Unbelievable

We had a little sun this morning but it has been raining again off and on most of the day and evening!!

Bill has been changing oil in the combine, moving corn, went for parts, etc. while waiting for the rain to stop.

I'm getting ready for stamp class Tues. night and looking forward to having Lacey tomorrow morning.

Promotion

With this crazy, now wettest Fall in History, and more rain most of today, yesterday they needed me to learn to drive this tractor and do the ripping! Bette Jo fed all of us lunch again and then Bill gave me a quick, crash course! I was happy that shifting and all is similar to the smaller one I've been driving.

I need more practice with when to lift and lower the ripper when turning at the end of the rows. There are also grassy waterways that you have to lift it for as you go over them. With ripping you're supposed to drive at an angle instead of straight down the rows that have been combined. This tractor has auto steer so it will drive by itself except for turning. I haven't learned how to use auto steer yet but it'll make things easier! My angled line was not very good.

Fun to learn something new! Makes me more valuable to my "employers". Now I can do 2 jobs if needed - and did yesterday.
These videos were taken looking out the front and then the back - click on the arrow on the picture to watch the video.

I got moved back to the stalk chopper later in the afternoon because they started putting the corn in a bin again so that freed up Carl from hauling to the elevator. Unfortunately I had to quit chopping at about 6:15. I ran over a hump of dirt or something and it didn't sound good. So I rode in the combine with Bill until they quit as it was starting to sprinkle.


Things are getting complicated this year due to all the rain. There have been lines of 25 semis and/or wagons at the elevator. The corn is stickier so it unloads slower. The elevator can't get the corn dried and out fast enough to take in more fast enough. Drying in your own bins is taking a long time due to the corn being wet. From what I read in the farm magazines, there can be mold and other problems.

Good Day Tues.

There are some pretty trees here! Found this red one in Algona Mon.

We had sun and a little wind yesterday so that helped us be able to work a whole day - even though it was still in the mud. Friend, Kyle came after he got off work to rip in the field I was finishing up (about 75 acres). Where the rest are working, it takes Tim & Carl both hauling in the semis to keep up with the combine - since the elevator is not close to this field.

I chopped stalks from about 10:30 - 7:00. Bette Jo had all of us for lunch at their house since we were working up north near their house. That was nice of her! It was like a Sun. dinner: ham, some beef w/gravy, cheesy potatoes, green beans, apple salad, rolls, and cherry pie with ice cream.

Sun. I watched about 6 hours of webinars, took notes and took the quizzes so that I'll be certified on our new Stampin' Up! product, My Digital Studio. It's going to be a lot of fun making calendars with photos for gifts, digital scrapbooks and cards once I have a little practice with it. Still have a couple more things to do to get certified - by the end of the month.

I thought this sunset looked nice behind the elevator.

Today the weather is not very promising. It's still kind of foggy at 9:30 so that will keep things wet.

I have a pretty nice work schedule! It's not usually dry enough for chopping stalks until around noon so in the mornings I can do laundry, catch up, make lunch, etc. and then be ready to go! Bill leaves home around 7:00 to get the combine and other equipment ready to go. Pam & Carl show up and all are ready to go on good weather mornings around 9:00.

Harvest Has Begun - Again!

I got this name frame finished for a friend on Fri. She's giving it as a gift to a former co-worker. The letters are stamped and mounted & layered on card stock and other embellishments added that apply to the guy receiving it (fireman, mechanic and he likes motorcycles).



When I delivered it to her Sat., she and her family were putting a new plastic "roof" on their greenhouse so I got to see that process and help a little. It was interesting!











It was finally nice on Sat. but still too wet to combine. Then it started sprinkling again that evening. I was surprised to see this "sunset" during the rain!

They got back to combining finally yesterday around 3:00 and today was good all day! It's still muddy though. Bill just got home at 9:00. He says the drying bins are full so they'll be back to hauling to town tomorrow.

I had to take the Pilot for rear end alignment in Humboldt at 8:00 this morning (there until 11:00) and then to Algona for a dental apptmt. at 1:00. I chopped stalks when I got back and got one field caught up (it had been partially combined) but now there are 2 more fields ready for stalk chopping! The weather's supposed to be good through Wed.

Eagles in the Area

Today is a little brighter but we've seen a little more rain and even snow so far. It's 40 degrees. We've had about 3" of rain in the past 3 days or so - puddles everywhere. The spot where our old house was is settling nicely!

The guys are hauling corn out of the grain bins. Why did they put it in there if they're hauling it out already? If you have grains bins, you can work later at night by putting it into the grain bins if you're working close to them - since the elevator doesn't stay open as late as you can sometimes work. It doesn't take very long to fill 2 semis and the grain cart. The grain bins dry the corn too. Otherwise you have to pay the elevator to dry it. They test each load as it's brought in. Like anything else, there are so many details to learn about with farming.

A couple of weeks ago, Bill was driving by the neighbor's house and spotted these 2 eagles up in their dead tree. He called me so I could call them and Amy got a couple of pictures of them before they flew away! Nice in front of that blue sky. She hasn't seen them since.

Everyone is talking about the big "cat" that Bill, Carl & Pam saw in our field. Bill sure wishes he'd see it again - with gun in hand. A neighbor to our west a couple miles had seen one right outside her house a few months ago. People are wondering if it's safe to walk on the trail.

The Colts games is not on here this weekend - Kansas City instead. Not happy.

Soup for a Dreary Day

It's another rainy, windy, muddy, dreary day here - a really bad day for farming but a good day for soup in the crock pot. My Aunt Jan makes really good potato soup, and I use her recipe too. This recipe came from someone here and is a creamier one that uses frozen hash browns so eliminates the boiling the potatoes step. I don't make this often since it has to have tons of calories! I've got ingredients in the bread machine for warm honey wheat bread to go with the soup tonight.

I cut the recipe in half so this amount makes one crock pot full.

POTATO SOUP

2 cans (12 oz.) evaporated milk
2 cans cream of chicken soup
4 strips crumbled cooked bacon
1 c. cubed ham
2 chicken bouillon cubes
1/8 c. onion flakes
1 T. parsley flakes
1/4 c. butter (half a stick)
garlic salt
2 c. water
1 lb. frozen, chunky hash browns, thawed (1/2 pkg.)

Whisk soup and evaporated milk in a crock pot. Add bacon (with grease), ham, bouillon cubes, onion flakes, parsley, garlic salt & butter. Cook in crock pot on Low for about 4 hours.

* I cook my bacon in the microwave on paper towels so I don't add bacon grease, I use an 8 oz. pkg. of diced ham (smaller than cubed) and I use garlic powder instead of garlic salt.

More Rain

Yesterday as I was nearing the bridge below Bill's mom's house, it looked like the rear end of a cow close to the bridge! Sure enough, a neighbor's calf was out. There had been another one getting out off and on and wandering into Peggy's yard - it has been sold!

Another rain delay. It started sprinkling around 6:00 last evening. I only needed an hour more and I would've finished the field I was chopping stalks in. Bill, Tim & Pam were able to get the 2 semis and grain cart filled after the elevator closed at 6:00. But it rained about all night and has been today off and on. A little over 800 acres of corn to go.

We've been catching up on things. We're happy that the auto steer for the 4 wheel drive tractor came back by UPS today and also our new wireless router. We've been having to go down to the utility room to connect to the Internet for a couple days. Our old router was over 4 years old. We've been told they usually last only about 2. Just got the new one installed.

I bought this very pretty squash at the Farmers Market a while back. The lady selling them told me it's very similar to acorn squash which we like. I baked it yesterday. She was right, it was good but think we like acorn squash a little better.

Lots of Action Today

Everyone is working as fast as possible in the nice weather since yesterday about noon - with more rain to come. There is word of possible rain tonight - or by Wed. for sure!

We weren't the only ones having to dump on the road. Tim went through these guys' field with the tractor rather than waiting. Kids were riding with this guy - looked like they were all having fun.

It was really windy yesterday so my tractor overheated - probably from too much trash (corn leaves, silks, etc.) getting through the screens on the sides. We had to take it to our house so Tim could use the hose to get it flushed out good. No problems after that.

This is something I hadn't seen yet! I was done chopping stalks the other night and cleaning all the trash off the stalk cutter. Tim drove up, said he'd take care of that and whipped out a leaf blower! Here he's using it to clean out the inside of the tractor.

Today Carl was ripping the field only a few rows behind me. That means we're caught up with what the combine has done. When I got done there and Carl was going to move the stalk cutter to another location for me (lots of farm traffic on the roads today and I haven't done much driving on the road!), Carl noticed that an inside big tire was flat!! I couldn't tell it when driving in the field! So we dropped that off to hopefully be fixed, and we hope tomorrow morning. (it was 5:10)

I took food to Bill & Tim in the field around 7:30. That is their last bean field. They only had 10 acres to go so should get that done tonight if there aren't any problems.

Dad

Dad died 2 years ago today - just a little over 3 months after we got married. He really liked Bill and would've liked keeping up with our farming.

Bill & I went to Naples, FL and stayed with Mom & Dad that year and had fun on this airboat ride through the everglades.

The bottom picture is Dad getting the Distinguished Alumni award in 2007 from his high school (in Freelandville, IN).

The Sun is Still There

The sun finally came back late this afternoon! In the meantime, everyone was slipping and sliding in the mud. Bill had been telling me that the combine looked really bad (dirty). He's right. The tires of everything are all muddy with corn leaves stuck to them. I went to a baby shower in Poky and then stopped by the field. The combine had quit, and 2 John Deere mechanics were just getting there. They got it fixed - some kind of electrical gremlin. Bill & Tim got that field finished and moved the combine & semis to Bill's mom's yard.

Tomorrow is supposed to be sunny, warmer and windy. Bill hopes to switch back to beans - and maybe get done with them. The elevator will be open from 10:00 - 5:00.

This picture was taken as the moon came up several days ago.

Combining in Wet Weather

Bill & Tim have been combining this afternoon in off and on sprinkles. The elevator stayed open until 6:00. Bill said it was actually going pretty well considering the mud. Tomorrow through Mon. are supposed to be good days. We hope so!

This is a picture of all of the stuff I came home with when I went to St. Louis for a stamping weekend with other Stampin' Up! demonstrators recently. We made over 40 cards and about 25 other projects!

Check my web site (above right) for current specials, to see our catalog and Holiday Mini and to order online. Also read about our newest product/software for doing digital (fast!) scrapbooking, calendars, cards & more - My Digital Studio!

Loose Horses

I was driving through and out of town the other day and just happened to see these horses loose and munching on grass next to this house! They belong in a corral behind the house. This street is at the edge of town.

Forgot to mention that when the guys were last combining behind our house 2 days ago, Bill & Pam saw 3 deer, a couple rabbits, a coyote and a mystery animal the size of a Lab, tan color - maybe a small cougar. Whenever driving here, you usually see wildlife of some sort crossing the road or along the side. Have been seeing lots of deer lately as their hiding places in the corn are shrinking.

Bill asked if I wanted to go out to eat tonight and then surprised me by taking me to Sum Hing! He didn't use to like Chinese food but has found Sweet & Sour Chicken, Pork & Shrimp. He always said that he got hungry too soon after eating Chinese. It was so funny the first time we had Chinese here together; his fortune said "Soon you will be hungry"!!!! Still laugh about that.

Crazy October Weather

It's been a busy but different couple of days since I last posted. After waiting until things dried some yesterday, the guys got the rest of our corn field combined. I then got the stalks all chopped and Carl got quite a bit of the field ripped. He did find there was a problem with the auto steer on the 4 wheel drive tractor though. Bill talked to technical help on the phone today, and we ended up having to ship the control box off for repair (still under warranty).

Last evening I took food out to Bill & Tim and then headed to my P.E.O. meeting. The guys were planning to combine beans late but it started snowing A LOT around 7:30 so that was the end of that. Bill tells me that snow stops everything. Got 65 acres of beans done last night (about 90 left).

I was gone most of today. This morning I got a flu shot in Humboldt. Needed to go to Poky too and while there picked up a couple of stamping items from a customer that she needs to exchange. Got home and packed them up plus Bill's auto steer and headed to the post office and West Bend for parts.


In the first picture, I'm getting ready to cross our creek to go chop stalks. I took the video as I was driving - kind of hard to do that while driving. Everyone says they want a picture of me driving a tractor because they can't believe it. As you can see, no one is usually in the same field with me to take my picture but this is my hand on the steering wheel! After being at a desk for years, I love working outside and doing something different now!

Around 6:00 tonight, they decided to try to combine but it's sprinkling again now with rain getting close on the radar so Bill is home already.

Early Snow

We have another delay but for snow not rain!! We had light snow until about noon today so no field work. We have 160 more acres of beans to do. This weather is not good for them. This afternoon, Bill installed sensors in the tank of the combine. They'll let him know when corn is up to the top so it won't spill over.

This is the intake I ran over the other day. Bill says the cost of a new one is going to come out of my pay!

We're already really enjoying our stove in the great room. The fire is cozy and it warms up the area in a hurry! It's a propane stove so it has the fake gas logs and will even run when the electricity goes out. It's on a thermostat just like you'd have for a furnace.

I finally programmed the furnace thermostat which was easy and didn't require reading the instructions. We've had so many new things at once that we're tired of reading the books! It's nice to have the temp. go down automatically at night and warm up before we get up in the morning.

UPDATE at 5:00: they have just gone out to try to combine corn here at our house.

The Combine

You wouldn't think so, but farming is one of the top 5 most dangerous occupations. This combine fire happened somewhere in our part of Iowa. It had 10' of flames coming out the back when it caught on fire.

When riding with Bill for the first time this Fall, I noticed a few things that were different with the combine (one year old but new to us this year) like the smaller steering wheel which is easier to see around. It can go 5-6 mph in dry beans. It seems like you're really moving! For the farmers: it has more and better lights, a bigger tank, faster unloading, a better seat for the driver but not the passenger (there is a small seat for riders!), wider bean platform and Bill added that it has more bells & whistles than he knows what to do with, higher fuel consumption and higher payments!

Yesterday we had a little snow on the roofs in the morning but luckily not enough to affect combining. We were up at 6:30 and Bill got home about 11:15 so some long days - but it's only for about a month & a half or so. Last night it got down into the 20's. The weather isn't cooperating real well this year. More rain is forecast for this week. The elevator is open today from 1:00-5:00 so Bill & Tim are working. Still have a few more bean fields to do.

Intake Snapped in Two!

Picture of Mr. Pumpkin - first year to use him in Iowa. Didn't have a plug in to use for him at the old house!

Today was the first day of the new lunch schedule. Our helpers during Harvest, Pam & Carl are now eating together at our house on Thurs., Fri., Sat. and at Tim & Bette Jo's on Mon. Tues., Wed. So today was lunch at our house vs. one of them at each house every day. Should work good.

Today was also the first day for me to chop (corn) stalks this season. I had Bill give me a quick lesson again, but I was hoping it would be like riding a bike! It was, kind of. I hope I get better at it! Last year, my first year, he always told me where intakes were. Today, they are concerned about possible snow tomorrow and trying to figure out which hail damaged field to do next and were getting ready to move from our corn to a bean field when I got started so . . . he didn't think about intakes. I should've known though but was thinking "you go through the grass/waterways". So when I came to tall grass, I thought it was just taller than usual and it was just a little patch! (didn't see the bright orange intake in the middle of it!) Pop! It hit the cab/broke in half! Not good! The only other incident was hitting a big hole - with a front tire. Also not good! Luckily the stalk cutter seemed okay - it was cutting the stalks - so I got finished at sunset (another pretty one). Hope my 2nd day is better!

Then took a sandwich to Bill where he was combining beans. Tim was still there too driving the grain cart. I ended up staying until they quit about 10:00 - to help with moving equipment. They had to park the semis on the road today - dump from the combine into the grain cart and unload into the semis on the road. The semis are too heavy when the fields are muddy/soft. (gravel road so not much traffic)

More Rain

We woke up and heard rain early this morning - ended up being about 1/2" - so more mud and puddles and no combining. It didn't last long and the sun has been out this afternoon, but it is very cool.

Just some misc. Fall pictures. Liked the light and colors of the one with the truck. Bill's doing the end rows next to our grove in the next one.

Today was the last Farmers Market. The Friends of the Library also had a soup supper - chili or chicken noodle soup. Good day for that! I brought some home for tonight.





Tim is checking out the apples on the neighbor's apple tree. The apples looked really good! He said they are sweet.

Sun! - Back to Work

The sun was already shining bright when we got up early this morning and there was wind which was good! Back to the fields! We had frost at about 8 am. They started out at the bin site and after filling a grain bin, then moved here to our house. I had just gotten done mowing/muddin' here and had not started painting the propane tank yet so that worked out well (too much dust to paint). I had sprayed one coat of rust retardant on but it was dry.

In the background of this picture is the white building north of our house. Bill just stores stuff in it.

Earlier when I told Bill I was going to try to mow, he said not to call them if I got stuck - which meant "just leave it, we don't have time to mess with that". It was pretty muddy in a couple spots! Glad to get that done. The fire dept. was called to a mower fire this afternoon - someone Bill farms for.

Some of the hail damaged corn here has too high of moisture content and the yield is low, but it's good to get it out before potentially bad weather. More rain is forecast for this week. They hope to change back to combining beans tomorrow since they really go downhill the later it gets. They are only about half done with beans.

The elevator is closing at 5:00. With corn, they run after that until they fill up both semis and the grain cart. They can be covered with the tarps that roll across the top of them. Then the corn is taken to the elevator first thing in the morning (usually by Tim). Bill combines later at night if he can, and Tim gets going earlier in the morning. Bill will get the combine ready to go in the mornings (while Tim is hauling) which involves greasing, fueling, washing windows, checking chains and just general check over. 2 videos from today.

Fall Display

This is about the only thing that looks like Fall right now since it's still too wet for combining - raining off and on.

This gazebo is in the middle of town at the 4 way stop. They hope these pumpkins are too heavy for kids to mess with. Dad would've liked the gazebo - he liked fall displays.

I'm making Bill's favorite for lunch, Gooey Chicken. I call it Icky Sticky Chicken since it's made with 3 soups and rice and I'm not a fan of rice! It does smell good though.

He's doing odds and ends today, and I'm getting ready for stamp class tonight. We're having the October traditional apple crisp and ice cream for dessert at class.

Flowers Come Back

Sill no harvesting - since last Wed. We haven't had much sun or warmth since then and more rain tonight off and on.

Remember the hail damage on July 22nd? This was a flower bed on a corner in town after the hail. Below is the same corner now. The flowers have come back. Soon we'll know how the corn fared. The insurance adjuster said 65% damage to the corn at our house. The undamaged beans have been doing well.

Bill helped with an after school program for kids today. The firemen showed them some things. He had just gotten home and sat down to eat tonight when the fire pager went off - house fire. It's 48 degrees and raining off and on. Would be a bad night to fight a fire. Have heard on the scanner now though that it was probably a furnace problem and just smoke so that's good.

I'm getting ready for the monthly stamp class that's here tomorrow night.

Buffalo

Yesterday I went to lunch in Algona with some friends and then Rob, Ross & Reed were here in the afternoon/evening for a while. They wanted "brunch food". They say they like college.

This last week, one of the semis' radiator had to be replaced so they brought out the grain cart and 2 wagons to dump the beans into along with the other semi. Not as handy, but it works.

There has been no field work for 4 days - has been too wet. We do have some sun today and a couple guys are combining corn. Tim & Bill have been working on the semi, doing bookwork & misc.










I headed to Humboldt early Wed. morning to get the new tires on the Pilot aligned. These buffalo are at a house on the way. Think there are 3. I did a double take when I saw them and had to get a picture.

One of the couples that Bill & Tim farm for who live in Des Moines now were here Wed. They invited all of us including wives, Peggy, Carl & Pam to lunch at the local cafe and then stopped by to see our house. They like to get here once in the Fall to see their farm and all of the action. It's always fun to see them.

The Trailer

Last Sun. in church I met a man who was visiting. In the conversation, he asked if my farmer husband had any of the trailers that his co. in Humboldt makes that you use to move your corn or bean heads from field to field. I said "no, don't think so". Came home and asked Bill and he said "yes, we do". Well, this week I finally got a chance to ride in the combine for a few hours and move from one field to another and then to another and got to see this trailer and what it's all about! (I don't know why I didn't see it last fall?) I guess they used one of this guy's first "kits" to make theirs - different from what he's selling now. I think they have 2 - one for the bean head and one for the corn. They store them on the trailers too.

The combine is too wide to go down the road and meet cars so they put the head on the trailer. These 2 pictures show the combine without the head and then the trailer with bean head being pulled by the pickup.

The first video shows Bill trying to get lined up right to hook up to the head. The 2nd one shows getting hooked up and lifting it off the trailer. I was impressed and glad that now I do know we have this thing! It was evening when I took these videos so they're a little dark.

Christmas Card Swap

Combining beans has been going well until rain today. I've been learning more - and taking pictures, of course, so check back tomorrow!

The project I've been working on is a Christmas Card Swap with 24 of my downline. They signed up to send me a set of 12 Christmas cards by this past Mon. By Mon. they had all arrived on schedule - 288 cards! I had 24 piles of cards laying on 2 long tables. I "swapped" them so everyone will receive 12 different cards back. They were mailed back out yesterday. Again, these are all card samples so that our customers can see the stamps we sell used in various ways.


This is the card I made for the swap, using our Scenic Season set, Big Shot top note die, night of navy Craft ink and iridescent ice embossing powder. The moon was done by punching a circle out of a post it note, laying it where I wanted the moon, and sponging navy Classic ink around it for the sky.

We are required to put a watermark over our photos of cards shown on blogs, etc. I've been needing to learn how to do that forever. I haven't done much photo editing yet (need to learn). So I'm excited that I finally have a watermark on my card! Now I just have to figure out how to resize it!