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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...
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...
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...
View of the week-A little taste of the toy show at Agritrade in Red Deer.
Technically we are done harvest for the season, but stay tuned for the rest of the story...
View of the day-First of the season and it only got worse as the day went on.
Al took a road trip over to get the General unloaded...apparently it was a nightmare getting down the roads. He had to give Danny a call to come over and help him get the auger tractor running so they could dump the truck.
Marilyn spent the day cleaning out the camper and hauling stuff into the house. When Al got back, he claimed to have seen a mouse running across the floor of the garage, so he set up his trapline.
Marilyn was working on emptying some of the tubs that she brought in, when she saw a mouse dart out from under the stove...in the house. Just great.
After setting a trap with peanut butter near the stove, we watched as the little bastard came out, ate the peanut butter, but sidn't spring the trap! Marilyn had set a different style of trap down the hallway and the rodent crawled all over it, but it didn't spring either.
Apparently, we need to put some weight on the pest...
View of the day-The skinny road to the bin yard that looks like it will wash away in a strong wind.
It was cold, cloudy and WINDY! We went out to the field early so we could get the combine unloaded, since rain was threatening.
While Al got the General unloaded, Marilyn got the combine fueled and in position to dump. It was already sprinkling pretty good, so we knew we wouldn't get going right away. The hope was that it was just a passing shower.
We got everything unloaded and the auger moved to the new bin, then decided we might as well go back home for a while to wait it out.
We had lunch, then Al did a little maintenance on the compressor, which was now riding in the box of the truck instead of the shop trailer. Around 2pm, we headed back out to the field to give it a whirl. Fortunately, it hadn't rained, so it was a go.
We combined until after dark...which falls at 5:30pm these days...or so it seems. Again, we were concerned about the sloughs in the dark and with the wind blowing the dust and chaff around, it was near impossible to see very far. We still managed to add another 40 acres to the total, which was pretty good considering the rain that was falling all around the area, was missing us.
Unfortunately, here at home tonight, it is pouring...
View of the day-A perfect start to the day...beautiful weather and great cutting.
We had to stop in town before we came out to the field, to get four new hydraulic hoses made for the grain cart. It didn't take long to get them made and we were out at the field, putting them back on the cart. All systems go.
Marilyn got cutting right around 10am, while Al went to the bin site to get the truck unloaded. There were bearing problems on the auger, but he was managing to limp it along until Dale could get out with a replacement. Unfortunately, Dale was having issues with one of his combines...the back axle broke on his 2188...something we have dealt with on a couple of occasions.
Dale did show up with the bearing later on in the afternoon, so he and Al started the rebuild while Marilyn kept on combining. By the time they had finished the fix, it was already dark and Marilyn had filled the General, grain cart and the combine hopper. Everything will get unloaded in the morning.
It has been a long time since we have left a full hopper in the combine overnight...
