We're Done!

Yay, we're done seeding.  Well, technically we have a bit of hay barley to seed tomorrow and some millet for hay that we'll seed later.  But, I think I hauled out my last meal for awhile anyway--that's a good feeling for me!

Last night M gave me chores to do today.  Pretty funny, I thought--count the bulls (to make sure they are all still where they're supposed to be), feed the barn cats, and pet the baby kittens.  Not too complicated or difficult and easily accomplished this morning.  Then I made lunch and took it to the guys.  The only extra running I had to do was to take C to get his semi which had been left a few moves ago.  While there I watched a raccoon commit suicide by running under the trailer.  There was obviously something wrong with it so it was put out of it's misery.

I visited with my mom and my nephew for a little while and then headed home to mow.  It took me about an hour to finish that job.  I generally like to mow when it's warm out so I can put on some shorts and work on my tan.  Not so today--I had on a coat, a hoodie and gloves and was a bit chilled by the time I was done.  Although it was cool and a bit breezy, it was drier than the other day when I tried to mow so it did mow a bit easier.  Now I need to find time to rake up all the clippings.

Tomorrow I'm off to my other job so they'll have to struggle on around here without me.  I hope they're up to it.

Light at the End of the Tunnel

The guys got back to work today, and the end is in sight!!  M did try to get some seeding done on Friday afternoon and worked a couple of hours in drizzle before the ground finally got too sticky and he had to quit.  Then that night we got about 0.3" more rain.  There were some severe storms in the area with some lightning damage to computers, TV's, etc.  We didn't get any of that, thank goodness.

We went to the wedding of one of J's friends Saturday evening.  J was an usher, and while he complained about the job, I think he had a good time hanging out with old friends.  He doesn't get to do that often enough.  It seems weird to me that his friends are getting married--they should still be little boys.  Even weirder to realize that at least three of J's old girlfriends have babies!!  Lots of speculation about whether J and K will be next.  I'll believe it when I see it.

While we were at the wedding reception, the fencer for our neighbor called M to let him know that the pump for the neighbor's stock well was not working.  M agreed to meet him this morning so they could find the problem.  Turns out that the line from the power pole to the pump was fried, probably from a lightning strike.  M had wire so they dug it out and replaced it.  After that he headed to the field and got the boys rounded up.  They had both stayed in Glasgow for the night after the wedding reception.  My mother-in-law is gone, so I'm the head cook.  I took lunch to the field and fed M and J and then read my book while I waited for R and C to get back.  They had gone to pull the truck out that has been stuck in the field for at least a week, or is it two--I've lost track.  They managed to get it out and loaded it with seed.  After they ate, I took the service truck to town to fill the fuel tank and brought it back.  By that time, they were close to finishing the section they were on and were soon ready to move west to R's again.  R and I and K made two trips and got the four trucks moved.  I did have a minute to visit with my mom and start washing some of R's dishes (because he begged and whined) before we headed back to get pickups.

J plans to work late and stay with R for the night.  He's anxious to get finished.  Not sure if they will finish tomorrow, but it's a good feeling to have the end in sight.  Luck was with us today as a rain shower actually missed us.

I had planned to do some baking this afternoon or try to mow some grass or watch the race on TV, none of which happened since I left the house at noon and got home at 9 pm.  I'd better be up early in the morning to do some baking so I have something to feed the guys tomorrow.

A hurricane and now......fog!

We swore that we had a hurricane on Monday night.  The wind was howling and it was raining, and I swore that I wouldn't be able to sleep.  The short night the night before must have helped that.  We received over an inch of rain during the night.  There were various reports around the area of things that blew over.  I was surprised that all I noticed was that my fountain was tipped over.  It was really windy again on Tuesday as I ventured to work.  M had some business to do in town at the Farm Service Agency and met with an older couple to finalize a deal to buy some lots and grain bins in Richland, and he took me to lunch.

Yesterday was a beautiful day.  Sunny, no wind and temps in the 60s.  M and R worked on some fencing and moved some cows.  The newly purchased lots included the junk (treasure?) stored there which included an aluminum boat.  The boys thought that was a fun thing so got it out immediately and took it to the river.  The motor started right up so they used that to string wire across the river.  It's always a dilemma about how they are going to do that.  Last year, R stripped down to his undies and walked across.  The water was too high and too cold to do that this time.  R had his golden retriever puppy swimming for the first time along with Pete.  I enjoyed the day by taking Cruiser for a walk before lunch and after lunch went with M to check the neighbor's cows that had pushed on some fences during the storm.

We also got the riding mower out of the shed and changed the oil, aired up the tires and brought it home.  The back 40 was getting pretty tall and thick and was still plenty damp, but I started mowing.  I made about three, maybe four, rounds around the yard when I started pushing up clippings with the front of the mower.  I stopped and backed up and parts started falling out--a pulley and a belt.  That was the end of my mowing for the day.  I called M, told him I broke the mower, and said I'd come down and help him fence.  He thought I was just trying to butter him up by helping since I broke the mower.  I really wanted a reason to be outside on such a nice day.  The fencing wasn't too difficult as the fence stood up really well during the winter.  Just a couple of breaks to fix.  The hardest part was getting to the fence since it is along the river and the river overflow and pretty boggy.  When we got home he dismantled the mower and took parts to the shop to weld and got it back together so it's ready to go again.  The mower is way older than R, so it may be time to upgrade.

We woke up this morning to wet fog, and it hung around all day.  Not exactly the drying day we needed.  Also not a good day for mowing which I need.  It was cool, too, and I think I saw a little frost on the roof of the pickup.  Oh yeah, the wind was howling...again!!  M had to haul a steer to Wolf Point to the butcher, and then this afternoon the vet was here to test bulls before they go to work.  I've never seen how they test bulls, but I've heard it described, and I will spare you the details.  My important job for the day was to cut J's hair since he is in a wedding this weekend.  Talk about stressing me out--"remember, there are pictures and I can't wear a hat if you screw up."  Like I have ever screwed up a hair cut--wait, yes I have.  I have always cut hair for all my guys, and I always tell them if they complain I'm going to start charging....or, they could go to a professional and PAY for a hair cut.  It turned out okay, though.  I was very careful.

Racing the Rain

The motto around here lately should be "don't make plans".  I had "planned" to go to work today, but those plans got changed.  M and J  got to bed after 1:00 am last night and were up at 4:30 am to head back to the field  since rain was in the forecast again.  They were going to be moving again and requested that I stay home if I could to help if it looked like the rain was going to hold off.

I did stay home from work and was out of the house about 7:00 am to pick up C to go to the sprayer and R to get one of the fertilizer trucks.  Then I took a brisk walk (45 degrees plus wind) to move a second fertilizer truck after helping M fill his drill.  The hours until lunch consisted of moving trucks across muddy trails.  THe fields were only marginally dry enough to be seeding.  After lunch, R and I went to get loads of fertilizer and then went to try to pull out the truck that's been stuck since last week to no avail.  That was my last assignment for the day, and I was home by about 5:00.  Rain was falling in various areas, but didn't really set in until about 6:00 pm, so the guys did get a pretty good day in after all. 

It's raining pretty hard now and the wind is howling and M is sound asleep on the couch.  Maybe I'll make it to work tomorrow.

More Complications

I swear this planting season will never end.  M thought he could probably start seeding again this afternoon since it was sunny and we had 30+ mph winds which should have dried things out a bit.  I went to Richland for fertilizer and Ryan brought the seed truck, and we headed to the field.  J brought another fertilizer truck and R and I were going to come back for the third fertilizer truck if J thought it was dry enough for him to go.  He was checking his drill and realized it was broken, and it took over 4 HOURS to fix it.  It was dark the other night when he stopped so didn't realize there was a problem.  He is getting pretty frustrated, thinking that we'll never get done.  R took M's tractor while M helped J work on his drill and then went to pre-spray at the next field they'll be moving to since C took the weekend off.  It probably won't be too late a night, though, because it is only marginally dry enough for J to go.

It will be a relief to go to my pharmacy job tomorrow, but then the in-laws are leaving so I'll be on my own to take care of everyone.  HELP!!!

Rain....and Mud!

The guys were not fortunate enough last night to miss the rain.  I was looking at the radar and thought if they could miss one shower maybe they could go late in the night and feel like they got something done.  No luck, however.  The rain hit, and they tried to get the trucks out and made it about 50 feet.  Luckily, they had a 4WD pickup so they could get home.

J was out first thing this morning and we set out to try to get the trucks out.  We had to follow a trail through two pastures and then through fields that had just been planted.  It wasn't raining at that time.  We took one to the first gate while J got another one started  (required jumper cables) and left it on the grass and went back to get the third one.  As we headed back it started to rain lightly.  J headed to the quonset and M left his truck at the main road, and we went back to get the third before it got too wet and muddy.  It was raining harder by that time, but we got the trucks back to shelter without incident other than me going sideways a couple of times with the pickup.  I was glad no one saw me! 

This afternoon I planted flowers in the rain. They came in the mail yesterday so I didn't want to let them sit any longer than necessary.  It wasn't raining when I went out to do it, but the rain started as I was planting so I was a bit wet by the time I was done.  Of course, the rain stopped and there was actually some sunshine right after I came in. 

Looks like we'll spend the evening watching NASCAR and going to a graduation party for our neighbor's son instead of burning the midnight oil in the field.

Exhausting days....

The past two days have been eventful and exhausting.  Yesterday I left the house at 7 am and got home for the night at 6 pm.  The place where J was seeding got dumped on with almost an inch of rain in 45 minutes the night before so the first thing we had to do was get his drill and trucks moved out of there back to home where it had only sprinkled.  J, C, uncle and I headed over, 25+ miles west, to move things back.  However, the seed truck got stuck in the field there and is still there since it rained again last night.  That was complication number one for the day.  We also had to move the sprayer and water truck out of there.  I flagged J back home where he discovered a flat tire on the drill so had to run to Richland to get it fixed--complication number two.  In the meantime, M was seeding north and east of here and blew a hydraulic hose so had to run to town and get that fixed--complication number three.  R brought a fertilizer truck to the next spot J would be moving to and I met him there to give him a ride to his next assignment.  As I drove by the sprayer, I noticed C was working on it since it had no pressure--complication number 4.  I took R back to his place to get another fertilizer truck.  L had lunch at the field when we got back.  We were still short a seed truck so M filled his drill and his dad brought the truck to town where R filled it and took it to J.  I think at that point, I got to be home for about an hour.  Then later we had to go to the field where M was to get a truck and two pickups since he was finishing up and was going to move to where J was.  As we headed up there it started to rain and it rained hard, so there was then a mad scramble to get the three fertilizer trucks to shelter.  I think everyone was glad the day was over.

First thing this morning, since it was wet, we went to R's and moved cow-calf pairs from the little pasture by his house to their summer pasture.  While we were doing that, J moved M's tractor and drill since the rain kept him from getting it moved the whole way last night.  C was trying to get the water truck to the sprayer but got stuck and had to leave it so we came and picked him up on our way home as well as J when he got the tractor and drill moved over.  When we got back, L had burgers ready for us so we ate and made a plan for the rest of the day.  I went to town and brought a fertilizer truck to my house until they needed me to bring it over to the field.  They finally got started seeding about 2 pm.  It was still a bit wet but they went anyway.  There is more rain in the forecast and we still have a couple thousand acres to get seeded.

I managed to have enough time to get my lawn mowed and raked before I got the call to bring the truck to the field.  R brought another fertilizer truck and then we brought the empty seed truck back so he could load it again and take it back.  He's on call in case it rains and we need to get the fertilizer trucks inside again.  I think I'm done with field work for the day, but no one did my dishes or folded my laundry or vacuumed while I was gone, so I'd better get started on those chores.