It's All About the Peas

 One commentor last week asked if Chris and/or Farmer Bob were friends or family. It reminded me of something I heard while in the restaurant the other day. There were two people sitting at a large table and the waitress asked, "Are you waiting on friends?", without missing a beat one of the woman said; "No, relatives". Made me chuckle. At any rate, as some of you know, it is kind of a long story how I got to know Bob and DeAnne. Back in 2012 I believe, my best friend from high school and I were duck hunting at his brother's ranch about an hour east of here near McClusky, North Dakota. He mentioned that his son was dating a girl whose family owned a farm outside of Douglas. The next year, we came over this way to check out the hunting on the farm. It was also the same year that I retired. While we were visiting at the farm, I asked a question I wish I could take back now; "Do you ever need any help around here?" 

What started out as a couple weeks in the fall, went to as many as 6 weeks in the spring and 6 weeks in the fall. I have learned a lot, learned to love the land and appreciate the farm lifestyle. I sometimes think I missed my calling or was born a generation or two later than I was meant to. But I think if I lived in the late 1800's/early 1900's, I would have been a rancher and not a farmer. Call me crazy, but there is something about owning cattle that I love. Farming is just too much darn hard work!

I know many of you have been waiting with anticipation for the answer of how many wheat seeds there are on average per acre of land. The closest guess comes from Ed, but he had an advantage as he is a farmer from Iowa. He even said 30 seeds per square foot and calculated it out! Nancy was also correct in her answer saying there are a lot of things that go into this number; seed variety, soil type... the list goes on. But, for their purposes here they put it down at a rate of about 1.45 million seed per acre. Think about that, with over 1,000 acres of wheat alone that is a lot of seeds! 

We have moved on to peas for a bit. There is still some wheat to do, but that ground is not quite ready yet. How many peas per acre you ask? A lot less than the wheat coming in at approximately 330,000 peas planted per acre. The first field we did was a monster 745 acres of peas taking us parts of 3 days to plant. 

With peas, we do not use urea or S10 fertilizer, we do add inoculant, however. a living organism that helps that plant grow. That is what we are doing below, using the bobcat to load a tote of inoculant into the seeder.

Once the peas are in the ground, we go over the ground with the rock picker picking up the larger rocks that the seeder might have pulled up. That has mainly been Bob and Ty's job this spring, but I did get out there for a few hours picking. 

After that comes the rolling to push down any rocks that might be in the way come this falls harvest. Wednesday was a long day. I got in the tractor at 8am and got out at 7pm. I did get out twice I guess for less than 10 minutes, but other than that it was a full 11 hours in the tractor! I am listening to a book on tape (really it is on YouTube), a Nora Roberts book called "Come Sundown", it helps pass the time. I think I have over 30 hours in the tractor this week. 

Of course, there are the daily fuel and DEF fills, plus repair, as Farmer Bob and Ty do a little work on the rock pickers.  

Every time I am in this field and see this old homestead, I cannot help but wonder what life must have been like for the first inhabitants. What a different world we live in now compared to how life was when they first move in. 

I also spent time clearing more trees off the fields. One was a monster tree that I was able to pick up whole, the tractor was a little tippy, but I managed to get it into a ravine without incident.

 Plus, I saw several moose that day! Three to be exact. I still find it hard to believe that there are moose in the mostly treeless landscape. These two were just laying in a depression in the middle of the field. They did not move, just watched me roll by, probably wondering where I was taking that tree! If you look very closely, you can see a coyote in the background. It was just sitting there staring at the moose, probably wondering how to get its teeth into one. I will see if I can circle the 'yote in the picture. 

But that was not the coolest thing I saw that day. As I was going down a tree row, I noticed an owl fly out, not all that unusual, but what was unusual was when I looked up and saw a nest with two little fledglings looking back at me!

Oh, and I almost forgot, you know how Dakota is afraid to walk on our floors always slipping around? Barb got her a set of grippy socks, check out this video, now she walks across the floor without a problem at all!

I received pictures from Barb and both the kids during Easter. First up is Lily and her basket. The second picture below highlights some flowers that Somer bought Barb this week!

The dogs had to get in on the action. What is going through Zoey's mind on the second picture? It looks like she is disgusted and humiliated. 

Meanwhile in Pennsylvania, grandchildren Dylan and Kendall had their own Easter Egg hunt. 

I do my best to keep up with the "boys". I say "boys" as the youngest is like 28 and the oldest 37. What they do not seem to realize is that 62 is not the new 28, or 37 for that matter, and I am absolutely dragging at the end of the day. I cannot wait until they are 62 and I can look down (or will it be up?) on them and laugh. But then again, by the time they are that age, everything will probably be automated and there will be robots doing the work we are doing!

As of today, we have just over 2,500 acres in the ground. About 50% complete with just 11 days left of my stay here. This coming week I am going to work on doing my annual critter photography collection seeing how many of the local critters I can get pictures of. There are so many pheasants this year, but they are camera shy. We shall see if I can get some decent shots!

Easter at the Farm!

 Only a few patches of snow remain in the shadows of the Black Hills as I make my way north on a 450-mile journey. From Custer to Hill City, taking a left on 385. I pass by Pactola Lake, now ice free. 

As I make my way to Deadwood, one cannot help but imagine this area back in the late 1800's when Wild Bill Hickock walked these streets. While much of the town has changed, there are a few buildings that are virtually the same as they were some 150 years ago such as the courthouse below. I have been on the road less than two hours, a trip that would have taken more than two days back in the Wild Bill days. 

Passing through Belle Fouche, the terrain suddenly changes forested hillsides to open range land with cattle and antelope dotting the landscape. In just 8 hours I will go from the forested landscape of southern South Dakota to open cattle range of middle/northern South Dakota to the crop producing landscape of mid/northern North Dakota. There aren't many places in the country where you will see such vast difference in just a few hours. Before I know it, I am passing farm equipment. 

Not having the camper with me is quite the change. Instead, I will be staying in Chris and Holly's 5^th wheel tucked into the corner of the shop. It isn't roughing it; fireplace, recliners that are heated and offer a massage option (both of which I take advantage of), all the comforts one would want. This will be my home for the next few weeks. 

My first night there I went to supper with Farmer Bob and DeAnne. The burgers at the Red-Light bar in Max are just as I remember them and it is good to catch up with them. After a good nights sleep, we are ready to hit the ground running. April 16^th , this is the earliest we have gotten the first of the seed in the ground. There are 5 of us here right now, Farmer Bob, Chris who mainly runs the seeder, Dylan who oversees the seed plant, getting seed treated and ready for planting for both their own use and their seed customers. The last two are Ty and I who basically do whatever we are told and what needs to be done on a given day. 

This year they are starting with wheat as it can tolerate a frost should another cold spell come. My job for the day? To get out in front of Chris and make sure the fields are clear of branches and other debris that might have accumulated in the field over the winter. Trees and rocks are my main quarry for the day.  

The brutal winter winds often blow limbs and sometimes whole trees into the fields. Where these rocks come from is anyone's guess, they just seem to appear overnight. Forget the fact that these fields have been farmed for over 100 years, big rocks like this one just somehow rise to the surface. 

Then there are the stumps. With bigger and bigger farm equipment we have to cut the ends of the tree rows to make room for the equipment to pass. Right now, the largest thing that needs to pass by is about 135' wide, so we are cutting the trees 150' back. Of course, this means getting rid of these trees and stumps. Not an easy task. 

Another task this week, and one that seems to be never ending is the removal of old fence lines. Ty and I took out 1/2 mile of barbed wire fence. Three strands along with the T-post and wooden H braces. It only took us about 3 hours. 3 hours to remove what probably took some farmer a week to install 5-6 decades ago. 

Of everything we do at the farm, this one is one that scares me the most. Scare might not be the right word, but I respect the tool that is used to roll up the wire. Respect in that you have to be very careful not to get too close to the wire being spooled up, so your hand or clothing does not get caught up in it and sucked into the spool. It could go horribly wrong in a hurry. 

Here is a short video of the process. Not as exciting as a dog video, but interesting, nonetheless. 

For you botanists out there, can you identify this flower? It is the only flower I saw out in the pastureland. Not in great abundance, but every once in a while. This picture does not do it justice; it was actually a lot purpler than the picture shows.

In addition to clearing the fields, my main job this week was making sure Chris had the fertilizer needed to keep going. This week it was S10 and urea. I load them out of a bin at the farm into the truck. I then drive the truck out to wherever Chris is planting, and we load it into the tanks of the seeder. 3-4 times a day depending on how long we are going. A full tank can last 5 hours or so. See that white stuff shooting into the tank on the right side of the picture below? That is urea. 

Here are a couple of views showing the other side....

As of this morning, 5 days in, we have a little over 1,000 acres planted, less than 25% of the total we need to get into the ground in the next few weeks. Workdays average about 12-13hours. On an average day we start around 7am and end around 7-8pm, getting to bed around 11:00 to get up and do it all over again the next day. Chris goes a lot longer, sometimes past 1am before he gets home. 

Lots of things on my body hurt; about every joint in my body is talking back to me, but this year it is my ankles, of all things, is the worst. Past years it has been my back or wrists. I am not complaining (okay, maybe I am a little bit), I love the work and the feel of my sore body after a hard day. 

Today, is Sunday. Easter Sunday. No work is going to be done today. Well, I am going to go pull some more stumps, but everyone else is taking the day off to spend Easter with their families. Here on the farm there will be a total of 18-20 family members gathering for an Easter meal about noon after they get back from church. Brothers, sisters, aunts, uncles, husbands and wives along with the kids. I love that about country life. Back home in South Dakota, Barb, Somer and Lily will be celebrating Easter with a pork butt she put on the smoker about 10:00 last night. 

Here is your quiz for the week and no googling it to look up the answer! Besides, I already looked it up and it is not correct based on the seed rate they are using here. The question is.... How many wheat seeds are planted on average in an acre of land? I will give you that answer the more tales from the farm next week......

I know many of you are just reading to the end to see what I broke this week as almost every week something breaks on the farm and once in a great while it will be my fault. I am happy to report that I broke nothing this week! I did however renovate the back window of the farm truck in preparation for the hot summer weather!

It's Branding Time!

 It has been a couple weeks since we have posted. The weather was not good to us last week. Not as bad as other parts of the country, but cold, rainy and snowy, which prevented us from working on the garage. 

Instead, I spent several days learning how to use the 3D printer on my own! While I still have a lot to learn, I have learned the basics and enough to make a few things on my own. Here is what I have made so far.....First up was a tray and lure holder for the boat. This fits into my existing ram holders that were on the boat. 

My biggest print so far has been this rod holder. It has 5 parts, taking well over 24 hours to print, but cost me pennies compared to buying one in the store. 

How about this SD card holder? Previously just laying in a drawer, they are now organized. Then I printed this AA, AAA and 9v battery holder. Also, things that were just laying in a drawer. 

For you schoolteachers out there, riddle me this.... Spell check wanted me to change the "laying" above to "lying". We went to The Google and it says I should leave it as laying.....

But wait, there's more! A cup holder for the boat and a test tube holder by request for my son-in-law, Shane.

Last, but not least are these fancy ice fishing rod holders. I used a rainbow filament and will be the envy of all the other fishermen on the ice next winter!

These things are so cool, you can literally print just about anything you can think of for pennies on the dollar. 

I am enjoying it so much; I went ahead and ordered my own printer!

It is bigger, fast and more automated than Forrest's. And even has a camera! Here is a timelapse of a DeWalt Battery Holder that I made.....

We were also able to work on a project that I have been thinking about for a long time but was always a lower priority. Putting a wall in the woodshed so we are able to separate the dry wood from the wet wood. Previous to this we had no choice but to stack the wet wood in front of the dry wood; not ideal. We had to take all the wood out, put up the wall and then restack everything. Time consuming, taking all day, but it is now done!

The weather finally broke and we were able to get back out to the garage. When I last left you, there were three walls done, the only wall left was the front wall with the garage doors. Well, that wall is now up! Due to the length and weight of this wall, we did it in pieces.  We had a somewhat surprise visit by our son-in-law Shane who stopped by on his way from Pennsylvania to Salt Lake City. Not exactly on the way, but he was picking up Forrest who is going with him to Salt Lake. 

Shane spent a day helping us put the headers on the garage doors and sheet three of the four walls. It was now ready for the trusses!

Shane and Forrest left the next day on an extended trip to fish, ski and snowmobile in Utah and Montana, leaving Barb, Somer. Lily and me to hold up the fort. With the nicer weather, we have been spending an hour or so out in the gazebo in the afternoons. It is soooo nice to be able to sit outside without freezing! The dogs seem to enjoy it too. I cannot help but wonder what they are thinking as they look out over the landscape. 

I cannot forget Chloe, she is more of a people-dog and always wants up on someone's lap, while the others seem content to just sit by themselves. 

There is one last project on my "to do" list before I head to the farm; when Barb was working on the camper, she discovered 5 broken welds on the aluminum tubing that holds up the freshwater tank.

I am no welder, especially aluminum, so I opted for L brackets. That should hold it, we will just be careful not to haul it with a tank full of water. 

Two more projects for this post. Next up was a concrete pour over at Kevin's VRBO. He wanted to add a sidewalk and a sitting area for the guests to enjoy. We had to wheelbarrow 1/2 of it, the rest of it we could reach with the chute off the truck. 

Friday night my friend Chad and his son Cavin arrived from Wisconsin for a 3-day visit. Some of you may remember him as the former owner of Pasha Lake Cabins in Ontario. Chad and his son Cavin came out from Wisconsin for a few days. He even brought me a present in the form of an elk head!

The last project was one I really enjoyed. Branding time at the neighbor's ranch! As some of you know when it is branding time neighbors, family and fellow ranchers come to help. This is the third year in a row that we have been able to help, it is so interesting to see this aspect of the ranch lifestyle. 

I was responsible for vaccinating, Chad and Cavin were the brand runners, heating and bring the brands to each of the calves. Barb was part of the neutering crew. Guess what is in that bucket she is holding? Yup, and they save them for supper when they have enough. Somer came over to watch as well, Lily wanted nothing to do with it. 

Lastly, we had a little excitement in our week when we were sitting on the couch watching TV and all of a sudden the dogs started attacking the fireplace. There, in the fireplace, was a bird staring at us! I tried to sneakily get it out but of course it escaped and started flying around the house. Dogs barking, running around and chasing it! I was able to catch it with my fishing net after about 5 minutes of chaos! 

Our next post will more than likely come to you from North Dakota as I got the call that they are ready to start planting!