD tractor sitting on stand by meant that it would not be all smooth sailing...been there. It took about two hours and 45 minutes to get back to our yard and once Marilyn had the combine parked in 'the shop', she went back to unloading the camper, while Al worked on getting the cameras off the cart so he could park it for the winter.

But of course, Marilyn had to get the dish set up so he could watch football...

October 16, 2010

View of the day-The combine done for the year…nice and shiny.

We were up early with the intention of finishing off the combine cleaning, but the temperature was 35ºF and the wind was nasty strong out of the NW. We tried to get a few other things done while we waited for it to warm up.

While Al went to town to do a few errands and pick up a sub for lunch, Marilyn decided to bite the bullet and start washing the combine. It took a while and when Al got back, he helped finish it off, then Marilyn got started getting the camper battened down for the last trip home.

Once the camper was ready, we attempted to start the Freightliner so we could hook up the cart trailer and take it to it’s winter storage field. The block heater didn’t seem to be working, so we had to pump the ether to it and give it a boost, but it finally ran…no one wanted to work in this cold weather. While it and the General were airing up, we got the Dodge hooked up to the camper, then headed for the trailers that were left in the field where we unloaded.

Marilyn drove the General out since we had to use the hydraulics on it to lift the trailer…usually the tractor does the lifting. By the time Marilyn got to the field, Al was having a chin wag with Glen from Whitewood, who had stopped by to see how we were making out. Once the trailer was hooked up, Marilyn drove the General back to the yard, parked it then started off for home with the camper.

Al got the trailer unhooked out at his friend’s farm near Saltcoats…where we have been parking stuff for the past few years. We got back to the farm at about the same time…from different directions, and after Al got the Freight backed into its winter spot, we got the camper parked in the unload station, ready for Marilyn to go to work.

Al got cleaned up and Marilyn got half the camper emptied out, then we took a break to go for steaks at the rink before the hockey game that Al was going to attend. Marilyn left Al at the game and came back home to get some more unpacking done. Fortunately our neighbour lady, Darlene, works at the concession at the rink and regularly gives Al a ride back from the games.

And now the battle with dial-up begins…

October 15, 2010

View of the day-Picking up the last swath of the season.

Yes, that's right, today was the last day of harvesting for 2010...six weeks ahead of last year.

We were combining before 10am and because we only had a few scattered acres to get done, we were finished before noon. Marilyn drove the combine over to the 'campground' to start the cleaning process and Al went to get the header trailer so we could load the pickup head so it would be easier to clean.

There was a good wind blowing so we got the stuff situated where we could take advantage of it, blowing off the chaff and straw. Marilyn started washing the pickup head while Al got to blow off the combine to get it ready for a swish. Marilyn was also able to get the tractor and grain cart cleaned, inside and out, before getting the combine into the wash bay next to the camper.

Al went on a road trip to visit a friend while Marilyn kept on cleaning until the pressure washer ran out of gas. She filled it up and apparently flooded it because no amount of pulling would start it, so she switched over to the garden hose with a spray nozzle...which actually works better to clean out the hopper.

Al got back and managed to get the pressure washer started so Marilyn could continue on with the washing. He worked on getting the tow strap off the chain on the back of the combine...it took a hammer, pry bar and lots of patience, but he finally got it loose and took the chain off. We wouldn't be needing it again this year...for that, anyway.

It got dark before we could finish the combine, but we have plenty of time for cleaning in the morning since Al wants AIS by 2pm...that's the Freightliner, empty cart trailer and camper going on the first trip. Sunday we will road the combine and tractor/grain cart home to Yorkton...the General and trailer will make it another day...no rush there, either.

Climbing up and down the ladders, crawling in and out of the grain cart, and fighting the pressure washer, Marilyn is pretty sure there will be some aching muscles tomorrow...better load up on the Aleve before hitting the sack.

We hope you enjoy the video of 'On The Combine' by High Valley. Visit their site and share the video...

Just have to share! High Valley - On the Combine (Official Music Video)

October 14, 2010

View of the day-The combine waits across the great divide for a productive day.

Back to work...that's right, we didn't get stuck today.

Al went out first thing to survey the other side of the field to see if there was a way he could load the General closer to the bins. After finding a flat enough spot to take the cart across, we got everything set into position, serviced the combine and started making dust.

Marilyn made a point of leaving one swath around all the sloughs so there was no chance of any surprises and that resulted in a successful day of combining. About mid afternoon, Marilyn noticed that the chaff she was leaving looked suspiciously like it did in Texas when the spreader had dropped off. She stopped to check out the back of the combine and both spreaders were on and turning, so she continued on until Al made it back to the field. When he checked out the back of the moving combine he could see that now, the right spreader was not turning and there was a pile of chaff riding on it, so Marilyn pulled over to check it out.

After taking the shields off, we discovered that the top of the spreader hex shaft had rounded off, so the gear was spinning freely on the end instead of turning the shaft and spreader...so we ended up running with only one spreader for the rest of the day. Al called to see if he could get the parts so we could replace them tomorrow and found out the only place that had them was in the USA...guess we wait.

We were getting close to seeing the end of the field...we think...but as the sun and the wind went down, it was getting a lot harder to find a swath that didn't have swather ruts on either side. Al decided to fill the General and call it a night...we should easily finish tomorrow.

And then the final cleaning starts...

October 13, 2010

View of the day-First sight out at the field...the rut has filled with water.

We were at the combine early and Eugene's neighbor, Ken Patrick, showed up with his STX around 8:30am. Once the straps were hooked up, Marilyn jumped in the combine and with one big pull, the combine came out of it's predicament. The backhoe was still at the field, so he went to work filling the holes back in.

We went back to the camper, Al took the General over to get it unloaded and Marilyn made breakfast and through some lunch together...high hopes for a good day now that the combine was out of the soup.

We were able to get started combining around 10am, the straw was still a bit chewy and Marilyn was still nervous after yesterday's fiasco, so Al took over combining and Marilyn ran the tractor and cart until the General was loaded.

We were working on the second truck load and things were going great...we had two hours of combining done and Marilyn was dumping every 100 bushels to make sure there wasn't a repeat of yesterday. She had just finished unloading and made it about 50 ft along one swath when...it happened again...with an empty hopper.

This time it dropped on the other side and the back wheel went down, too. Al made a call to Dale and he figured the truck driver would be able to see the sloughs in the daylight, so he said we could use the Steiger again to pull out the combine...or try to, at least. We drove over to pick it up and Al drove it back to the field and hooked up to the combine and we started pulling...and got the Steiger stuck.

We couldn't pull the combine out and the Steiger had dug down deep enough that the strap was tight and we couldn't get the pin out to set it free. Marilyn got Al to try and back up the tractor just enough that we could get some slack to get the pin out...and that worked. Once the tractor was set free from the strap, it was able to walk right out of the holes it had dug for itself. Back to Plan B.

Eugene called to get the backhoe out again and he was told they were doing some work at the mine and would be out as soon as they could get one free. They showed up around 1:30pm and went to work digging out the gumbo that had oozed up all around the tires. Once that was done, we hooked up to the Steiger again, trying to get far enough away that there was solid footing to pull the combine to. This time the Steiger was enough to get the combine out and the job of chiseling off the mud from underneath and around the tires had to start.

We had left the chain looped through the hook holes on the back of the combine and it had sunk so low, we couldn't get the hooks slacked off enough, so we just looped the tow strap around the chain...but not in half like yesterday...Marilyn threaded it back through the loop so we could have a longer reach. Not a good idea...it was pretty much fused in the loop, so we just wrapped the whole strap around the tool box step and wired it on...just in case.

The backhoe started to fill in the ruts we had made...then he got stuck in the slough. It was a good thing the Steiger was still there and was able to pull him out. Al was feeling confident enough to take the tractor back to Dale and Marilyn was going to avoid any more sloughs at all costs.

We were able to continue combining until the sun went down, which was the plan since we didn't want to be surprised in the dark...also, Al wanted to go to Yorkton to see the Terriers play hockey. By the time he got the General unloaded and got cleaned up, Marilyn was finished filling the cart and was done for the night. Al was somewhat disgusted with the hockey game, so he left during the second period...the score was 6-0 and not for the Terriers.

The good news is tomorrow can't be any worse...or are we tempting fate...