Tuesday, October 18, 2016

More North Dakota Fun!


Large fluffy snowflakes floated lazily to the ground slowly covering the landscape in a blanket of white. Barb and I have always enjoyed an early season snow storm, often watching it from the comfort of our warm home with a fire crackling in our fireplace. This scene however played out in the open flatlands of North Dakota where our furnace fought to keep the temperature inside our rig above 50. Although it was still beautiful, it was a might chilly. The good news is that we finally had the opportunity to break out a pair of hats that my sister Carol knitted for us to take on our Alaska trip. It was never cold enough in Alaska to wear them so we took the opportunity this cold spell presented and sported them on the snowiest of days!
Thanks Carol!
But despite the cold we have been very busy here on the farm. There are still several hundred acres of soy beans to harvest and even more acres to till. Soy beans can be a very temperamental crop requiring almost perfect field conditions to harvest. Too much moisture and it is not only hard to get in the field but the plant themselves will bunch up in the combine header making it almost impossible to harvest them. It will take a couple of dry warm days after any kind of moisture before they are ready to harvest again.
The soy bean harvest continues when the weather cooperates
Daisy even got to drive the tractor!

This is what happens when you drive a semi into a wet field.....

.....a Ford gets to pull you out!
Even when we cannot get into the fields there is still plenty to do. There are round bales to get out of the field and stored for easy access throughout the winter.




There is grain to get to the elevator to free up some bins in anticipation of the remaining soy beans. If you are driving the roads of north central North Dakota, beware, I have learned to drive the semi-trucks so if you see me behind the wheel your best bet is just to head for the ditch.


There are miles and miles of ditches to be mowed. Little known fact; landowners are responsible for mowing the ditches adjacent to their property on township roads in this area. In fact, not only are they responsible, they can get fined if they are not mowed by mid-October. Failing to mow the ditches will result in snow holding in the taller grass which also act as a snow fence of sorts and more snow on the roadways.
Gotta love the look of a freshly mowed ditch



Then there was the corn bin that needed to be cleaned out resulting in a hacking cough and me sleeping on the couch for 10 straight days due to a severe reaction to corn dust. Lesson learned.

Of course let’s not forget the hunting! The colder weather has pushed a lot of northern waterfowl in the area so every pothole seems to be filled with birds. Although we are still a few weeks away from the peak of the rut the bucks are slowly getting more active and Chris was the first on the board this year harvesting this monster buck last Friday!



We were able to get over to nearby McClusky to visit friends Dan and Jeannie who own and operate Prairie Smoke Ranch, the waterfowl camp located on our sidebar.  Barb has been busy continuing to look for that perfect apple dessert recipe. We have been delighted with various types of apple bars but my favorite is her hot apple crisp with ice cream!
She went to a Sushi making class/wine tasting with Jeannie in Minot. She even bought everything she needed to make sushi and it was very good! She also got down her bike and has been riding that. This alone is a small miracle as I don’t think they have been of the rack in well over a year. Mine on the other hand, continues to collect dust on the back of the rig. She and Daisy have been visiting me in the tractor and taking photography walks throughout the countryside. 

An old D6 Caterpillar

The wind is really hard on flags around here!
 
Full moon coming over the horizon

25 comments:

  1. Get that buck on the ground ! Holy smokes he's nice !!

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  2. You have been very busy on the farm. I can't believe that bike still worked. I thought the chain would have been rusted solid.

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    1. The tires were flat but other than that it was good to go!

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  3. Your big smiles tell me you are really enjoying what you are doing! On Monday, here in Albuquerque they hit a record ... 87 F. way too hot for this kid! The rest of the week will be better at around 77 F. Hope to see you in "Q". Deb

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    1. We are having a blast and would much rather put up with these colder temps than 87. You can keep that!

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  4. Love the opening line Jim - very poetic!
    Seems ND agrees with you both - just passing through that cold and snow was enough for me!

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    1. We are much happier looking at the snow while sitting in our rig rather than seeing it through the windshield while going down the road!

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  5. Sounds like you guys are really enjoying the farm life. That Buck is a beauty! Safe travels when you head south. See you in January at Q.

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    1. We are already talking about our escape route south. We are going to watch the weather, pick a route and hope for the best!

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  6. I think it looks really fun what you guys are doing there! Well, maybe not the corn dust. Love the hats! Where's Daisy's? Nice buck! I'm looking forward to making some nice venison stew when we get back to CA from the buck my brother got. Gotta love a nicely mowed ditch! We just got in to AZ and it's in the low 90s here. Ugg. Hot!

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    1. Daisy already has a fur hat so she does not need one. Hopefully Arizona will be much cooler by the time we get there!

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  7. 1) I would lose body parts to drive that tractor, it's huge! 2) Beauty buck and likely grass and soy bean fed = guaranteed gluten free,low fat:) 3) Driving a semi too .... c'mon!!! Oh and we got the same storm in northern Alberta, 6-8 inches of snow and cold. Great post. Hope it dries up for the rest of the harvest.

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    1. Thanks! We were able to get back in the field today, if the weather holds and equipment does not fail we should have all the beans in by the end of the weekend.

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  8. While snow doesn't look very pleasant, your hats are beautiful!! What a great job! Hope you had your long underwear on...50 inside...brrr!! Hope you get those needed warm, dry days for your harvest.

    You are becoming a real farmer! That is lots of equipment that you are able to use now. Good job! But Daisy takes the cutest driver award:)

    Sounds like Barb is having fun keeping busy:)

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    1. Would you believe that if we set out thermostat any higher than 48 at night we get hot? We really enjoy the cooler weather but I am sure we will be ready to get out of here and head south come mid November!

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  9. Harvest is going full force here in Iowa and IL. Barges on the Mississippi are full of grain, tractor trailers everywhere, harvesting even late into the night. Enjoy the snow for us, not something I want to see.

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    1. I know a couple guys who pilot barges, now you got me to wondering if they push grain down the river and maybe you saw them!

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  10. And I learned something new, about those ditches! I wondered about them when we passed by there last year.
    Seemed like you are just having a ball being a farmer!

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    1. Who knew? I guess the fine is something like $400/quarter mile if they are not mowed in time!

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  11. What a gorgeous buck, Jim! We had one stare us down on our way to work at Amazon south of Campbellsville the other morning. And the Ford...what can I say? It's what we do. 💪

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    1. The fields certainly do get soupy here even with just a little moisture. The semi just needed a little help to get moving again!Certainly looks like you are off to a good start in KY.

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  12. White fluffy = head south!!! Oh and that same thing happens with an RV parked in "soupy" ground!!

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