Long Night

M, R and I spent Christmas in South Dakota with M's sister and family and their parents.  We always have such fun with them and this year was no exception.  Discovered it's hard on the stomach to drink mimosas ALL day, though!  We had good food, great company and wonderful gifts.

M, R and M's parents headed back to Montana yesterday morning while I hung out at his sister's house waiting for a flight to Arizona.  My mom had hip replacement surgery on her 85th birthday, December 14, so I was on my way to stay with her for a week while she recuperates.  I had originally planned to leave from Billings on the 28th but then our Christmas plans changed and I was able to change my flight.  Seemed like a good idea at the time--not so much later.  I think I've been traveling too much and the travel gods are no longer smiling on me. 

7:20 pm  M's sister drops me at the Rapid City Regional Airport.  Check in, breeze through security and head to gate 7 to wait for my flight.
8:00 pm  Airplane arrives from Mesa.
8:30 pm  Boarding begins.
9:00 pm  Pilot reported a slight problem but informs us that we should be on our way shortly.
9:30 pm  Deplaning while waiting for mechanic.
10:15 pm  Mechanic arrives.
11:30 pm  Informed that a rescue plane will have to come from Las Vegas.
12:00 am  Rescue plane on its way.
1:30 am  Dominos pizza arrives.  No beer!
2:30 am  Rescue plane arrives. We are moved to a different gate.  Have to take a shuttle to the plane and board through the aft door (that's at the back of the plane--FYI)
3:10 am  And we're off!!
5:25 am  Arrive in Mesa to the loving arms of my sister.
6:00 am  Arrive at my mom's house--better late than never.  Hug my mom and go to bed.

Got in a couple of naps today and should feel much better tomorrow!  There's a blizzard going on at home and I'm missing it--I feel better already!

Snow Day

I had many important things to do in town today; first of all, go to work, then see my accountant and most importantly, get my nails done.  We woke up to snow and wind so I am staying warm at home instead.  We were up early to try to decide what we were going to do and I started packing an overnight bag. I was pretty sure that if I made it to town I wouldn't get home tonight.  M and J were going to head out in the trucks to haul grain so M said he'd let me know how the roads were.  Before that happened, C called and asked if I was going to work because there was already 6" of new snow on the highway, and he thought M was crazy to try to get to Wolf Point in the truck.  By that time, I had pretty much decided to just stay at home.  M called later to say that they made it to Scobey but couldn't go to Wolf Point because the snowplow went into the ditch three times because he couldn't find the road.  He thought I made a wise decision to stay home.  I am meeting with my accountant via fax and phone.  Too bad I can't meet with my nail technician that way!


Last night we had the boys and K over for an early Christmas since we won't all be together on Christmas day.  M, R and I are going to South Dakota to be with M's parents and sister while J and K look after things at home.  After we ate and exchanged gifts, M and I went to the church for the annual carol service.  I just love the service because it's all music, congregational carols and special numbers by members of the comunity including lots of kids.  I usually sing with a couple of friends, but we didn't get it together this year because of a lack of accompanists--they were all out of town at the same time, how inconsiderate!  I was very disappointed that we didn't get something prepared.

M gave me a Canon PowerShot pocket-sized camera for Christmas.  I love my Sony, but it's too big to take everywhere so I've been wanting a small one that can go along everywhere.  It was a great gift, and I'm so excited to try it out.

I have to say it's kind of nice having the day off so I can get ready to leave home again.  A good day to pack for Arizona!

Loving Winter

When winter hits, it seems like every snowstorm or arctic blast just reinforces how unprepared we are.  It was pretty cold here when we got back from Hawaii, and my car hadn't been started for two weeks.  I went to go to work and my battery was dead, M was already gone, the pickup needed fuel, and I didn't have a fuel card.  Luckily, M was still in Richland so he could fuel up the pickup.  He was headed out with the cattle trailers and had to beat the brakes which were frozen so he wasn't too happy either.

We had a snowy, blowy day on Friday and I thought about shoveling the little bank of snow in front of the garage.  I'm glad I didn't waste my time because we had more snow on Sunday and by Monday morning there was a much bigger snowbank in front of the garage.  I spent an hour shoveling that off.  When I was done there was a big pile of snow beside the deck, and I kept thinking that it would be fun to jump off the deck into it......maybe if I was a kid.  At my age, I'd probably hurt myself.

M and I had to do a little surgery to three bull calves on Sunday.  They were late calves born out in the pasture so didn't get rubbered at birth.  M and R banded them earlier in the week so we ran them into the chute to cut the sac off.  It was amazing how gentle they were after what had been done to them.  M thought I should make a coin purse out of the sac.  If I knew how to tan the hide, that would be a good idea.  An interesting conversation piece at the very least.

Poor R is feeling a bit like Schleprock these days.  He was moving our loader tractor to his place to load some hay that we had sold when the windshield exploded.  He's not sure if he kicked up a rock or what happened.  It was snowing and blowing so he went the last five miles backwards.  Then the next day he got stuck in the new snow with the 4-wheel drive pickup while trying to feed, and I had to take our other 4-wheel drive pickup to pull him out.  Then he went to Canada to get a new windshield, got home and discovered it was broken and was broken when he picked it up.  We always say that if any freak thing is going to happen it's going to happen to him.  Someone will be making a trip to Canada again tomorrow to get another one.  Thank goodness they HAVE another one.  M was freaking out about being able to find one, but it wasn't as hard as he thought.  We're kind of lost without that tractor, and R loaded three loads of hay with it yesterday.  Thank goodness it was a nice day.

M spent the weekend at his sister's in South Dakota where his parents are.  His dad had four stents and a pacemaker in the past two weeks.  My mom had hip replacement surgery today, her 85th birthday.  We're concerned that the old people are falling apart!

Kauai

It's a cold and windy, snowy day here in northeastern Montana and I am wishing I was where I was last week at this time--Kauai, Hawaii.  I wonder if people there have any idea what it's like to live where we are.  We had a wonderful time on the beautiful island.  Perfect temps, highs in the 80s, lows in the 70s.  We did have quite a bit of wind and some rain showers.  Our room was right on the water.  There was a rocky shoreline and the waves would crash, and at times it was too loud for me to sleep, especially in the early morning when the wind seemed to come up.  One morning I swore we were in a hurricane.  There was a beach not far from our condo so we wandered there a few times.  We explored the whole island, driving west as far as the road went one day and up Waimea Canyon--kind of like the Grand Canyon of Kauai.  The next day we drove to the northern part of the island as far as the road went and explored some beaches up there.  We found a little inexpensive golf course and golfed there twice.  The first time we were paired up with a couple from British Columbia and the second time we golfed with an older Hawaiian gentleman.  We enjoyed him a lot.  He was very interested in where we lived and what we did and gave us some good information about the island. We spent a day on the east side at Kapa'a where a lot of surfers hang out.  It was kind of a rainy day so we were in and out of shops and restaurants to stay dry.  There was also a local craft fair so we bought some gifts there for friends at home.  Our goal was some rest and relaxation for M so we were pretty lazy and unadventurous.  He said he found a slower gear.  I was a bit concerned about getting him geared up again once we got home!

We booked the whole trip on Expedia and were very happy that it all turned out just great.  We loved the location of our condo and think we picked the right area of the island to stay.  We were amazed everyday to walk outside in the morning and have it the same temperature outside as it was inside.  We ate breakfast out on the patio every day--loved it!

The trip back is such a killer with flying all night and getting to Billings in the morning, made worse by the cold and snow on our return.  Our pickup had a foot of ice and snow on it, and we just about froze trying to get it cleaned off.  We had a couple of things to do in Billings and then headed home.  We ran into icy roads and freezing fog on the way--UGH!

The boys took good care of things while we were gone.  R stayed at our house to take care of the dogs and the cows.  J and C even took some loads of cattle for neighbors even though that's not their favorite thing.  It's taken a few days for M and I to get back into the swing of things at home, but we'll survive, and I'll be gone again in a couple of weeks so I think I can tough it out.

View from our room

Right in front of our room

Wailua Falls--from Fantasy Island fame

Waimea Canyon

At the top of Waimea Canyon.  Drove all the way up and saw nothing because of clouds and fog.

Ready for Vacation

We have had very wintry weather lately with snow, wind and very cold temperatures.  It's WAY too early to be having below zero temps!  One day last week I left work early because it was snowing so heavily and I wanted to get home before dark.  That 35-mile drive can get mighty long sometimes!  I have driven more than enough miles on ice and snow and through blizzards.  I'm really losing interest in doing it anymore.

R went to Missoula last weekend for the Cat-Griz football game and fought bad roads all the way there and back.  He also froze his toes at the football game.  We were happy to watch the game indoors on TV and super happy that our Cats won.  One of the players that isn't a Montana native called it the greatest rivalry in the nation. 

We babysat Trip while R was gone, and he was a very good doggy.  He seems to be healing well from his broken pelvis.  We were pretty worried about him for awhile, but he's bounced back well.  He and Pete actually played together so that's a good thing.  It's taken awhile for Pete to warm up to Trip.

Yesterday we had to be in Scobey (35 miles east) by 9:00 am and in Glasgow (100 miles south and west from Scobey) by 1:00 pm.  Our morning meeting on our CSP projects lasted until 11:00 so we had just enough time to get to Glasgow, get a quick bite to eat and get to our 1:00 meeting.  That lasted about 5 minutes.  I had a medical appointment at 2:00, we got groceries and headed back home.  It was snowing and blowing the whole way but the roads were clear.

M's parents have been stuck in Rapid City, SD with his sister for the past month while his dad has been doctoring.  He was hospitalized last week and released yesterday.  He was supposed to have a stress test the other day.  M suggested that we just pull out the co-op bill from July or the quote we just got on a new combine and see how he handled that stress!  Always a comedian.  Hopefully, they will get on their way to Arizona soon.

Tomorrow we are leaving for Billings and then on Saturday we'll be going to the lovely island of Kauai where we will be for a week.  Hopefully, the roads to Billings aren't too awful.  After this year from hell, M deserves a good vacation, and I guess I have been nice enough to him that he decided to take me along.  So, our Thanksgiving dinner is nothing fancy and just us and R.  We have to pack and get our ducks in a row.

We have so much to be thankful for, a healthy, loving family, a roof over our head and food on the table.  God has truly blessed us, and we will be eternally grateful for all He has done in our lives.

Okay, I'm Cold Already!

There hasn't been too much excitement around here lately, and we actually had a fairly quiet weekend.  I did have five here for lunch on Friday--our banker, M, C, R and our neighbor, John.  It was pretty much a business lunch.  We were finalizing the paperwork with our banker for the loan for the land we bought recently.  John was here to finish up his state reports and settle up on the custom farming we do for him.  Kind of a relief to have all that stuff behind us.

Saturday M and I moved combines and a header over to Opheim to store in the hangar.  The hangar had been full of wheat, but the boys cleaned it out earlier in the week so we could get machinery put away.  We had a late lunch in Opheim on the way and our niece was waiting tables.  The boys both took the weekend off and did some hunting but weren't successful.

M and the boys finished putting machinery inside for the winter on Monday since the forecast was calling for a change in the weather.  They were predicting 6" of snow yesterday preceded by freezing rain.  Thank goodness we didn't get that.  We did get some snow and wind but not much accumulation.  It has been snowing lightly most of the day today, and the temperature is only in the teens.  I saw some below zero readings in the forecast for next week--NO!!!!

M has been busy hauling calves the past two days and has another load tomorrow.  Then it looks like the cattle hauling should be over for this season.  And then, we're off on vacation!!!!

Beautiful Fall Days

We've had a stretch of gorgeous fall weather.  Warm, sunny, no wind, just wonderful.  I've been thinking it feels more like spring than fall and that maybe those two days of wintry weather are all we're going to get.  People tell me I'm crazy, but a girl can dream......

M has been super busy hauling cows and calves and comes home every night smelling like cow manure (he thinks it turns me on--NOT!).  I've been having a hard time remembering where he is and where he's going.  I hope he knows!  When I complain about all his time away he reminds me that this craziness only lasts a few weeks and then we're going on vacation.  I'm pretty sure he's taking on all this extra work so that he doesn't have to go near his "honey-do" list.  Sad.  He went a fall without a cattle trailer and had all kinds of people calling him so he had to get another one.  Then he had to get a better one.  The deal was he was supposed to sell the first one once he got the second one, but that hasn't happened yet.  I'm ready for him to sell them both!  I guess I shouldn't complain about him working so hard--better than living with a dead beat!

I have been trying to take advantage of the nice weather.  I finally got my fall bulbs planted and did some other work in the flower beds and watered trees.  I have a few more things I need to get stored away for winter and then my fall to-do list will be taken care of.

R finished hauling hay in the dark last night.  I guess he wanted a day off today!  It's a relief to have that job done.  It was CRP hay that had to be off the CRP by Nov. 15 so they were working on a deadline.  Now whatever else gets done this fall is gravy.

I think I'll go out and soak up some more of the sun while I can.

Cows and More Cows

It has been a super busy four days of cowboying around here.  On Friday, we had an auditor from Verified Beef so we could get our NHTC (non-hormone treated cattle) certification.  We were kind of under the gun to get it done because of some confusion and miscommunication and the guy was very helpful.  That went off without a hitch, thank goodness.  Saturday we rounded up our cows and calves and got everything ready for the next morning at our place and at the neighbor's.  We were at the neighbor's until about 7:00 when M remembered that he needed to weld a piece on his stock trailer so we had to run to Richland to the shop and do that.

Sunday morning we were up and at it before sunrise getting the cows sorted from the calves and then the calves sorted by sex and sorting out the heifers we were planning to keep for replacements.  R and C were helping us and J was over helping the neighbor's.  We had to haul them into Scobey to the scale.  Most years I get to help sort and load and then I can go home, but now we have more paperwork to keep track of so I had to go to the scale.  We didn't get there until almost 11:00 and were there until almost 3:00.  The buyer and feeders invited us out for supper so we decided not to go have lunch.  We had a few calves to haul back home so we did that and had snacks and drinks at the neighbor's and then we all went back for supper.  I told M's sister that we were going to supper with the cattle buyer and she said "order chicken."  Shipping is always stressful no matter how good it goes so we all slept well that night!

Today we pregnancy tested the neighbor's cows and ours.  J and R went to help them right away this morning while M, C and I got things ready here.  We had to get the cows in again and round up the heifers.  We then went to the neighbor's and got in on the last 100 of their 300 head.  We had lunch there and then moved back here to do our 150 head.  The vet and his helper are quite the characters and make it interesting and fun.  The vet is from Canada and I always want to make fun of his Canadian accent, eh, but wouldn't want to offend him.  His best comment today was "look at the sun go down over the shit pile."  He usually palpates by hand to check the cows but this time he used an intravaginal ultrasound.  I told him he looked like Iron Man with the battery pack on his back and the goggles.  He let me look through the goggles and see a calf heartbeat.  Very cool!

We've had gorgeous fall weather to get our cow work done, and I've been loving being outdoors.  I bet M never thought he'd see the day when I would rather be out pregnancy testing the cows than go to work, but I was so happy that it was a Monday and I didn't have to go to my job.  The bad news is I'll be cooped up indoors at work for the next three days.  With the shipping and pregnancy testing done, we feel like we can catch our breath for a minute.....before we're off to something else!

Winter Weather

We have been having a taste of winter weather the past couple of days.  We've had high winds, snow and colder temperatures.  It was about 32 yesterday, only in the 20's today.  The wind howled yesterday, all night long and most of today.  M was a bit worried about his cows trying to head home and breaking into his parents' yard so he had R check on them yesterday and give them a bale while he was hauling a load of calves for a neighbor.  He went over first thing this morning to check on them again and give them another bale and check on their water which was frozen.  Then he went to check on our neighbor John's cows and got stuck in a snow bank trying to get them a bale.  There's really not much snow on the ground, it's all blown into drifts.  He was cold when he got home for lunch after digging himself out.

I was hoping I could just hibernate here in my nice warm house, but he recruited me to ride along in the truck while he went for his last load of bales so I could bring the tractor home.  We are now done hauling our own hay, just have the 1000+ for the neighbor.  M and R will start on that tomorrow after M gets back from hauling another load of calves for another neighbor.

Warmer weather and sunny skies are coming soon.  I guess this taste of winter weather is just a reminder that we had better get ready!

Hauling, Hauling, Hauling

The guys have all been busy in the trucks hauling grain, cattle and hay.  They've been so busy that C actually bought another truck.  He and J have been hauling wheat and J and R have also been helping with the hay hauling.  M has done most of the hay hauling and most of the cattle hauling.  We have 150+ bales of our own to get home plus 1000+ bales belonging to our neighbor.  It will be a busy week for cattle as well since this is the time of year when all the ranchers sell their calves and ship them to feeders.  The bad news is we are supposed to have a drastic change in the weather with snow and wind in the forecast this week.  We're not ready!!

I have been busy with my job and doing some yard work and getting things put away.  I dug out some of my iris bed and thinned and replanted.  I have some bulbs on order, but they're not here yet.  I really hope the snow doesn't last so I can get them in the ground.  It's funny that a couple of things in my flower bed are toasted from frost and some things are still blooming.

M's parents headed south this morning, first to South Dakota to see M's sister and then on to Arizona for the winter.  I always hate it when my mother-in-law predicts a change in the weather and then laughs because she's leaving.

It was kind of gray and damp today but relatively warm.  I mentioned to M that it would be nice if it were a nice spring day so we had the prospect of summer instead of the six months of winter that are looming in our future.

More Cows

It's been a busy weekend on the ranch--actually on the neighbor's (John and Holly) ranch.  On Friday we rounded up their cows, all 300+ of them with four 4-wheelers, a motorcyle and two pickups.  It's pretty rugged country with a bog through the middle, but the roundup went pretty smoothly.  I thought I was a goner once.  Holly and I were on one side of the pasture and easily got our bunch rounded up and headed in the right direction.  I could see the bike in the distance trailing a couple of animals so I went to see if they needed help.  It was John herding two bulls.  It was slow going, but he was doing okay.  As I headed back to the big bunch I noticed that a calf had turned back.  It was in some brush, and I wasn't sure John would see it so I tried to catch up to it and turn it back in the right direction.  Easier said that done.  It could run a lot faster in that rough stuff than I could go on the 4-wheeler.  I came over a rise and there was a trench at the bottom.  I was pretty sure I was going ass over teakettle and thought "this is gonna hurt."  Luckily, I didn't wreck but hit hard enough that the back of the box on the 4-wheeler flew open and the fencing box flipped completely over.  I had to stop and pick up some tools.  I considered myself lucky that the sledge hammer didn't clock me.  I tried to catch up with the calf and found myself in the bog and about tipped the 4-wheeler on the side before getting out of there.  I usually get "4-wheeler knees" after a ride, but this time I had "4-wheeler butt"!  And, now the fencing box is cleaned out and neatly organized.

Lucky for me, John was able to intercept the calf and it saw the bulls and followed them.  We then had to trail the herd a couple of miles south to the corral.  We had to laugh at the herd of black moving across the hill with a white cow and calf smack dab in the middle.  That would be Snowflake and her calf.  Holly got stuck in the back with a slow calf that wasn't feeling well.  I think she would have just thrown it on the 4-wheeler and given it a ride if she could have.

We had a sandwich at the Sugar Shack which is an old house on the property (Holly has cute names for things and animals) and got home in time to have a shower and get ready to go out for dinner. 

M decided it would be a good time to have our annual post-harvest family dinner and we invited John and Holly and their helper to come along.  We had good food and great company and a very enjoyable evening.  Some of us were tired and knew we had another busy day in front of us so went home early.  Some others stopped downtown for a few more drinks.

We were at it again by 8:00 am on Saturday.  It took about three hours to sort cows from calves and then heifer calves from steer calves and then heifer calves to sell from heifer calves to keep.  Then we had to run all the calves to sell through and give them their vaccinations and put buttons in their ears and just vaccinate the heifer calves that they were keeping.  That took about another three hours but really went pretty smoothly. My job was to keep the button gun and the vaccinating gun loaded.  We found our cow-calf pair and one of our yearlings which we knew were in with the neighbor's cows.  We also found a calf that belonged to another neighbor.

Holly had chili in the crock pot at the Sugar Shack so we unwound with lunch, loaded up our critters and were home in time to relax on the couch to watch the NASCAR race.  All that fresh air and activity left me ready for bed early.  I think I get a few days to myself now to catch up at home which is good since the maid forgot to show up again!

Another Roundup

Silly me, I thought I might have at least part of the day to catch up on some things at home.  Last night I asked M what HE had planned for today and he said, "WE are vaccinating the rest of the calves."  Okay, there goes my morning at the very least.  This morning he said, "You and Pete can bring the cows while I get things ready at the barn."  I'm pretty sure I gave him a look that showed I was skeptical that that would work.  He had trailed the cows about 7 miles home from our pasture near Richland yesterday, and they were not really in the mood to be moved again.  We have our neighbor's cows across a fence to the south and our stupid heifers across a fence to the north.  Before I even got to the cows they took off running across the road up to the neighbor's fence.  As I was trying to get them away from the fence a calf dove under the fence to the neighbor's pasture and the mama cow jumped over the fence to be with the calf.  I chased the rest of the group up the fence line trying to get them off the fence and heading more northeast.  About that time I saw a cow floundering as if she couldn't get her hind legs under her.  She finally laid down and I left here there to get into the neighbor's pasture to get our pair out.  I also tried to call M but there was no answer so I called his mom and asked her to go to the barn and tell him I needed help.  I was more concerned at that time about the cow that was down.

I headed into the neighbor's pasture and got the pair moving in the right direction away from the neighbor's cows.  I was making Pete ride on the back of the 4-wheeler with me, but he has a bad habit of immediately jumping off as soon as I slow down or stop.  He tried to chase the cow and she didn't appreciate it and came after him and then headed in the wrong direction.  This happened more than once, and by then I was screaming at Pete to get on the 4-wheeler and stay there.  I did finally get the pair to the gate and out and by then the downed cow was up and gone.  M showed up and was trying to get the stupid heifers away from the fence to no avail.  One heifer jumped in with the cows we were trying to move but as we moved them through a gate it turned back so M turned back to put it back in where it was supposed to be.  The rest of the trip was pretty uneventful.  I later asked M if he was going to quit sending me out by myself when I always seem to have to call for backup.  He was just trying to save time, but I don't think it saved us any.

We got that group of cows and calves into the corral and sorted off the calves from the cows and cut out a bull and discovered one bull was missing.  Since we were waiting for R, we brought in another group and cut off the bulls.  R had been at a 21st birthday party so you can imagine how he was feeling today.  Pushing calves was probably not the thing he wanted to do.  Oh well, that's the risk he took.  We got the calves vaccinated and tagged and back with their mothers and went to have lunch with M's parents and J who had been out spraying.

When we came out from having lunch the yard was full of cows.  Uh-oh.  At first we thought they had rubbed a gate down and then realized that they were the ones that were out in the fields grazing and must have heard the commotion and came to see what was going on.  We had left the gate open after the sprayer moved through because we were going to move the cows we were working through there.  We let all the other cows out and sent them all back out to the fields.  No harm done.

I thought there was a chance I could be still be home by 2:30 and get some things done at home, but we had to take a water truck up to J and I had to run to Richland to get surfactant for J.  Then they remembered there were still mustard trucks in the field so we moved those to Richland.  The guys went to the shop to get on the internet to look at some trucks so I cleaned out the fridge in the camper.  Then they decided to move the combines to town.  At that point, M asked if I had stuff to do at home because they could make two trips to get the combines.  It was about 5:00 by then so I thought it was silly for them to do that so I flagged for them to move the combines to town.  We unhooked the headers and started cleaning out some straw and chaff.  I finally got home at 6:30 and then had to give haircuts to R and M.

So, I didn't get anything done at home.  Looks like my next chance will be Sunday, but that's a day of rest, and I might need a rest.

Harvest is OVER! Now on to Cowboying

J finished up the hailed out mustard this afternoon so we are officially done harvesting and the crop year from hell is over.  M is so happy to not have to drive by fields of wheat with the heads tipped over.  He said he'll sleep better now which is a bit of a joke since he almost NEVER has trouble sleeping.  It has been a long, stressful harvest so everyone will feel better now that it's done.

M and I spent the day doing cowboy chores.  We moved one bunch of cows this morning into the fields to graze as long as possible this fall.  We also had to fix some fence and run around and close gates.  We were headed across the hills on the 4-wheelers when I realized the posts that were in the box of my 4-wheeler were no longer there.  M was ahead of me and had just looked back so knew I was behind him just before I turned around to backtrack and find the posts.  I did find them both and then tried to catch up.  I was wondering how long it would be before he noticed I was no longer behind him.  He did notice and turn back to find me.  He teased me about getting lost.  I assured him I wasn't lost but knew he wouldn't be happy if I got to the fence we needed to work on and didn't have the posts.

We got home about 1:00, in time to watch the NASCAR race.  After the race was over, we went to move another group of cows.  In the interest of time, M had me go round up while he checked and closed more gates.  Easier said than done.  When I found the heifers, they were in a corner across a boggy coulee that I couldn't get across.  I tried with the 4-wheeler and fell in a hole and thought I'd never get it out.  I did manage to but didn't want to try again.  Then I tried to find a place that I could cross on foot to no avail.  I tried to send Pete up to them.  He would get almost to them and then come back to me.  I guess he wasn't sure which way to herd them without one of us to guide him.  I finally called M and he went into the fields on the other side of the coulee and chased them on foot.  Of course, they couldn't just cross the coulee, they had to run parallel to it all the way to the fence on the other end.  He finally got them to cross.  We have had a "pet" cow and her calf in with the heifers to keep them in line, and it seemed to have helped.  Today, however, she wasn't herself, and we discovered why.  Her face is full of porcupine quills.  She's probably in pain and not eating well.

I got them headed in the right general direction toward the gate but they had to run into another coulee that I couldn't cross on the 4-wheeler.  I chased them on foot to get them through it and then had to circle around with the 4-wheeler to get back to them.  From there on out they followed the trail to the gate and into the fields.  I had to find the salt and mineral tubs and load them up and take them to where M was and then head home.  It was dark by the time we got home.  A quick little job that took a lot longer than planned!

M thinks he needs to make a priority list for the week ahead because they have so much to do.  It's nice to have a variety of chores, though, instead of riding that combine for 12 hours a day.

Big Yellow Beast

One of the local implement dealers has been trying to get us a New Holland combine to try out.  It finally arrived yesterday afternoon so we had three combines going again.  It seems like a massive yellow beast.  J ran it yesterday but he, M and R all got a turn today.  We're not sure we could ever switch brands since we're so good at working on the John Deeres plus we could practically build another combine with all the spare parts we have on hand.  It's been fun for them to try something new.

There was a chance of rain last night so they were anxious to get as much done as possible.  They finished the neighbor's and another section of our own wheat.  M is happy that now he can turn his cows out into the fields to graze.

We were lucky and got no rain last night or today.  They thought they could finish everything today but it didn't happen.  There was a problem with one of the trucks so the truck drivers couldn't keep up.  J moved the New Holland combine up to the hailed out mustard this evening which is the last of the harvest.  They should finish that easily tomorrow.  Then we will breathe a big sigh of relief and shout a loud "Hallelujah"!

Our nephew headed back home to South Dakota this morning.  He was a big help, and we owe a big thanks to his boss (and our brother-in-law) for loaning him to us for the past two weeks.  I think we wear him out since those city boys apparently can't take the hours we work.

M and I will be moving cows tomorrow and leaving the combining to the boys.  He informed them that we can't get lazy now because we still have a ton of things to get done this fall.  I think the first thing to be done is haircuts all around!

The End is Near

I had to spend the past two days indoors at work so it was good to be out and about today checking the harvest progress.  We've had three combines going all week so things are moving along nicely.  The truck drivers have been kept on the go and P has been manning the grain elevator.  We're hoping that harvest will be over by Sunday.

This morning I helped M move his combine back home and then made lunch and took to the crew.  They are cutting on some of our best land but it's a hell hole to get in and out of there--the truck drivers hate it.  They should finish there tomorrow and then everything that's left will be close to home.  M thought he might need me to drive a truck this afternoon but his uncle was able to keep up so I rode on the combine for a little while and got our production records up to date.  I'm trying to get a jump on that so it's not such a big job when harvest is over.

We had frost this morning, but it turned into another beautiful harvest day.  We need three or four more of those!

Too Old to Cut the Mustard?

We made the move east yesterday.  Now the far east place is done, the far west place is done, and now we just need to work on the stuff in the middle.  R found sieve parts in the wheat yesterday as he was dumping a truck.  This time it was from J's combine.  We sent our nephew to Glasgow for a new sieve while we made the move.  A friend finally showed up to cut yesterday morning so we had three combines going yesterday.  That didn't last long, though, because his combine was having engine trouble today.

They started on some mustard today so the joke always is that M is too old to cut the mustard since J usually ends up doing it, and he hates it.  It doesn't feed into the combine well and it's not fun to dig out if the header gets plugged up.  The crop wasn't the best either, on some sandy ground and it had shelled out some.  The truck drivers weren't too busy today, at least at lunchtime.  After lunch they moved to another piece that may have been better.

It was a beautiful day, warm with no wind, and the forecast looks good for the week.  Keeping our fingers crossed that we can finish this exhausting harvest this week.  At least the end is in sight!

Badly Broken

It wasn't a good day on the harvest front.  My mother-in-law was making lunch and called about 10 am to let me know that there was a hotdish in the oven and the cooler was stocked and ready, and she was on her way to Plentywood for parts because M's combine was broken down.  Not what anyone wanted to hear.  I knew it was going to happen because last night M said "we've had two uneventful days."  He realized something was wrong right after they got moved last night.  This morning he found a chunk of twisted metal in the grain tank--definitely not a good sign!

When I arrived at the field with lunch I could see that it wasn't good since half the inside of the combine was on the ground.  As it turned out, they sent our nephew for the parts so L didn't have to go.  M, C and J were all working on tearing the combine apart in the meantime while R was running the other combine.  The parts arrived shortly after they finished lunch, and then we started putting it all back together.  Our nephew was worth his weight in gold today because he's the smallest of the group so was the one who crawled into the back of the combine to get things back into place.  We got it all back together and realized that something wasn't right and discovered a piece was put back on backwards. As they were taking it apart I had asked how they remembered how it all came apart so that they were sure it all went back together right.  Apparently, someone didn't remember something correctly.  My theory is that you can never have too many heads or too many hands when tackling a project like that.  Finally, about 6:30 M was back in action.  R had a nice peaceful day in the combine instead of in the trucks, and Trip was happy just to be around people and chase the pigeons that were around the grain bin. 

M hasn't been home in three nights but said he's coming home tonight.  Not sure if it's because he misses me or because he needs clean socks and underwear.

Indian Rock Piles?!?!

Harvest continues to roll on.  They have had to make small moves each of the past three days.  Poor L had to help with that on Monday and Tuesday while I was at work so spent many hours in the field.  Today I gave her a break and took my turn.  I made lunch and took it over, and they were ready to move shortly thereafter so I helped with that.  They moved to J's leased land, the last place that was seeded and the place where M got the sprayer stuck.  J saw the tracks for the first time so then understood how stuck the sprayer really was.

I ran grain samples to Opheim to have the protein tested--not as good as the previous place, only 13.4.  I then went to visit my mom.  It had been awhile since I had had time to see her.  We always have enjoyable conversations, mostly about books--so many books, so little time!  I was there a couple of hours and just as I was thinking I should head home, M called to say that his parents were bringing pizzas from Glasgow.  They were in their car so I said I would wait at my mom's and take the pizzas to the field to feed the crew which I did just before dark.

While the guys were having a pizza break, J mentioned the rock piles in the field.  He hit one and a huge rock landed on the canvas of the header and stopped it because it was so big.  He was puzzled as to how a rock that big flipped up onto the header and when he went to move it noticed there were some others piled there.  He thought that a bit odd but continued on and hit another pile and was thinking "what the hell?"  Was someone mad at us and trying to sabotage our equipment or had Indians moved in during the summer and piled them up for some purpose.  No, it was just his dad who had piled the rocks up when he was seeding intending to come with the 4-wheeler and load them up and haul them out and never got to it.  Luckily, nothing was damaged and we all got a laugh over it.  We'd better try to remember to move those rocks after harvest!

Harvest Resumes

After 11 days of no harvesting (yes, 11, I can't believe it), they are back at it.  Today it is sunny, windy and 80+ degrees so it should be a good drying day.  The forecast looks good for the week so our nephew from South Dakota came to help out.  We're hoping to get a third combine to come help, too.  They put the new reels on the headers this week, and they are working well.  I spent most of today outdoors.  First I went for a walk, then mowed the yard and then washed my car.  The gale force winds finally drove me indoors where I have a few chores to do.

Yesterday M, R and I vaccinated another group of calves in the morning.  In the afternoon M, R and J went to haul more hay and M brought in another load this morning.  R brought his dog, Trip, along yesterday.  Three weeks ago he whacked his head on the door of the service truck.  He had a little bump which got bigger and bigger until his eye was swollen shut.  R took him to the vet last week and the vet thought he might have a clotting problem especially given the swelling that occurred when he was neutered.  He sent blood to a lab but the lab results came back normal so now he's not sure what the problem is.  The good news is that the bump is finally going down, but they shaved half his head so he looks a little goofy.  R thinks he needs pet insurance since Trip has had a rough life and just turned 1.

I'm wishing I didn't have to go to work the next two days since the guys will be busy in the field, and I'd rather be there.

Pre-Conditiioning

We had rain again on Wednesday and fog on Thursday and this morning so it's still to wet to cut wheat.  M decided we may as well do our cow work while we had the time.  He had planned to bring the cows home from R's as well as the ones down by Richland, but the road was too muddy to get them to where the rest of the cows were so we will have to work them in two bunches.

Today we worked the ones close to home at the neighbor's.  He bought the land adjoining ours a couple of years ago and built a nice corral system so it worked well to run the cows up there.  R and I got chewed out because we were too efficient and had the cows rounded up and out the gate too quickly.  M was coming with the trailer to haul the bulls home and wasn't where he wanted to be before we had cows coming at him.  I thought it would take longer to round them up and get them to the gate.  We got them down the road and into the corral without incident so it was all okay.

We had to sort the cows from the calves and run all the calves through, give them two vaccinations each and put a button tag in their ears.  Our calves are age- and source-verified this year so require the buttons.  The buttons can be read by a scanner and the calf traced back to us.  We were done with 70 calves by noon with a minimum of mishaps.  R got kicked once, early in the day.  J got stabbed by the M with the vaccinating syringe. Does that eliminate the need for a tetanus shot after he stepped on a nail yesterday?  Two calves got through untouched so we had to sort them out and run them through again.  We also found a steer with one nut still intact so they had to use the bander on it.  No major problems and decent weather.  I made a big deal of the sun shining when we started out, and then it clouded up and got windy.  It's sunny again now but still windy.

They cut out the bulls (two of ours and two of the neighbor's) and hauled them home where L had a great roast beef and potato lunch ready for us.  After lunch M decided they could move the cows from R's so he and R went to do that while Pete and I walked the two miles home--against the wind.  We can start all over again tomorrow after he does some work on his chute.  I always enjoy having a good reason to be outside with my family on a nice day even if we're working.

Building Project

Yesterday M and I took a trip to Havre to pick up finger reels for the combines.  The wet weather has caused the wheat to droop and these reels will help it feed into the combines better.  We were at the shop and ready to go by 8 am.  J had wood on the trailer so had to get that unloaded and then C noticed that the plug for the trailer lights was broken.  Then M noticed that one tire on the trailer was bad.  They put a new plug on but the lights wouldn't work correctly when hooked up to the pickup.  They finally determined that one wire in the plug was in the wrong position so fixed that and put another tire on, and we were ready to roll--an hour and a half later.

As we were driving along south of Opheim I thought I noticed snowflakes.  M assured me that I was seeing things until we went a bit further and there was some white accumulation in the grass along the side of the road.  It snowed hard at times, but eventually turned into rain and it rained all the way to Havre.

There was much discussion as to whether we should get one reel or two.  J told me not to let M buy two.  C called as we were on the road and thought we should get two.  M did eventually decide to get two which came unassembled.  We had lunch in Havre and picked up the reels, then stopped at Big R--M's favorite store.  I like it, too, and found a few things to buy--even some Christmas gifts. 

Today they began the assembly process--think giant Erector Set with bad instructions!  M called me this morning and requested my presence at the shop ("you'd better get in here") to make sure they read the direcctions.  I kept reminding them that I'm not very mechanical.  I'm the girl who rebelled against the college physics class because "I don't care how things work."   Anyway, the reel is 36', built in two 18' halves.  The first half took about 6 hours and the second half took about 2.  We learned a few things along the way!  There was some cursing of our neighbors to the north (Canadians) who manufactured these things when parts didn't fit properly.  We've gone as far as we can until we fit it onto the header, and tomorrow we'll start the second one. 

I was seriously worried about smashing a finger or damaging my new nails, but they came through without a scratch so it's all good!

Another Break

The guys got about 12 hours of work in (8 hours on Monday and 4 on Tuesday) before we had rain again yesterday afternoon.  We knew rain was in the forecast but were hoping the it would hold off for a couple of more days.  Fog has rolled in this morning, and the rest of the week doesn't look good either.  Very frustrating, especially when they are cutting 45 to 50 bushel wheat and some that actually has protein!

Grain price scales are based on 14-protein wheat.  Right now the scales are -40 cents a quarter down, meaning that there is a discount for any grain under 14.  So, 13 protein would be $1.60 off the listed price, 12 protein less $3.20, etc.  So, if the wheat price is only $5.00/bushel and we had 12-protein wheat, we'd get $1.80.  Thank goodness the price is closer to $7.00 right now, but than can change in a hurry.  There is sometimes a 12-protein bid, but some elevators have pulled that lately.  The grain market is affected by what's going on all over the world, weather and yields, etc. 

A friend said the other day that the farmers shouldn't be worrying because they've never not gotten the grain harvested.  There always could be that first time!  Easy for him to say since he doesn't farm anymore.

Last night when I got home from work I called M to see what he was doing.  I told him I thought he was probably somewhere crying in his beer.  He assured me that wasn't the case because he doesn't drink beer anymore, has moved on to Jack Daniels.  I'm beginning to worry about him.......

More Rain

Yesterday we woke up to fog, then it started to drizzle and then rain.  It poured in the middle of the night last night and neither M nor I could sleep.  Today it is gray and cloudy and windy again.  Not good.

I made M sit down this morning, and we worked on our CSP documentation.  We're caught up with that now so that's a good feeling.  He also went through some of the stuff on his desk, and we even cleaned out his closet!  J and C are hauling lentils so maybe they will be able to free up a bin in case we ever get back to harvesting.

Here are the photos I promised, compliments of our brother-in-law, Ray Graff.

There's a new straw boss in town--Pam!

The Farm

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

J and his auntie

 

Christmas in September

There's been a festive mood this week with extra family around.  Last night we all had supper at the in-laws, and it felt like the Christmases we have.  The only ones missing were K who was working and our niece and great niece in South Dakota.  Someone (probably her brother) suggested that we call her and tell her it was just like Christmas but without her.  She would have had a meltdown so her mom wouldn't let us.  A bunch of us had lunch together today and supper again tonight.  Good times.

The guys (and sister) worked on combines yesterday and cut a sample in the afternoon, but it was still too wet to go.  They taught their sister all about welding.  It was fun to hear her take on the family dynamics as they were working together.  She asked J who he listens to when his dad tells him one thing and his uncle tells him something different.  He says he just does what he wants!

They finally started cutting this afternoon and worked until dark when it cooled off and got tough.  Lots of moisture in the air, and there is more rain in the forecast for tonight and tomorrow.  The extra family is leaving in the morning, so harvest will be much less fun from here on out.  Our brother-in-law took a ton of photos while he was here, some of which I will post later.

Rain Again

We weren't lucky enough to miss the rain last night.  Our gauge showed 0.2" but the in-law's showed 0.4".  Then this morning we had gale force winds, and we had cool temps all day, maybe hit 60 degrees.  Finally, this evening the sun was shining and the wind had gone down.

The guys were working in the shop this morning.  J and M picked me up about 2:00 and we went to the in-laws for prime rib sandwiches and ended up staying there visiting with M's sister for the next four hours or so.  She is determined to get them cutting tomorrow, but M says there's no way it will be dry enough for that so I'm not sure what they have planned for the day.  We are longing for the beautiful September weather we had last year.  All I know is that I have to go back to my regular job.

Back At It

We finally got back to cutting on Friday afternoon.  I had mentioned to R the day before that the guys needed to get busy or they were going to kill each other as the nerves were a bit frayed.  He agreed.  Friday morning M was trying to bale some hay barley and peas.  When I picked him up on the way to take lunch to the other guys at the camper he was ready to blow up the baler.  He has struggled with it all summer, some electrical problem, and was at his wits end.   He had J help him work on it after lunch, and I made J promise to not let M blow it up since it does have some trade-in value.  They got it working and he thought he could finish baling but then broke a belt and was done because the wheat was finally dry enough to cut.

Yesterday they were able to cut all day, well almost.  I was riding the combine with M making a bin chart of what wheat was stored where when we smelled burned rubber.  We stopped and got out to check where it was coming from and found a belt rubbing on a pulley because a bracket had broken.  I caught a ride in a truck to get the service truck which was in the previous field, brought it back and they set to work taking things apart and fixing the problem.  Luckily, the belt was a double belt because one side of it was damaged and separated when M started the combine back up.  He's running it that way, but I made a trip to Plentywood today to get a new one just in case.

My in-laws were gone all week and arrived back home last evening along with M's sister and her husband and their son (aka our third son) from South Dakota.  The husband wanted to "experience harvest."  I asked M's sister if she told him harvest wasn't all that fun.  They've been riding the combines and helping out as needed AND he has a prime rib in the oven.  That should take care of lunches for a few days!

We missed rain last night and had a beautiful morning today but now it's cloudy and cool and windy.  I've seen a couple of raindrops on the window, but we're crossing our fingers hoping that we'll miss most of it.  We still have thousands of acres to cut so really want to keep going.

Rain Delay

We had about 3/4" of rain on Saturday night.  On Sunday night, I checked the weather radar and saw two systems, one to the south and one to the west.  I told M that they were both going to miss us.  I was right about that, but we had rain on and off all day Monday and got another 1/2".  Not exactly what we need right now.  As expected, I had to remind M of some things he said he was going to do "if it rains".

Yesterday, M and R planned to pull the bulls from the pasture near Richland and move them home.  They had one cut out and when they tried to get the second one, the first one headed to the water and wouldn't move.  Even Pete couldn't get him out so they left them there, and they may stay there until the water freezes.

This morning M woke me up early to help move the neighbor's cows.  I told him it just wasn't right that I had to get up earlier on my day off than on a work day.  He informed me that I don't have any days off.  Swell!  It was a bit cool and cloudy, 50 degrees when we took off, but it was really pretty nice as long as I had my hood up and my gloves on!.  R and I had the 4-wheelers as well as Pete.  M was in the pickup with Trip.  Not sure how he would do chasing cows.  We rounded the cows up to send them into the fields of hailed out wheat hoping they will clean up the pigeon grass that's coming and the remains of the wheat.  The cows and calves were very cooperative, and it didn't take us long.  We did find a dead cow in the bog.  Not sure what happened there.

More rain was in the forecast for today, but we haven't had any, thank goodness.  Hopefully, we can get back to cutting soon since everyone is getting stressed and crabby because we have so much left to do.

Busy Weekend

Lots of bushels of wheat are in the bins finally.  The guys have cut some of the best wheat ever in some places, 60+ bushels in spots which kept the truck drivers very busy; however, the protein hasn't been too good on what we've tested so far so we'll have to figure out how to keep the elevators from stealing it from us.

Yesterday turned out to be another long day.  They had moved to the far east land we farm, and the crop was not as good.  The truck drivers didn't have far to haul and were easily keeping up so M put R on his combine and picked me up about 11 am to go move the camper back home.  We took a mower over to R's on the way and had lunch in Opheim before picking up the camper.  M wanted me to go up to the field with him so that we could fix a fence and let the cows into the fields that were cut to graze the pigeon grass and grass coulees.  Silly me, I broke an important rule and didn't take a book along, thinking I'd be back home in just a couple of hours.

We took the camper up to the fields and helped C put the lids on some bins that were full and move an auger.  The J called and found a broken piece on the straw chopper that needed to be welded.  Off we go, M, C and me.  They sometimes like my help because I have the long skinny fingers, hands and arms that can reach places some of them can't.  They had to take off shields and a pulley and found a bearing out and then go to the piece that was broken and took it off so M could weld it.  In the process of putting it back on, J got his hand caught.  He had put in a bolt and the other guys apparently thought it would hold the chopper up and it didn't and his hand got caught.  Not two minutes earlier my hand was in there.  It was pretty heavy since there were three guys holding it up.  We eventually got it all back together and sent him on his way.

We finally got to the fencing job and coaxed the cows out into the fields and then moved two pickups to the next field.  M's cousin son who is 13 came out for the weekend so was learning to operate the grain cart.  He has been coming out to the farm since he was in diapers and loves it, and M thinks it's time we start getting him trained. Poor kid had everyone telling him how to do it, and I'm pretty sure none of them gave him the same instructions.  He did okay.

We knew rain was coming so wanted to get as much done as possible.  R had trouble with his header so M went to work on that while I grilled up some burgers for the boys.  We took them out to them about 9 pm, and they worked until about 11 pm when it started raining.

So, I got home about 12 hours after I left and without a book to tide me over!  There were some old farm papers in the camper that I read while waiting for my next assignment, but we need to stock the camper with some more reading material.

My only goal for the weekend was to get my bathroom cleaned, and I finally managed to get that done this afternoon.  No sense having lofty goals around here this time of year.

We had about 3/4" of rain during the night so that will stop us from cutting for a couple of days.  I'm wondering if the guys will remember all the things they said they needed to do "if it rains." 

Fueling Fiasco

Yesterday I delivered lunch and C asked if I could go to Richland and fill the service truck with fuel.  He said it was backed in by the fuel tank already.  Sure, no problem.  I climbed up the side of the truck to reach the fuel tank, trying to hang on with one hand so I didn't fall off and drag the fuel hose up with the other.  Scratched my arm on the headache rack but managed to get the nozzle into the tank and start the pump.  I sat in the truck and finished my book knowing I had plenty of time because the tank holds 400+ gallons so takes awhile to fill.  I went to put my book back in my pickup and then climbed up the truck to check the progress of the filling and no fuel was coming out.  Great!  I think the tank is empty so I call M and ask what to do.  He's surprised that the tank would be empty but really wasn't sure so told me how to hook up the pump for the other tank to the truck battery.

First, I had to get the cover off the battery compartment on the side of the truck.  No problem there.  Then I had to move the truck far enough back so that the battery cable would reach. I backed up until I ran into junk.  I moved some pieces of metal and backed up a bit further.  Still not far enough.  I thought if I straightened the truck out a bit I would maybe gain that extra inch that I needed.  I pulled ahead until I ran into something to try to straighten it out and then backed up as far as I could and the cable would just reach the battery.  I took the cable from the pump and attached the red clamp to the red terminal on the battery.  So far so good.  The black clamp was loose so I had to hold it onto the battery terminal and move it around to make the pump start.  I soon discovered that the red one had to be in just the right position, too.  The pump finally started, but then I had to let go so I could crawl up the truck and put the hose in the tank.  Back down, jiggle the red clamp, attach the black clamp, get a spark, pump starts, whew!  But, I can't tell if there is actually fuel pumping because I'm on the ground holding the clamp and if I let go to check if there is fuel coming out of the hose, the pump will quit.  I do happen to look at the pump and see fuel dripping so I'm pretty sure it's pumping.  Then I'm wondering how long it is going to take to fill the tank while I'm standing there holding the stupid clamp.  I think about moving the truck again and trying to pull it in with it's nose to the tank wondering if the cable will reach that way.  I decide I'd better not do that because if it doesn't work, I'd never be able to get it back in the position it was currently in.  A fly lands on my hand, but I can't shake it off or the pump will quit.  Finally, I let go and go back to the first tank and pound on it and it doesn't sound like it's empty so I turn on that pump and fuel flows again.  So, I take off the battery cable, take out the hose and move the truck forward again, climb the truck to put the other hose in, scratch my arm again while trying not to fall off the truck and proceed to fill the tank.  Nothing to it.

Later I tell M that the first tank wasn't empty, that it just quit pumping for some reason and he said, "oh yeah, C said it did that to him one time, too."  Grrr, he couldn't have thought of that and mentioned it earlier!?!?

Moving East

I have some catching up to do since my last blog was several days ago.  On Sunday I took lunch to the field again and then went to R's to mow.  I raked up some stuff that his dog had found and brought to the yard and then tried to start the mower.  It started and died a couple of times and then the battery was dead so I gave up.  It was 90+ degrees so I didn't really feel like doing it anyway.  I visited with my mom instead.

M and J stayed in the camper on Friday and Saturday nights, but they came home Sunday night since it was supposed to rain.  And, rain it did, over a half inch, so there was no cutting on Monday.  Everyone but M had a day of rest.  They got back to it yesterday afternoon and finished up the lentils today.....big sigh of relief.

M and J camped out again last night and grilled steaks and shared with R.  I'm kind of jealous of the male bonding, but it's good for them.  P, L and I took lunch over today and started moving stuff back to Richland.  J's combine was broke down when we got there so I had to make a flying trip to Glasgow for parts while they had lunch.  J has been trying to convince M that a new(er) combine is needed.  I think he is finally getting the point across after two breakdowns in two days.  R got to run the other combine most of the day while M helped work on J's combine and then drove truck.  C figures it will be the only time all season that M will be in the truck.  C ran the combine for a little while this morning while M was baling and that will probably be his only combine time.

I moved the grain cart back with the pickup and P brought the tractor and baler which took an hour.  There was too much traffic for me and my wide load.  I was wishing it would have been like Monday when I came home from work and saw one other vehicle in those 35 miles.  I always think I'm going to have a nervous breakdown when I have to drive that slow but 30 mph was plenty fast enough pulling the grain cart.  I also worry about falling asleep but was good there, too.  Wish I could read while driving.  We were home maybe an hour and half before we had to go back to move more stuff back--the combines, trucks, service truck and pickups.  I drove the service truck and flagged the combines back.  We traveled back roads where there would be less traffic (how about no traffic) since it would be dark before we got to Richland.  We got there about 9:00 pm, about an hour and a half later.

Tomorrow they plan to service the combines, switch headers and start cutting some wheat.  Some wheat kernels in the bin will make everyone happy, especially if more rain is coming.

Harvest Update

Harvest is progressing, slow but sure.  We woke up to fog on Wednesday and a rain shower on Thursday.  I took full responsibility for the rain since I had washed my car the day before.  C and I agreed that my car will have to be dirty until harvest is over.  Luckily, it was just a sprinkle and they got going earlier that day.  They made the big move west on Thursday afternoon.  The land we farm is spread out 35 miles from east to west, and they moved to the farthest point west that day to start cutting green peas. 

C turned 50 on Thursday, but it wasn't a good day to celebrate so I picked up some take-and-bake pizzas to take for lunch on Friday in celebration of his birthday.  He was thinking that having a birthday this time of year is okay because everyone is too busy to make a big deal of it.  I have a feeling he won't get off that easy.

After lunch I took the service truck to Opheim to get fuel and after taking it back to the field I went to see my mom since I was in the neighborhood.  L hates making the trek over to take lunch so I've been giving her a break.  M and J spent the night in the camper and both reported that they slept well.  I was wondering if they arm wrestled to determine who got the queen size bed and who got the couch.  M said there was no discussion--I guess he pulled the "old man" card.

I went over again today and took lunch.  Both the boys asked "where's Grandma?"  Made me feel really appreciated--not!  I told them that she didn't love them anymore, but they didn't believe me.  They were finishing up the peas and cleaning out the combines just as I got there and started on green lentils.  M was pleased with how they were running.  Previously, they had been cutting red lentils and have never raised green ones before.  J was surprised at how different the plants were.

I had to take the service truck to Opheim for fuel again today after I helped sweep out a grain bin.  It was 90+ degrees so that grain bin felt like a sauna!  R had wanted me to go mow at his house, but it was so hot and windy that I didn't think it was a good day to do that, and by the time I got back with the fuel it was 4:00.  I decided I needed to get home and clean up my kitchen instead.

I need to come up with something for tomorrow's lunch then L is back on duty Monday and Tuesday while I am at work.  M will be camping again tonight and plans to work late since there is a chance of rain tomorrow.  I'm glad he slept well last night because I sure didn't with him gone.

There's Gonna Be a Weddin'

Big news in our world.  J called me this morning and said "K wants me to tell you that she's engaged."  My response after I asked him to repeat that was "to who?"  I asked him at least twice if he was serious, and he assured me that he was.  He then called K and told her to call me because I didn't believe him.  I did talk to her later, and she confirmed and posted a picture of the ring.  We weren't sure it would ever happen although they've been together over two years and have talked about it a lot.  J is pretty tough and gruff and doesn't let his feelings show too much or talk about things much so we're never quite sure what's he's thinking or feeling. 

I took lunch to the field today and fed R after everyone else because he was off dumping a truck.  I asked him if J told him his news, which he hadn't, and when I told him he sputtered "what?" and nearly choked on his pizza.  He doesn't understand how K can put up with J.  Pretty sure that J treats her a lot better then he treats his brother!  We've joked that if J can find someone to put up with him, he'd better get a ring on her finger.  One Christmas, R told her all the reasons that J should not reproduce.  Still she's stayed so it must be love.

She's very good for him, is older, independent and used to doing things on her own.  She works two jobs and can take care of herself.  She can get him to cook, do dishes, fold laundry and make the bed.  Thinks I could never get him to do!  There are times when she'll tell me about things he has said or done, and I'm sure she must be talking about someone other than my son.

No date set yet, and she says J has to pick the date for whenever he thinks we won't be too busy.  I told her she may end up in Cooke City in January in her snowmobile gear or with long johns under her dress.  She wasn't crazy about that idea.  My sister thinks they should get married during the all-school reunion in Opheim next summer--something small and simple with the 1500 people that will be there for the reunion.  I don't think they'll go for that either.  I'm lobbying for the Elvis chapel in Vegas.

K will be a good addition to the family.  I've already got plans to groom her to take over some of my farm responsibilities.  She should maybe run while she has the chance!

"Officially Behind"

The guys are trying to get moving, but the weather has not been cooperating.  We had rain (and a little more hail) on Wednesday and Friday was a cool, damp day with some rain showers.  That meant that we couldn't cut on Saturday.  Instead, we went to Plentywood to look at a camper which we ended up buying and J picked it up on Sunday.  They got back to cutting lentils on Sunday afternoon and finished here by our house, but then we had another shower.  They finished the hail-damaged lentils north of us and began the move west, but those lentils are also hail damaged and weren't quite dry enough.  It's been a hurry-up-and-wait situation. They have been desiccating a little bit every day or so, and the lentils are ripening rapidly as are the later peas so M says we are "officially behind." 

Ready and waiting

They didn't start cutting until after lunch today so this morning they moved some lentils from the aerated bin to a regular bin to make room in case we have more that are only marginally dry enough to cut. There was discussion today about where they're going to put all the grain.  We used every inch of bin room that we had last year, and it looks like we'll be in the same situation again.  Not a bad problem to have, I guess.

I was out for a walk this morning and picked a wildflower bouquet.  It really is nice that the hills are still green and everything isn't burned to a crisp by now like most years.

My mission today was to stock the new (new to us) camper because once they move over to Opheim they will be camping out.  J is usually the one that doesn't want to make the long drive home after a long day, but even M is talking like he'll be camping.  Maybe he's going to pretend he's somewhere fun.  I should probably buy him some marshmallows.

Road Nazi

We live in a world without pavement and drive a lot of gravel roads, especially the six miles between our house and the highway.  Periodically, and not nearly often enough, the county maintainer grades the road to work out the rough spots and spread the gravel out again.  It takes awhile for the tracks to develop again, and I am a firm believer that there is a right way and a wrong way to drive on a newly graded road.  First, you need to take it slow, especially if you meet another vehicle to avoid sending a rock into someone's windshield or peppering them with gravel.  Second, you need to drive on the right side of the road and not down the middle so that proper tracks are established. You should drive with your left wheel in the middle of the road to establish a three-track road.  It drives me crazy when the tracks aren't right, which happens quite a bit, because with the infrequency of maintenance on our road we have to live with those tracks for months at a time.  I have given the lecture to my family before, and they dubbed me the "road nazi."

Last week the maintainer went over our road and once again someone has driven down the middle of the road establishing a two-track road rather than a three-track road.  Apparently, I am not the only one bothered as a neighbor mentioned it to M.  He told the neighbor that his wife was really bothered, too, and should be the road nazi.

I like to blame it on the hyper little mail carrier man (I've seen him drive down the middle of the road) and the neighbor's kids (they're kids), but I know that my family can be guilty as well.  I've thought about posting signs on the road that say "DON'T DRIVE DOWN THE MIDDLE OF THE ROAD" or driving up and down the road several times to establish the tracks myself.  Now I'm thinking I should get a T-shirt proclaiming that I'm the road nazi and go door-to-door and explain the proper way to drive on a freshly graded road.  There aren't too many people in our neighborhood so that shouldn't take long.  It might be fun to stop the border patrol agents and give them a talking to, but they'd probably think I was crazy.  That's okay, so does my family!

Correct

Incorrect

Weathering Harvest

We had another interesting weather day with thunderstorms this morning.  The guys were finally able to start cutting this afternoon.  They tried to cut the lentils here at our house, but they are not quite ready so they moved north a couple of miles to start on the hailed out lentils.  A bit depressing to try to cut it.  We were out all day yesterday with hail insurance adjusters so we have a better idea of what's what.  They took representative samples and counted percentage of lost or broken pods on the mustard and lentils and broken and shattered heads in the wheat to estimate the loss.

M called about 4:30 because he had broken the sickle on his combine and needed the service truck which was at our house.  We started working on the sickle and C came from town to bring the new head.  They welded the sickle together, and we started putting it back together while C went back to town to get a truck.  There was a storm brewing to the north of us.  M kept saying it was going to miss us, but I could heard the thunder and was a bit worried about getting struck by lightning or him getting struck by lightning.  Before long the wind came up and the temperature dropped about 15 degrees, and it started to rain lightly.  I wasn't much help so I headed to the service truck.  It started to rain harder, and it wasn't long before M joined me in the truck.  J was working his way back to to us with his combine in the rain and then hail, some marble size, but thankfully, not much of it.  J eventually made his way to the truck with us.  C was soon back with the truck and the rain stopped so they went back to work on the sickle, but not for long.  Again comes rain so J dumped his combine into the truck.  The rain stopped again so they tried to work again, but the rain started again so they packed up the tools, etc., dumped the lentils from M's combine on the truck, and we headed home.  We heard on the radio that there was a tornado watch for the port of Scobey, some 30 miles to the east.  As we were on our way home we could see clouds that looked like the beginning of a funnel.  Here the hills block our view.  I just looked at the weather service radar, and now it shows a tornado watch for our area.  I'd better go take a look outside.  This is really getting old. 

Harvest Begins

In our world the four seasons are calving, seeding, haying and harvest.  Harvest has officially started here this week.  The guys desiccated lentils on Wednesday so they will hopefully be ready to cut early next week.  That entails spraying the lentils to kill the plant so that it all ripens evenly.  Sometimes the seed pods are dry but the seeds and the plants are still green.  It's important to get them harvested before too many shell out.  Rain and high wind can cause them to shell out so we're praying for none of that; however, the forecast and the sky right now don't look too good.

J went out Wednesday night to "cut a sample" of peas.  We've joked that some years we've harvested the whole crop by cutting a sample to test for moisture and see if it's ready to go.  He also cut some yesterday while M was out scouting for more hail damage.  He didn't find any more but found that what he saw earlier was worse than he thought.  Both combines were going today.  They've finished our peas since we didn't have many acres in this year and have moved to the neighbor's peas and should finish those tomorrow.  We may have to sit a day or two before the lentils are ready.  I have a feeling that this could be a long and drawn out harvest what with the two-week rain delay during seeding.  We have wheat in all stages from nearly ripe to grass green.

We rented a hay-hiker so R has been busy moving bales.  The hay-hiker picks up eight bales so they can bunch them together and have them ready for a truck.  A lot quicker than taking two at a time with the tractor.  We have a lot more bales to deal with this year so it will be money well spent.

Pete and I moved some cows this afternoon and then went to the field to see how the cutting was progressing.  I don't have to help much with the haying so it's been kind of the lull before the storm for me.  Harvest is not my favorite time of year, and the next six weeks promise to be interesting.  Stay tuned......

Oh, Hail

Storms rolled through again yesterday, the first about 3:00 pm.  We watched it coming, and it veered north.  We had a few drops of rain and A LOT of wind.  Shortly thereafter our neighbor to the north called about borrowing a trailer and mentioned that there had been some hailstones at his place.  M decided we should go crop checking so off we went.  The rain began about two miles north of our house where we have mustard and lentils.  There was water standing in the low spots and damage to the mustard and lentils with pods on the ground.  The lentils are very close to being ready to desiccate so we can harvest.  We continued north and west where it was very wet and then south again to some of our other land.  It's a place you don't really want to be when it has rained but we ventured on (in 4-wheel drive).  Again, there was damage to the lentils, but we were unsure if it was from hail, heavy rain or wind or a combination of any of those.  We ended up back in Richland and stopped at the station.  C was there and while we were there P called and said there was hail damage to the north on the land that we farm for another neighbor.

Off we went to check on that and discovered nearly a total loss on 600 acres of wheat.  In the first area the wheat was standing, for the most part, but the heads were blown out.  In the area farther east there was pretty much nothing left.  Some of it looked like it had been eaten off down to the ground.  We suspect that it had been hit during the storm on Monday and again during the current storm.  When P had been up there, he had seen banks of hail.  There is some chem fallow in that area and the furrows from last year were flattened.  The CRP grass was also laid down.

As we headed home from there we stopped to get the tractor and baler and move them home.  We saw in the west another storm building.  As we went to get the loader tractor off a hill and down to a safer location, M said "I've never seen anything like it", meaning two storms in one day.  I actually laughed at him and reminded him that we deal with weather every year and nothing should surprise him.

On the way home it looked like we were driving right into the storm with lots of lightning.  I was a bit nervous to get out of the pickup and get to the house.  When we got in the house we discovered that we had no power.  It was about 8:00 pm by that time, and we hadn't had supper.  We opened the garage door manually and moved the grill inside so we could make some burgers.  The rain hit about then, and we received about 3/4".  M is a weather spotter and the weather service called us twice.  We always feel that's a bad sign that something nasty is heading our way.  The power came on sometime after 10:00 pm, and we had more rain about that time.

R had over an inch of rain at his place but no hail, and there were power lines down near there.  Our land west of him was okay, too, although there was hail around Opheim with damage that we noticed today on our way to Fort Peck Lake.

The good thing about having land spread out for miles is that you don't usually lose everything in one storm.  The bad thing is that several storms can get you in different places.  We didn't have any hail damage last year and were pretty sure we couldn't go two years without any.  The law of averages just hasn't been that good to us, and after all, we live in "next year country."