Saturday, May 4, 2024

You Know You Are a Farmer When....

Wednesday May 1st was May Day. which could be taken in a couple different ways. Like May Day, May Day! Someone please come rescue me from this farm which is my prison. 

Or it could be May Day, the first day of May signaling the start of summer in some areas. 

Which I am referring to in this post? Both! So, if someone wants to come and save me, show up at 2am tonight and honk 3 times. I will come a runn'in with my pillowcase full of belongings!

Does anyone celebrate May Day anymore? I remember as a kid of probably 8-10 years old, making a basket and sneaking over to my neighbor's house, hanging it on their door handle, ringing the doorbell and running. I had a crush on the neighbor girl who was probably in high school at the time. I wonder whatever happened to her. I do remember her dad went to prison for some white-collared crime. Embezzlement I believe. Good times. Actually, one of these questions was answered for me when I went down to see Holly and found out she had indeed received a couple of May Day baskets. I like the idea that people still do that. 

Now, for this week's edition of "You Know You're a Farmer When.....". I actually had several instances this week. The inspiration for this blog title actually came to me with this first one: 

1.You Know You Are a Farmer When...you do laundry and find peas in the back of the dryer when        you remove all your clothes. And again, find more in the dryer!

2. Then there are the truck tires. Going down the road the truck starts to shimmy and shake over   50mph. A normal person would think. "I need to get the tires balanced" But a farmer thinks "Time         to clean the mud off the rims" Which he never does because it eventually falls off by itself. 

3. Then there is this: you have multiple pairs of pants on the ground outside your house because they were too dirty to wear and change.

4. You pray for rain and as soon as it starts, you pray for it to stop.

5. You walk into a cow or horse barn, take a deep breath and relish in the smell. 

We didn't get as much actual farming done as we hoped to this week because of #4. This area of North Dakota is relatively dry, but certainly not this year. We got a good soaker last week and again Tuesday of this week and more again on Friday morning keeping us out of the fields three days as it was way too wet to even venture out there. 

Instead, we worked on inside projects like cutting/welding rebar and building forms for an upcoming scale project. They are putting in a scale to weigh trucks in and out as they pick up seed. It will also be handy when they take their own trucks to the elevator as well. 

As you can see, they have the forms strategically placed in front of my camper so I cannot escape in the middle of the night. 


The hope was to get the site prepped, forms in and concrete poured later in the week. 

We emptied a couple of bins this week and had to clean them. A dirty, but not horrible, job. Unless the bin happened to have oats in it. Oats are my nemesis. I don't feel it immediately, but after a few minutes in an oat bin my eyes start to water, and I get very congested. Luckily, I did not have climb into an oat bin this week. Just urea and peas. 

This is how it works...... You are loading a truck and all of a sudden, the bin becomes so empty that it will not gravity feed into the auger. If you are loading from a hopper bin, you are done and move onto the next bin. If it is a flat bottom bin, there is a lot more to get out. Some of the bins here have a permanent sweep auger, others you have to climb in and install the portable sweep auger. 

The sweep auger has a motor and is on wheels which drive the auger around the bin sweeping the rest of the grain from the floor into the primary auger that transfers it to the conveyor. 

Here is a short video of how it all comes together:

You certainly want to keep your feet and fingers away from those augers and belts! You sweep and shovel behind it until all the grain is gone. You then remove the portable auger and sweep/vacuum the floor and walls to get rid of any remaining grain that might be hiding in the cracks and crevices.

Here's the thing about getting in and out of these bins; they have bars across the opening which make it challenging to get in and out. Dylan approaches it backwards and pulls himself in with his arms. 

I, on the other hand, take a totally different approach. I prefer the sea lion method where I approach the opening and more or less throw my body through the hole while making sea lion noises. Well, actually, it is me grunting, but it I am sure all the sea lions within miles raised their heads and looked my direction every time entered and exited the bin. 

Oh wait, we did get in the field on one of those down days when Chris said "Let's go for a ride" to his dad and me. Little did we know, he was taking us out to pick rocks. 

Kinda like hunting. You drive around the field shouting "There's one", "there's one". There were not enough to warrant the rock picker going out, but they were big enough you did not want them caught up in the combine come fall. 

Speaking of things found in the field. Chris and Farmer are constantly digging up things from the past. Mostly these harness rings from old horse drawn equipment. Really makes you wonder about the history of the land, and how the previous owners toiled over putting in and harvesting crops. These little rings get caught on their shanks as they go through the field. 
And, we got the first deer blind substantially done and started another one. This second one is being built on a trailer, so it is portable. I called dibs on being the first hunter to be in it while Dylan pulls me through the countryside in search of deer. For you nonhunters out there, I a kidding, this would be highly illegal, but it would make for a funny video titled "You Know You Are a Redneck When....."
Leroy, Farmer Bob's brother-in-law, was nice enough to detail the truck and camper so it is nice and pretty when I bring it home to Barb. The inside of the camper is another story all together. After staying in it for a month, it is a disaster. I will clean it before I head home, but no matter how well I clean it, Barb is going to give it a deep cleaning before we leave for Alaska.
On our last "rain day" we set forms and poured concrete.  5 trucks worth. It was not actually raining, but too wet in the fields to get out. Although it took all day, it was actually pretty easy work as these pads were only 4'x11'. BUT they were 8' deep! They hired an excavator to dig the holes.
 The scale they are putting in has to be super accurate and cannot be affected by the frost which can get down as far as 6' hereabouts. That, plus the fact that the scale has to hold upwards of 200,000lbs, it has to be heavy duty! There is a series of 5 of these piers that the scale sits on. This picture shows the truck at the 4th one.
We would have gotten done a lot sooner had the trucks shown up on time. We had to wait an hour between trucks for most of them. Luckily, one of the guys had a concrete vibrator that keeps it from setting up. You turn it on, stick the probe in the concrete and you can feel the ground shaking from several feet away. This thing was a life saver, otherwise it would have start setting up before the next truck came!
That night found us gathering around a table in the office at 9pm. Usually my bedtime. Little did I know that I would not see bed for 5 more hours. We try to have a poker night one time while we are all together in the spring and fall. Texas Hold'em $5 buy in, winner take all. If you lost all your chips, you could buy back in for another $5, but you had to take a shot as well. 
By the end of the night, I had bought in three times, Ty 4 times, Dylan, Chris and Seth once. Bob S was the big winner never buying back in at all and taking home all the cash. Lots of laughs and good-natured ribbing. 6:30am came very quickly the next morning!

I got two pictures from Barb this week. (Who is feeling much better) Apparently this deer was a curious about the little pointy ear creature in the window as Zoey was of the big animal infringing on her domain. 

The gang (r-l Dan, Bonnie, Cheryl, Kevin, and of course Barbie) is continuing their Wednesday burger nights without me. At least they are not having a good time in my absence!

Speaking of animals, apparently, I lost both of my chairs....

And the two girls figured out I am a softy when it comes to giving them treats. 

Farmer must have been a little bored this week as he decided to take an old tractor out of the tractor graveyard and try to resurrect it. The old White back been discarded years ago for an upgraded model and was parked in the boneyard where it was destined to spend the rest of her days. 

That was until Bob had the bright idea of trying to resurrect her. A day and a half later, he had her running and parked in front of the shop. I cannot begin to describe to you what the inside of a tractor smells like after having mice and God knows what else living in it for almost a decade. 

Which leads me to my last You Know You Are a Farmer When.... you pressure spray the inside of a tractor to get rid of the smell of mouse urine in a full rain suit and face shield. I am sure those clothes did not get into the house without being left on the stoop first!

Saturday morning found me waking up in my own bed in South Dakota. What?!?! Some did rescue me! It was actually Mother Nature when the rain returned with a vengeance. When I woke up Friday morning it was raining. With the forecast showing rain on and off for the next 5 days Chris said I may as well go home as they were not going to get back into the field prior to my scheduled departure date. They are only about 50% done with planting, I wish I could have stayed to get it all in, but it just was not to be.

Having been away from home 2 days short of a month, I was anxious to get home and see my girls. As I was pulling out of the farm what song should come on the radio? Quittin' Time by Morgan Wallen I think it was a message from the radio Gods.

8 hours later as I was passing through Custer, I was greeted with this:

I left in the snow; it only seems appropriate that I return to find snow. Well, not really "appropriate" but it is what I returned to. I also returned to 3 very happy girls who were excited to see me. They jumped all over me, licking my face and smelling me wondering where I had been, and that included Barb! 

It is so good to be home!

78 comments:

  1. If the tires start shimmying, just drive faster!! Works every time! A farmers work is never done, nor is there a spare minute. I'm sure Barb will be finding peas for months!! I'm glad she is feeling much better!!

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    1. You know exactly what I am talking about. There is always a "Sweet spot" where it stops shimmying!

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  2. Another successful spring season on the farm and a return home with all your fingers and toes. Looking forward to tagging along on your Alaska adventures. Cheers! 🍻

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    1. Knock on wood, I think this is my 3rd or 4th session up there without breaking anything of significance! That always marks a successful planting or harvesting season.

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  3. Even though only 50% of the fields were planted I'm sure they appreciated your help with all the other projects. Great to be home though.

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    1. They do, they are always more than appreciative of any help they can get. Every manhour of help they get gets them an hour ahead of where they would otherwise be.

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  4. Hello,
    Almost a month away, that is a long time for the girls to miss you.
    I wondering if someone doesn't like peas and put them into their pockets and than into the wash. I would like to see a video of the sea lion act, lol. Love the cute furbabies. Have a great weekend.

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    1. Your comment reminded me of something from when I was a child. I used to hide my peas in my pockets when mom said I could not leave the table until all my veggies were gone. I guess I have not changed much in 60 years!

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  5. Yes. You are a farmer! That is hard work. Interesting things I have never seen.

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    1. I am continuing to learn things every time I go up there. Farming is just an interesting profession.

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  6. My grandparents were farmers and I loved it out there so much that I spent most of my summers with them. Learned to drive the Ford tractor, my grandfather just had simple equipment. when he need to harvest a crop he figured it was cheaper to higher it done in the end.
    it's a good life I think, but it is a lot of hard work-but worth it.
    when I was a child at home we made May baskets and filled them with fresh flowers and put them on the door knobs of our neighbors. don't know if any one does that anymore.
    are you for good now or is there ore work to be done
    Happy weekend-hoping it is a relaxing one

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    1. We are working on cleaning the camper and getting it ready for our next adventure. Then we can relax a bit! We have a little Ford tractor probably much like the one that you learned to drive!

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  7. Glad you are safely home from another adventure on the farm!

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    1. Me too, it is a successful adventure when I can come back in one piece with no tales of breaking something!

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  8. Hello :=)
    Nice to be back home with the girls and all in one piece. You did a lot of hard work on the farm. Getting inside those bins is not for the faint hearted.

    We have broken more machinery than I can count because of stones in the fields. I could do with getting a couple of young kids to make a game out of collecting the stones with appropriate rewards for their efforts. My kids used to wear their wellingtons to the table when they knew peas were on the menu, and sneakily put the peas down their wellies when no one was looking :=) What would we do without them!! Lovely captures of your pets.
    All the best
    Sonjia.

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    1. That's funny! I had never heard of Wellies so I had to look them up. Of course, once I saw them, I knew exactly what they were. Your kids were quite ingenious. It did not take me long to figure out that if the dogs under the table would not eat them, neither would I!

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  9. Always enjoy reading your narrative. Enjoyed your farming exploits and look forward to hearing about your trip north.

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    1. We are looking forward to our next adventure in less than 18 days!

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  10. Those peas sound like dried maize (or confetti!) - get into everything and pop up in the most unusual places for ages later :)

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    1. I had not heard of corn as confetti, we use mostly rice around here, but I hear it is bad for the birds.

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  11. May day isn't a thing here and until recently I knew bugga all about, now know a tad more then bugga all. Yeah farmers want rain till it is raining then they want it to stop

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    1. And now I know what Bugga means! That is a word I had not heard before!

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  12. Roll those stones on down to the tax man in town!

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    1. That does seem to be the theme of the week doesn't it?

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  13. Wow! Again i know why I'm not a farmer! Altho, you guys work hard trusting bonds are made and the work gets done with the shared load. Geez those footings are HUGE!, it's not an observatory ;) As you have mentioned before ... again math and science.
    Hope Barb did not have to power-wash the camper on your return,

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    1. That's funny because she went into the camper, came out and said " that smells like xxx!"
      She then spent the next two hours fumigating it so it is inhabitable once again.

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  14. Surprised the Piers were not made deeper, with more rebars.
    The old White looked happy to be back in service.
    Barb will be busy cleaning the Camper, before you hit the road.
    Be Safe and Enjoy!

    It's about time.

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    1. I was too, but they have very specific specs. The specs only called for 6 1/2' piers, but they decided to go with 8' just to be safe.

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  15. I will say reading your post makes all my spring yard work look like nothing. That's a good thing because I feel like I have a whole lot I chose to do, whereas farming there's a whole lot you have to do to make your living. I come from a family of New England farmers though, which were small farms, but the stories I grew up with were all about picking rocks. I guess it doesn't matter if you have a big farm, a small farm or just like to garden when you have to do that. Have a great new week.

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    1. Big farm, small farm, they all have rocks. Even gardens require a certain level of care. What matters is the love for the soil, growing things and getting your hands dirty!

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  16. I am looking forward to the Great Alaska Fishing Contest that you and Barb are going to have!

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    1. Then be prepared to see Barb humiliated beyond anything you have ever seen before!

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  17. Loved the...you know you're a farmer whens...lol!
    Interesting and scary how they empty the bottom of those huge bins.
    Glad you are back home with the girls! :)

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    1. The bins are not that scary, you just have to watch the auger. There is no reason one should ever be at risk on injury in one. The dust is probably the biggest nuisance.

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  18. Enjoyed reading about the time on the farm, it's interesting.
    Seems you had a good time, lots of laughs and indeed some fun when it rained.
    Always good to go away, even better to be home.

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    1. Your last statement is very accurate. Although we do not like being away from each other, it is sometimes healthy and it makes coming home that much sweeter.

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  19. I found the accounting of your farm work very interesting because I really know nothing about large farming operations. Farms around here are much smaller. Enjoy your girls. I'm sure they were all glad to see you.

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    1. Two days later the girls are back to their normal routine, as though I had never left.

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  20. I laughed out loud about the clothes left on the porch! Sometimes they're too bad to even get that far.
    This was a great post, Jim. I sure have learned a lot about big-scale farming. Its pretty amazing.
    I bet Barb was delighted to see you come home early!

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    1. I think she was happy to see me come home early, but maybe not the camper. I usually spend a few hours cleaning it before coming home, but this time it was spur of the moment and I brought it home completely filthy. I did go out and clean it the next morning, but it still needed a lot of work!

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  21. When I read your posts, I know fer certain that I never would have made it as a farmer. Now, about Texas Hold'em, did you guys do the line dance? 😊

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    1. If we did do a group line dance, do you really think I would blog about it. Sometimes what happens at the farm is best left at the farm!

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  22. You know your a good farmer when you are Outstanding in your field. Think about that one. Glad you're home and safe and sound. You sound like you live a dangerous life.

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    1. That has to be the worst joke I think I have ever heard!

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  23. I also loved the you know you're a farmer when...All the pictures and explanations are great! Glad Barb was feeling good enough to get back out there and enjoy Wednesday burger night!!

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    1. She got better just in time for me to come home and be with her! Now, I too will be able to attend burger nights and have fun instead of toiling away....

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  24. I smiled reading about the pants on the ground outside the house. Imagine the pants of a fisherman of old after a day splitting fish! Outside the house indeed!

    Hard work and wonderful camaraderie!

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    1. Oh, I've been there after cleaning dozens of fish in a day for several days straight. I showered, changed my clothes and Barb STILL would not let me in the camper saying that I still smelled like fish. It has permeated my skin and I did not get rid of for days. I have no idea how commercial fisherman do it.

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  25. Good to hear that you knew about May Day Baskets and what fun it is! Glad you are back home safely, always nice to be at home, good to hear that Barb is better! Fun to see that sweep auger, what a great tool! You still have to shovel but hey beats shoveling out the last of the grain into five gallon buckets...then sweeping the left overs into a dust pan as my Mom wanted the area really clean! I liked you you know you are a farmer when!

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    1. May Day baskets were something that I totally forgot about until I started to write this post. I too am glad to hear that people still do it.

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  26. Farming is a hard life, maybe not as hard as it used to be, but still tough.

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    1. Could you imagine being one of the first to break this ground with the equipment they had back in the day?

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  27. I remember May Day baskets and blooms as a kid! Your poker night looks like a fun break in the action. Farming sure is hard work! I salute you! I'm not about to complain about a few weeds now. (OK, a lot of weeds, but still -- after reading this, no complaints!)

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    1. Believe me, if we had to pick weeds by hand, we would be complaining about the too!

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  28. Always enjoy reading all the goings on in your neck of the woods and further north. Great photos! Looking forward to your adventures in Alaska also. I echo what Jeanie says!

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    1. It's fun to see other parts of the country through other's eyes, isn't it? We get to see places and experiences that we will probably never do. Glad I could take you along on our adventures!

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    2. It certainly is as I am not sure when we will be road-tripping this year, but always want to see what's over the next hill. And always appreciate you taking us along to do just that. You and Barb have a great weekend, the doggos too of course :)

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  29. Peas in the dryer! I only find kibble in my dryer/washer! I love the farming series....

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    1. Why does that not shock me? I am guessing even when you did not have a pet, you probably had kibble in your pocket in the off chance that you ran into a dog that would appreciate a treat.

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  30. Wishing for rain. I've been hearing that request from my husband every day. We finally got 4" this week but some poor folks not far down the road got closer to 9" and there's flooding in areas around us. Living on a farm has rare quiet moments. There's always something that needs to be done. Today was about putting down a raccoon. I think it was a zombie. It didn't want to go down. Our cows have horns and they attacked it an my husband shot it 3 times. It finally stood up and fell over. Life can be cruel on a farm. Enjoyed your post.

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    1. That is a crazy raccoon story! Do you have long horns? That is also a lot of rain, even when farmers get rain, it has to be the right kind of rain. A 4" downpour does not sound as good as a slow soaker of an inch or so.

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  31. What a fun post! In spite of or because of the realities on your list, you definitely never suffer from a lack of things to keep you busy on the farm. They must have had to keep a big supply of those metal rings if they lost so many in the fields! You didn't really think those were your chairs did you??

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    1. I wonder how many of those rings the farmers had on supply back then. Did they hand forge them or were they manufactured? These do not have hammer marks, so I am thinking they were mass produced.

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  32. Fascinating to see a life so different from my own. Thanks for sharing.

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    1. From what little I know about your life; I do not think we could find to polar opposites in lifestyles. Fun to see though, isn't it?

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  33. They blocked your escape route and you STILL got out! Hooray! No seriously this is so interesting. I have sent a link to this post to my TG who loves farming. He's never done it but he still loves it, hahaha! I'm glad you're back home with Barb and the doggos. xoxo

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    1. If it wasn't for the rain, I would more than likely still be up there until tomorrow. I am glad to be home, but also wish I was still up there helping them get their crops in.

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  34. 1 - 5 are hysterical!! working construction, i use to make my husband take his pants off in the garage because he was so dirty i would not let him come in the house with them on!! even he agreed!! farmers, such hard workers and so under appreciated. it is work i could never do!!

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    1. Everyone should have a job where their pants have to come off before entering the house. Really makes you appreciate the people that do it day in and day out.

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  35. All kids should be required to spend at least a month on a farm or ranch. Sort of like the military draft for getting ready to face life. Hard work is totally foreign to much of our society. Hats off to you and the many out there who do what's necessary on a daily basis.

    I might actually have some of my grandparents' farming blood in my veins. After a morning in the swamp taking pictures of birds and bugs and blooms, The Boss does that "take off your pants" thing. Sometimes, it's 'cause she wants to clean 'em up before she cleans 'em up. Other times ...

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    1. Amen to that! I have been in a swamp or two in my day and I can only imagine what your clothes would mess like after a foray like that. The Boss is a pretty smart lady.

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  36. Okay, so I am TOTALLY worn out just reading about what it takes to keep a farm going, what has to be done...and I wonder how you ever get away in the RV for a trip. WOW....I am, have been, was born, lived as a city girl never being around farm animals except horses until I was in my 50s and dated a guy that had pigs, POT BELLY PIGS, a chicken (yes, just one) and goat and he rented the barn to people with horses. Horses, like I said, I have been around them, never owning one till later in life, but my niece showed horses. But I had a blast learning about pigs and goats and watching the chicken with the pigs. Now, I might not be a true country girl, but I ventured off and decided to move to a very rural county and though I said I would never live out like this, I love it.

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    1. I think it is great when people move out to the country and learn more about what it takes to put food on the table. As long as they accept the country life and do not try and change it. There are so many reports of people moving to the country next to a farm and then complain about the smell, noise or practices.

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  37. Those weeks up at the farm must have been really tough for you and I can see it is a men's world. Hopefully you got rewarded for your efforts, but I think you would have helped anyways and also for the concrete work you have a lot of experience to know what you are doing. Bet you are looking forward to your upcoming vacation trip.

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    1. We are looking forward to our upcoming trip! We are better than halfway packed with two weeks to go. They have more concrete work to do, it will get done, I just will not be there to help.

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  38. Loved the video. They really help us non-farmers understand. Yes, leave seat of any kind and a cat will find it! Guess you trained those dogs right..."treat man!" Great photo of Zoey and the beautiful buck. I'm sure everyone is happy to have the family together again.

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    1. This might be the first time I remember all the girls happy to see me come home. Usually, it is just Zoey and Dakota!

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