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View of the day-Al coming down the line through the oats.
We woke up to fog this morning. So much fog, in fact, that the guys hauling grain to the elevator could only see 1/4 mile in front of them and had to use the wipers to keep the moisture off the window. Fortunately for us, the sun broke through and slowly burned it off.
Al took off to do some servicing on the combine out at the field. The plan was to try a test around 3pm, so he just killed a few hours out at the field with one of the other combiners until it was time to cut.
Marilyn was still working on the books while listening to a chickadee tapping on the back window all day. He was trying to pick a fight with his reflection in the window and refused to give up. The thought was, once the sun quit reflecting on that side, he would be gone...he was when the sun went down.
The guys got going right on time and although the straw was a bit tough, the oats were "dry" enough to continue on. Marilyn showed up at the field to bring Al supper and ride around a bit before going back to the camper just after sunset.
They didn't get to go much longer...once the sun set, it got real tough.
No rain in the forecast for tomorrow, so maybe there will be an early start...
View of the day-Not a lot of dust coming from the oats.
We were on our way to the field by 10am. Even though there had been a lot of rain, the windows still needed attention from the squeegee. While the rest of the guys were servicing the machines, the farmer took his combine out to do a test and according to their tester, the oats were dry enough to start.
They went out and cut a bit more and something plugged up...not the rotor or chopper, thank heaven. The straw was still pretty tough and there could have been moisture in the "return/rethresher" area from all the rain sneaking in thanks to the driving winds. It took some dismantling, but eventually it was cleared out and ready for action.
A second test of the oats showed the moisture was actually a lot higher than the original 14% on the tester. They all moved to higher ground to work on a quarter section that was drier. They finished that, then moved to the next higher field. The wind was blowing pretty good, but it was overcast and there were rogue showers off and on...not enough for it to run off the header.
Marilyn was back at the camper, doing a bit of outside work with the water filter/softener and sewer hose. She also got started doing some bookwork...a job that had seen some procrastinating for quite a while.
The combines went until 9:30 then shut down. There was lightning all around, but none of it brought anything to this area.
Thankfully...
View of the day-Moving the combine from the barley field after all the rain.
The rain started around midnight on Friday, so we knew we would be having Saturday off. Al had made arrangements to meet a guy in Langbank to do a toy tractor deal and after the exchange and a long chat about all things toys, the deal was done.
We decided to take a trip down to Carlyle to visit with Marilyn's sister's family. Kim was getting ready to go out and do a test on some durum wheat. He had gone out with the combine, so Al got a bit of truck driving in when he took the tandem truck out to the field. The moisture was 15.2%, so they were going to do a couple of trucks full, so they came back to the yard to get the semi and the other combine, which Al was going to drive, giving Marg a break.
Within about 20 minutes, it started to sprinkle...then it started to rain. Done for the day. They got everything tarped before the big rain settled in, but even if the sun came out, there would be no more for the day. Gordie was swathing canola and managed to stay out for another 45 minutes before giving that up, too. We left Carlyle and came back to the camper to settle in for the night.
More rain during the night. Another day off. We had a visit from Al's brother, Jeff, who had ridden his motor bike down from his farm at Gerald. It was a nice day for that once the sun came out.
Since the sun was shining, we decided we might as well try to get out to the combine and move it back over to the other farmers oats. We had left the combine sitting on top of a high hill when we had quit on Friday, but the bad part was that it was on the far side of the quarter section and we had no idea what the field conditions were. Shut up and drive.
It wasn't as bad as we thought it would be, and after starting it up, dumping out the 1" if rain in the gauge, and getting the raccoon $hit cleaned off the back deck, we started the move to the oats. After parking it next to the other combine and grain cart, we went back to the camper Just in time for some more sprinkles to start up again.
Monday morning we woke to the sound of rain. Again. We had a road trip planned for the day, since we knew we wouldn't be combining even before the rain came. Another toy tractor deal, but this time it was a bit further...we were going to Brandon, Manitoba...about a two hour drive.
We took a short cut across the grid roads, which weren't in the best of shape thanks to the rain. It didn't shorten the time, though. We met the toy man at McDonald's, had a short visit then grabbed a sub and headed back home, with a back seat full of toy tractors...all 1/16 size so it doesn't take a lot of them to fill it up.
More rain during the day and tornado warnings to the south of us, but nothing touched the ground. Another day off coming up.
Today we didn't do much of anything, except open all the windows in the camper to enjoy the sun and breeze after all that rain from the past few days.
The combines wait patiently out in the field, and the word from the boss is to be out in the field at 11 am. Fingers crossed...
View of the day-It's been a long week of due to rain by the look of this growth on the header.
We did get the weekend off...and then some. Marilyn ended up staying in Yorkton until yesterday and Al came up for a couple of days, to do a few "rainy day" jobs. While we ended up with 1.5" of rain at the combine, some places were at the 4"+ range.
While Marilyn was at home, she decided to do a job that had been needing to get done for several years. Al has a lot of toys that belong in his collection stored in various closets and cupboards around the house. We have no basement, so storage space is at a premium.
The front hall double closet's top shelf has a short opening that requires the items to be lifted up and the new items put underneath for them to fit. This shelf was jam packed and Marilyn had no idea what was in the back, or at the top for that matter. We had also been wanting to catalogue all his toys, so with the days off, this was the perfect chance.
It took some doing to get them all out and set up in the dining room. This picture is all the items from the closet, with the exception of the two 1/16 Big Roys on the chairs and the gold Steiger on the top of the cabinet.
After opening each box, taking the tractor out, taking a picture, then repacking, Marilyn "restocked" the closet shelf. This time she decided to put the Big Roys all together by adding the 1/16 set with the 1/32 and 1/64. Everything was back where it belonged...since we don't have an extra room for displaying them properly.
Next on the toy extravaganza was to make a display with some of the Versatile tractors, which are the main style that Al collects. Marilyn had cleaned out the china cabinet in one of her "purge" sessions, so there was now some room to put them. The only problem now, was that she realized the Big Roys were the main ones she had earmarked a couple of shelves for...and they were packed at the back and bottom of the closet shelf.
Fortunately, the stacking job had been done in such a way that it only took a short time to dig them back out and replace them with toys from other cupboards in the house. After a few hours of figuring out where all the tractors that she had found were going to sit, her work was done. Sort of. Al will have to group them according to series, style, etc. Marilyn went by color and decal style.
This shelf had a a few Versatiles already, but the rest of the non ones got moved to make space for the Versatiles scattered on other shelves around the house.
This one has all Al's CaseIH and IH combines and Case related items...belt buckles, badges, notepads, etc. And his MacDon sign.
This is the main cabinet that has the Big Roys and a couple of other older Versatile tractors that he had spent time re-collecting after selling his complete collection a few years back.
It's true...it's not the "having", it's the "getting". Marilyn always jokes that whatever Al spends on toys, she gets the equal amount to spend on her "stuff". Al complains that she spends too much on her sewing/embroidery machines. Marilyn is pretty sure she has some catching up to do.
So that gets us to today. We finally got going in the barley and it was reasonably dry. At least dry enough for the farmer, so it was full speed ahead. We cut until dark, which was when the humidity was high enough to make it tough going and we quit for the night. Another factor in shutting down was there were a lot of hills on this land and we didn't want to take any chances on a wrong turn in the dark.
There is a threat of some rain again, but it is the weekend and you know what those weather reports are worth...
View of the day-Courtesy of Al's new flip phone, the last dump of the day, thanks to the rain.
After finishing yesterday, we knew we would have a week or so off while the canola swathing got underway.
Al made a phone call over to Langbank to see if the farmers we had cut for in the past and anything to combine before the predicted rain was supposed to hit. They did, so Al and Markus moved two combines over to the field...a short 10 mile or so drive. Marilyn went to pick them up and bring them back for their vehicles, so they would have a way to get back home.
After the guys got started combining, Marilyn went back to the camper to get a few things together to go back to Yorkton for the weekend. It was time for her bi-weekly shift at Staples and this time it was timed with the rain...which it did at the camper while she was getting loaded up.
It didn't rain out at the field, although it was threatening and we hadn't seen the sun all day. However, after a couple of hours of combining, it finally hit with a downpour...we won't know how much until we check the gauge on the combine...and the guys shut down and went home.
It sounds like this means the weekend off for Al...unless the sun shines and the wind blows...
View of the day-Time to get rid of all that itchy barley chaff.
Another early-ish start to the day. This one was courtesy of warm temps and a strong SE wind. We all got going around 11 and while there wasn't a lot left for five machines, what remained was scattered, so there was a lot of driving.
We finished around 3pm, then waited to see if the winter wheat was going to be dry enough to attempt cutting. While we waited, we had the shop trailer out in the field, so Al blew out the rads and engine compartment...the wind helped quite a bit with that.
We got word from the farmer the moisture in the wheat was way too high, so our day was done. After finishing the short cleanup, we headed back to the yard with the combine.
Now we wait to see if the rain misses us...
View of the day-All that barley dust makes for a very itchy day.
Got somewhat of and early start to the day...at least we had gotten the servicing done early. Al discovered a small leak in one of the fuel lines on the engine, so we attempted to repair it with some special "Rescue Tape". It was a return line, so there wasn't a lot of pressure, but with the diesel soaked chaff that managed to find its way between the wraps, it didn't hold very long...as a matter of fact, it was spraying onto the muffler, so combining stopped.
Al called over to Young's Equipment to see if they had the part and after they sent over a picture for confirmation, Marilyn was ready to hit the road to Windthorst to pick it up. However, the road trip was not necessary because the service man was on his way out to work on the 8240's diesel exhaust fluid(DEF) system, so he brought it with him. How often does that happen?
We got the hose changed, which cured the problem and were back in business. Shortly after we got rolling, the 8120 showed up at the field, then the 8240, all fixed up, made it back in the rotation, along with the John Deere, which had a late start as well.
The rest of the day was uneventful, as far as breakdowns go, and it was an early shut down around 8:30pm. We wouldn't get finished tonight and it was getting tough as the sun disappeared, so there was no sense in wrecking something.
Tomorrow the barley should get done and it will be before the rain hits...no jinx...
