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View of the day-The Freightshaker having a morning smoke with the horses. Last trip for the old girl this season.
It was moving day, so we got the camper all packed up and the hoses put away, then hooked up to the Dodge, took a tour out to the field to dump the tanks, then parked it back in the yard. We took the little Dodge out to the rigs to get loaded, then Marilyn was going to come back for the camper and leave the truck in the yard for load two tomorrow.
We got out to the rigs and got everything started so they could air up. We worked on getting the combine and trailer hooked up to the General, then got it chained down. While Al did the rest of the strapping in, Marilyn got the backup camera moved into the cab so Al could watch the road behind him when he moves.
The Freightliner was ready for the trip...it was going to be the first load and once it was rolling out of the pasture, Marilyn took off to get the camper from the yard. The Freight was south of the highway and the camper was north, so Al waited on the highway for Marilyn to show up with the beacon he needed for the back of his load. While he waited, he checked the chains, tie-downs and lights...all in order.
We were rolling by noon and once we made it to Melville, we parted ways...Al went through Melville on highway 15 and Marilyn continued on highway 10. Al didn't want to have to go through the city...and past the weigh scales...so he took the scenic route to get out to Yorkton Auction Centre, where we usually park our stuff to load and unload.
Marilyn went straight out to the farm, parked the camper strategically so she could go between it and the house to unload everything. Once it was unhooked, she set off to meet Al out at the auction yard, where they got unhooked and unloaded. By now, it was time to have something to eat...we hadn't done that today yet.
Before we had lunch, we made a short stop at a furniture store to check on sofas...couldn't get any help, so we left to find someplace to dine. After lunch, Marilyn took Al to the Freightliner and we both went out to the farm...we were done driving for the day. Al got the Freight parked in its "garage" and Marilyn started on the camper.
The first thing on the list was to get the dish aimed...it had to be done for Sunday Night Football, after all. Once that was finished, then it was time to get all the farm toys out from their various hiding spots. Al had set them all up in the garage and had a visit from a couple of "toy trading" friends...who didn't leave empty handed. But the pile was still pretty high.
Marilyn just started carting things out and putting them away...that's how it always starts...all organized.
But that usually doesn't last to the end...
View of the day-Al makes a circuit to get the Freightliner lined up for a straight shot out of the pasture.
We got out to the field, then started organizing the spread out equipment to get everything where it needed to be to start the cleaning process. Marilyn got started on the straight header...cursing the engineers who managed to create so many hidey-holes for the straw and chaff to get jammed in. At least we finally had a good wind to help with the cleaning and the temperature was in the low 80's...beautiful.
Once the header was done, she started on the combine until Al brought over the high transport trailer to load and strap it down. Al had been busy getting the combine trailer turned around to face out...when we got here we just unloaded and left everything where it sat. After getting the header where it belonged, we got the combine parked on the trailer, then started with the tractor and cart.
We wanted to get at least one thing loaded and strapped down before our 2:30pm harvest windup dinner at the house. We got the tractor and cart on the trailer and got it hooked up to the Freight, then Al turned the whole rig around so it would be ready for tomorrow morning.
We got back to the camper, got cleaned up, then had a delicious dinner with Bob, Jeannie, Blaine(the other trucker) and Bob's parents George and Martha.
After lunch, we went into Fort Qu'Appelle to take a look at some sofas...we are badly in need of a new one...but the selection was wayyyy too big for Marilyn to make up her mind. We killed a couple of hours in town, then met Roger and Linda for a late snack, then it was back to the camper.
Al had CFL football to watch on TV, so we had to get back for that and Marilyn decided to book off early to rest up for tomorrow's move.
Got to get the General's load hooked up before we move load #1...
View of the day-Making the last pass on the 2012 harvest season...bittersweet. Al is happy to be done for the season...Marilyn, not so much. Perhaps if it was cold and snowy, she might think otherwise.
We knew it was going to be another short day, but that didn't keep Al from getting up early to get the trucks and cart unloaded. Marilyn got out to the field around 10:30am and got started combining right away.
Al only had a couple loads to take from what was left in the field...this last quarter section had a lot of sloughs in it and most of them had connected together leaving lots of little pie shaped pieces. Once again we had banker's hours and finished the field...and the season...at 2:30pm.
Marilyn went back to the camper to get showered up while Al took the truck to the elevator to dump, then took it out to Bob's canola field and then brought a full truck of canola back to the yard where Blaine was going to dump it. It was Al's turn to clean up, then we were off to Fort Qu'Appelle to have a quick snack.
After our supper at Dairy Queen, Roger, Al's toy show buddy, and his wife Linda picked us up and we went into Regina to watch the Regina Rams take on the Manitoba Bison at Mosaic field...their nephew was playing for the Rams. This is the highest ranking Canadian college football which would be equivalent to Division 2 college football in the USA.
It was a gorgeous night for football...full moon, 72ºF, not much wind to start with and an action packed second half. The Rams pulled it out with only 28 seconds left in the game. Just a perfect night.
We stopped at Walmart on our way out of the city...Linda needed a few things and Marilyn can always find something she "needs". We got there just as they were announcing the store would be closing in 15 minutes...WHAT?! So much for that...hardly worth grabbing a cart. Al and Roger waited in the McDonald's until we were through the registers, then we took off back to Fort Qu'Appelle...stopping at Tim Horton's to get a coffee for the road.
After getting dropped off at our pickup at the Dairy Queen...Roger had driven...we went out to the field to get Shimmy, the little Dodge, to bring it back to the camper at 12:30am.
Cleaning and loading tomorrow...
View of the day-Everything filled up and no place to go.
Al was up before the crack of dawn...he could not sleep, so he was up and out the door to see if the train had come to the elevator. It had, so he was off to Jeff's farm at Gerald.
Al had finally sold the sunflower pans that we used on the old 1020 header. We wouldn't be able to use them on our bigger header and with harvests in Saskatchewan being what they were, we weren't able to get back for sunflowers anyway. The guy was coming to pick them up and Jeff had to do the loading, so Al figured he had better be there to help...and to drop off some toys.
Marilyn got to sleep in since she now knew it would be a short day of combining with no elevator to haul to. Still, she was out at the combine to start at 10:30 and since Al had done the fueling and servicing before he left, she just had to jump in and start combining.
The General had been filled the night before, so that left the Mack, grain cart and combine to fill. Since we knew we couldn't finish today anyway, the Freightliner didn't get used after all...no sense in filling it up for only one load. after Marilyn had gotten everything full...really full...then quit for the day. At 2:30pm...now that's banker's hours!
After Al got back from Gerald and Grayson, we went down to Fort Qu'Appelle to grab a pizza, then came back to the camper.
If we can haul tomorrow, the 60 acres left will be our last for the season...
View of the day-Another day with no wind. The dust just hung in the air and with all the combines and trucks running in the fields and down the roads, it was pretty tough to see.
Another day with more of the same. Al went out and unloaded the trucks, serviced and started combining. Marilyn took a run into Fort Qu'Appelle to get a few groceries to last for lunches the next couple of days. She decided to grab some burgers from Dairy Queen for today's lunch around 10:30am before going out to the field...they don't open until 11am, and she wasn't going to wait. That milkshake would have sure tasted good, though.
Back at the field, she took over combining from Al and he went back to his trucking job. The past week, the wind has been non-existent, which has made combining quite an adventure. At the end of the cut, when you turn around, you have to stop and wait to see where the standing wheat is...and it doesn't help that this wheat is really dusty to begin with. As you can see from the picture, it would still be by the swath after Marilyn would get back from the one mile run to the other end of the field. Who would have thought we would be wishing for some wind?
While Al was gone with one of his loads, Marilyn plugged the feeder of the header with some green volunteer canola that had grown in some of the low spots. After cleaning it out and getting started again, she could hear some clattering when she started up the front end and after inspection she could see the connector link on one of the three feeder chains had disappeared. She went back to the yard to bring back the shop trailer, which had a connector link and all the tools needed to fix the chain. Al got back to the field the same time as Marilyn did with the shop, got the chain fixed and after an hour of down time, we were back in business.
Tomorrow the story is, if the train comes in to the elevator, they won't take any wheat because they will be loading train cars. This means we will only have the trucks and cart to fill and will be done for the day. There is only about 100 acres left to do...after the 134 acres we did today...so hopefully we will have enough room to keep us busy until it is done.
Unless we bring the Freightliner into service for the day...
View of the day-Another frosty morning...almost time to dig out the window scraper.
Al was up doing the usual...unloading trucks and servicing. Marilyn was getting organized in the camper and waiting for her friend Brenda to stop in for a visit on her way home from Regina. She was also bringing a couple of breakfast sandwiches for us from A&W as she passed through Fort Qu'Appelle.
Marilyn met her at the Abernethy corner, then led her out to the field, where Al was busy changing a couple of knife sections on the header, so that ended up being our breakfast table.
Once the combine was serviced and the windows washed, we started combining. Brenda rode in the combine, checking out all the comforts of Marilyn's office, then took a ride into the elevator with Al in the grain truck. Marilyn sent the camera in with her, since Al never seems to get a picture of the goings on in the elevator.
After coming back to ride in the combine for another couple of truckloads, Brenda left for Yorkton and Marilyn continued on with the cutting. Al had another 9 load day and Marilyn covered 136 acres...two days of great productivity.
Not an impossible task with the weather being as great as it has this last month...and according to the fuzzy caterpillars and folklore, the wide brown strip on them means a mild winter. And there are tons of them everywhere!
Two quarters to go...
View of the day-Mother Natures last hurrah. Seems like she gives us all these beautiful colors to help us take our mind off the six months of brown and grey we will have to live with.
Big day today, Al was out early...unloading, as usual. Marilyn was up just as early to make a road trip into Yorkton to pick up a new pulley and belt...the belt was "just in case". We got it under warranty, but it is quite the job to put on...it has to go around 5 or 6 pulleys that are behind other pulleys and belts. We had changed one on one of our other machines and it was a real headache. We are hoping that the one that is on, will last for the remaining 450 acres, then it will be up to the dealership to change it once the combine is taken in for the winter "Uptime" servicing.
Marilyn was back at the field by 11am and since Al had done all the servicing while he waited, the only thing to do was put the pulley on and go.
And go we did. Marilyn got out of the combine only three times during the day, Al on the other hand was getting his exercise by moving the trucks further down the field every time he came back from the elevator. We had made three rounds around this quarter section well over a week ago...it was another one that was testing close to 20% moisture...but now it was down to 12.5% and the elevator had no problem taking it at that.
This field was nice and flat, so Marilyn could make pretty good time on it...it was also running around 33 bu/ac, as opposed to the 65+ bu/ac we had done a few days ago, so that helped with the through-put.
It was Monday, so you know what that means...Monday Night Football...so once the elevator was closed, Al left the trucks and cart for Marilyn to fill and went back to the camper to watch the game. She got the trucks filled and had a hopper for the grain cart, but couldn't fill it because she ran out of field, which was just as well...it was 10pm already.
To be fair, Al did give Marilyn the option of staying and combining while he went in to watch at the camper, or she could go in to the camper and he would combine and listen to the game on the Sirius satellite radio. Marilyn decided that since...coincidentally, of course...most times that Al drives the combine, something goes wrong, she didn't want to take the chance that the belt would let go, so she stayed put.
After finishing the field and fueling the combine, she stopped in Abernethy to get the slip tank filled again, then headed for the camper. When she got back, Al had just returned from the house where Bob had invited Al to try out some fish he had caught on one of his fishing trips. Al was impressed with the fish.
And with the 142 acres Marilyn had gotten covered today...
