That's a Wrap!

It's 5am here at the farm, time to shock my system awake with a donut and Mountain Dew. Maple Bacon should do the trick. Kinda like the AED of breakfasts. I have never liked coffee; Mountain Dew is my preferred choice for caffeine. Farmer Bob has been keeping me supplied in donuts the past few days, good thing there is not more than on 'Jim' on the farm as I certainly would not be known as Skinny Jim!

The weather has been perfect for planting, warm, no rain, sun (through the smoke) and wind to dry the wet spots up. Day by day we kept plugging away 14-17 hours a day.  We saw 80 degrees again this week. One day while I was loading a truck with fertilizer, I finished, jumped into the cab through the open door to find this......

Nova had jumped up there when I was not looking to enjoy some of the AC that was blasting in the running truck. I took her for a little ride, she seemed cool and content when we were done. 

I did manage to get in the seeder and ride with Chris for a few minutes. Looking at all those displays, you would need a master's degree to run this thing. My, how things have changed over the years. It was just over a hundred years ago they were still using horses and oxen!

The Canadian smoke is still lingering making for eerie sunrise and sunsets. The good news is that it does not allow the sun to come through and dry up the soil. The bad news is that it does not allow the sun to come through and dry up the soil. See? That is what it like being a farmer, you are never happy with the weather!

Sunrise

Getting ready to load Canola seed

Sunset

Then the day we have been waiting for finally came. The last field! Chris parked the seeder in the yard at 1:30am on Wednesday morning and we were done! I spent several hours the next day greasing up the seeder for next spring. That night, Farmer Bob took Dylan and I out to supper in Ryder. Chris opted to stay home and spend time with his kids, who he only had glimpses of over the past month. 

As many of you know, small town America is shrinking, as are the number of American farmers, so it is really hard to find help. Many farmers do all the work by themselves, or with their spouse or another family member. We had 5 people working their butts off and were still busy every minute of the day. I could not imagine being an operation of one trying to do all that!

Many of the local farm businesses such as seed dealers, fertilizer plants and even some of the larger farm import their help. I don't mean like from South Dakota, I am talking South Africa. South Africans come to this area by the hundreds to work for a couple of months before heading back home. Other than talking a little funny, you would not even know they were not from around here. I asked one guy who manages them, what they think of it here. He said they are amazed that no one in America really wants to work. People in South Africa are desperate to find work as there are no jobs. Here in America, there are thousands of jobs, but no one wants to work. A sad, sad, state of affairs. 

I went and flew my drone a little bit getting this shot of the farm with its new treating building and bins (far right). It got me thinking about all the changes the farm has seen over the years. It's been a few years since I posted the blog post titled The Farm and gave a rundown of its history starting in 1916. For those of you interested about it, you can read it here. 

But I thought I would include a few pictures starting with this year and going backwards in time to show how things have changed. 

2023

2017

2015

2006

1998

1995

1984

1950's

I took this next picture from this angle for a specific reason. This time next year there should be another house on the left side of the that tree row in the field as Dylan has carved out a section of that open field for his house! More changes are coming to The Farm!

Of course, it would not be a farm post without someone getting stuck or breaking something. Well, I think it is safe to write that I did not get stuck or break anything this year! Dylan was the honoree of getting something stuck this week when he attempted to scrape some clay for his new driveway in a pit that was not quite dry yet. Thank you, Dylan, for taking one for the team!

Back in South Dakota, Forrest and family left South Dakota earlier in the week heading south to Oklahoma to visit Somer's parents. On the day they left, they spent the night at a Harvest Host in Nebraska. A lavender farm. They said it was very interesting, but the lavender was not in bloom so not as beautiful as it would have been otherwise. 

Barb spent the last couple days packing and cleaning for her departure. But not before she had a visit from one of her old work friends. Her co-worker Jean who recently retired was in the area with her husband Nick. They came over to the house for a visit then went out to lunch to catch up. Barb said it was great seeing her again. 

Thursday was a big day as it was Barbie's arrival day! You would think that I was excited and could not wait for her arrival and I was but it was also a day of frantic cleaning. You ever wondered what a camper looks like after a dude has been staying in it for almost a month? Well, it not only looks like it, it also smells like it!

A couple hours later, floors, dishes, new sheets, bed made, floors scrubbed, I was ready for her arrival. Knowing her, she will spend a couple hours cleaning it to her standards anyways. 

About 4:30pm Barb finally arrived! 25 days is a long time to be apart, so good to see her! Dakota was excited to see me, Zoey was actually a little scared for some reason. She was pretty excited to see the chickens though!

That night we went out with Bob and DeAnne to Max where we had a burger and a few drinks.

On our last day there we just kind of relaxed and got ready for our next adventure. Barb hung out with Chase working on their garden. I think this is the 3rd or 4th year they have worked on their same garden, it is kinda their thing....

Dylan and I went out and planted some corn in a food plot for the deer, pheasants and other critters that eat it. This crop is not harvested, it just sits all fall and winter for the animals to munch on.

I also got to play with a new toy. Their new to them, payloader. A spent an hour or so hauling and dumping rock for Dylan's new driveway.

Friday night we went out with Chris and Holly only this time we went to the Iron Oar in Riverdale. The food was incredible. To top it off it rained over an 1/2" that evening giving the crops a good boost, hopefully that trend continues through the summer! 

Tomorrow morning, we hit the road bright and early heading east to a SSUVFL. Hope they have enough beer!