Headed Home!

 Here is an interesting tidbit of information..... Since we have moved into this house, I did not think I had spent a night alone in it. After thinking a while I realized that I had spent 2 nights alone in it when Barb flew to Oregon to pick up Zoey 4 years ago. Barb on the other hand cumulatively has spent over a year alone in that house while I am away at the farm or other places. Kinda of crazy to think about! 

But my days here are numbered, 1 day left. We should finish the last Canola field today as I write this on Monday morning. All of the Canola was sent directly to the elevator.

Once that is done, they need to wait for about two weeks for the chickpeas to finish out. I will of course be gone for that and miss that harvest. 

This past week was another busy one. Cool, foggy mornings prevented us from getting into the fields before noon each day as moist plants just do not go through the combines very well. 

In the meantime, Chris had many other projects for us. Ty was busy cleaning grain. I know I have shown this process in past years, but it is quite amazing taking 9 different pieces of equipment to complete the process. Here is the layout. Starting in the bottom lefthand corner you have the semi (1) that brings the seed to the cleaning area. #2 is the conveyor that moves the seed from the semi into the dump truck (3). The dump truck regulates the flow or speed at which the seed enters the cleaner. As the seed leaves the dump truck, it goes up another conveyor (4) and enters the hopper of the cleaner (5). The cleaner itself is quite the piece of machinery pushing the seed through a series of shaking plates separating seeds and other material by size and weight. The seed that makes it through goes up the last auger (6) and into the bin (7). The waste product will go into the semi on the right side (9). There is another tractor (8) which you cannot see that powers the auger going into the bin by its PTO. 

The entire of process of cleaning a 4000-bushel bin will take up to 10+ hours and once you start, you really want to keep going until the entire bin is done. My job in this process is to fill the input semi (#1) as it empties (about once an hour) making sure the entire process continues without stopping. 

While Ty was doing that, I was lifting empty bins. Unless the bin is on concrete it is going to sink and settle from season to season, so they have to be lifted periodically. If you are lucky, as I was, it will pop right out of the ground using the skidsteer. You then fill it with gravel underneath, do the same to the other side and you are good to go for another season or two. 

Dylan and I also took a couple of hours to clear some trees along a road near one of their fields. The trees were so tight along the road we could not get some of the equipment down it. After talking to the landowners, we went to cutting! We utilized a scissor lift on a trailer to get up to the tallest limbs. 

All of those things before noon each day as after 12:00, it was finally dry enough to get into the fields! Several of us will jump into a semi and ride out to the field. 

Upon arriving I jump into my office.....

Which is where I will remain for the next 7-9 hours watching the combines go back and forth across the field. 

One day I was going down the field when all of a sudden, I was surrounded by hundreds of honeybees! Not sure why, there were no hives near me, but they buzzed the cab for hours. Those little dots in the picture below are only a fraction of the bees buzzing around me. 

Some more sad news this week, DeAnne's mother passed away on Saturday morning. I almost hesitated to call it sad as she had lived a full life and at 89 years old, she had been declining for a bit and is now in a better place. 

So, with that, I made it through another harvest season without any major catastrophes. I did spill a little grain here or there, ran over a shovel and a broom (in my defense, that first picture of the sun was right in my eyes), and a few broken shear bolts on the auger, several on the PTO and other on the swing away winch. I wrenched my back once but that was it. No major breakages or injuries. I think they just might invite me back for another year!

The night I left, Bob, DeAnne and I went to supper in Minot. When we got back Bob washed my truck and I hit the road about 8pm to get a year start on my 8 hour drive. Talk about service!

Now, it is time to go home, see my wife, sit on my couch for 15 minutes before she presents me with a list of things I need to get done in the next couple of weeks before the big event. Big event you ask? Yup, we have something in the works, too early to talk about, but we have some special guests coming in a few weeks that will no doubt be entertaining and terrorizing all at the same time!