Hauling Bales

We finished hauling all the bales earlier this week…..all 2,500 of them are home now. 

The bales were scattered through the fields like this one, in ditches and in stacks in the fields.

15 bales are loaded on this wagon.  This is the same wagon that has been used since I was growing up on the farm.  We also have a semi trailer that is used to bring bales in from the ditches and fields farther away.    A bale is put on back of the tractor spike for weight and stability.      

Now I really wish I had a picture of the hay fences with all the new bales.

Shakes

The other day the kids and I took burgers and shakes out to the field.  Of course the kids had to go for a ride.  

Wonders of Combining

I often wonder how they manage to not run into each other when they get into tight corners like this.  

I know that the combines are loaded up with GPS and cool stuff like that but I wonder how they can see where they are going when it is so dusty out and the evening sun has been strangely bright.

Just some things I wonder about.  Coming soon….a photo tour of a combine!!

Frost

The weather forecast is calling for a very chilly night……freezing temps or very close to it.  It is 9pm and I really need to find some blankets, tarps and a flashlight.  There is a lot of stuff left in my garden and I don’t want to lose it to the frost.

It would be really great if the frost would hold off for just two more weeks.  I don’t have a big enough blanket to cover up all these guys!!!  They just need a little bit more time.

So I am off to take care of my garden.  Stay away frost!!

Late nights

The combines are still working long hours.  It has been four weeks since the wheat harvest started.  There were a few days that were too wet.

The fields are so dusty this year.  There is a lot of coughing and stuffy noses around here lately. 

Sunflowers

The sunflowers are looking good.  Standing tall and the heads are getting big.  It is crazy how they all know to face east. 

Coffee

How do you prefer to drink your coffee?  I like mine in the mug on the right.   The other morning Bucky grabbed a water glass and filled it with coffee.  He then walked over to the door with it, set it down and came back.  I am watching him wondering what the heck he is doing.  A couple minutes later….he walks over to the door to put his shoes on…..looks at the cup and asks me when I opened up a pop.  I tell him that I probably had one yesterday….why?  He asks why there is a pop on the washing machine….I ask him if he is talking about the coffee and he looks at me like I’m crazy.  Then I have to explain that he put coffee in the water glass and took it over there.  Shaking his head, he walks over to grab a mug and pour his coffee the right way.  TOO many rounds in the combine!!!

The same day….my dad grabs a hose, walks up to the service unit pickup, opens the door and puts the hose inside.  Then he walks into the shop and asks where the service unit is……hmmmmm. 

How Many….

How many grandkids can fit in the tractor with grandma?  Five…

Harvest Sunsets

It is harvest time.  You can smell it in the air.  The smell of wheat and chaff is floating everywhere.  The dust barely settles before another truck drives by.  But a golden sunset like these is a guarantee every evening. 

Harvest

The wheat harvest is in full swing.  Combines are going round and round or up and down.  Grain carts are cruising around the fields to unload the combines.  Trucks are busy hauling out of the fields.  Yup…..it’s harvest time.  

Check out the combine

The kids had to play around on the combine that has been sitting in the yard….just to make sure it was ready to go.

Truck drivers

Once in a while the kids get to go along with daddy for a truck ride.

Combines

Getting the combines ready for harvest:

They first get any leftovers (chaff or wheat) blown out.

Then a complete wash down.  The wash takes two people about 6 hours to do.  I was completely soaked from head to toe for 6 hours.  My tall muck boots were dripping wet inside. 

Next they get tuned up and worn parts are replaced.

Then off to the field!!

Coke

Bouncing around in the tractor on hay fields……..makes Coke go flat very fast….
 

Making hay

As the old saying goes….make hay while the sun shines.  There is a lot of racking and baling to be done. 
Here is me racking two windrows into one.

The tractor levers and controls.I am busy trying to stay ahead of the baler.

Stuck AGAIN!!

How many more times will we get stuck this year??  Today we managed to get two pickups stuck…..  One while trying to pull the other one out.

Wheat field

farmThis picture was taken today of the wheat field that was seeded on 5/9/11.

Seeding

Here is a recap of the farm spring seeding “season”.  It rained…..alot….and every 4 days.  We finally threw in the towel because some of the fields were just too wet to even drive a pickup in.  Driving the country road we see many fields that will sit empty this year because of all the moisture.