Rain Delay

This is what it looks like behind our house today - and will tomorrow. Equipment is here and ready to combine beans whenever it's dry enough. This morning it was drizzly and then ended up raining off and on during the day and tonight.

I did lots of cleaning today - always battling the dust. Bill did some paperwork, replaced an antennae on a semi, went to Humboldt for a part and even watched some TV after lunch - just waiting and bored!

We Have Grass!

Ripping 2010 Day 1 - Bill had trained me to rip back in the spring and I had just a few practice hours. Today before lunch we had 4 wheel drive tractor/ripping refresher class! After lunch I was out there from 2:00 until 7:15 and did get this field done except for the end rows. It was a 75 acre field and easier than many (not many obstacles). Click on the arrow/video below to get a better idea of what I'm doing.

My job has been upgraded this year! Last year I was chopping stalks and had just started doing a fairly decent job. But over the winter, they sold the stalk chopper and got a new corn head that chops the stalks as you combine which saves a step - and fuel, time, manpower, etc.! Makes lots of sense. The new corn head is working well Bill says.

This tractor has auto steer which means you don't have to steer while going down the row but do have to turn it off and make the turn at each end of the field, then turn it back on. It knows where you are in the field with GPS (Bill says it's like a high end Garmin).

Our yard is starting to get green!!!!!

Working in the Field Today

I had 4 wheel drive tractor driving training 101 for about an hour this morning - taught by Bill. We've had lunch and I'll be out there in a nice straight field without waterways this afternoon! Had more typed for this but lost it in the blink of an eye so will write more tonight! Gotta go!

Home

I had a really nice day to drive home yesterday - and pretty Fall scenery. There were lots of combines working. These pictures are of a guy's yard near Lebanon, IN - lots of stuff to mow around! It's been like this for years!

It was very cloudy and a little misty this morning so Bill & Tim decided not to combine today. Bill decided it would be a good day to go to the Clay County Fair in Spencer. I haven't figured out how it works here - this big county fair is AFTER the state fair by about a month. I'm wondering how this county's champion ribbon winners get to take their entries to the state fair. Maybe to next year's? If anyone reading this knows, please leave a Comment!

It was a little chilly at the fair for walking around but that's better than hot. We had a tenderloin for lunch together and then split up. Bill went to look at equipment and I looked in the buildings. It worked out perfect. I had just gotten done looking around and was riding the shuttle all the way around to see the equipment as we went by :) when he called to say he had seen all he wanted to see. We rode the Skytram round trip to see everything from above and left.

Our laundry room fluorescent light had gone out already so we stopped at Menard's for new bulbs and at Sum Hing on the way home for Chinese. For a cloudy day it was a nice day!

Carmel Library

I had read something that Mom sent me that the Carmel Library had a new golden retriever bronze so I wanted to see it. This first picture is part of the outside of the library and the 2nd one is a sculpture outside. The golden retriever is inside at the entrance of the children's section.





The little girl sitting on the bench reading is inside the entrance and is cute.






Today Mom & I went to lunch in old downtown Carmel and got to sit at a little table right by the window. Then we went shopping for a few things I needed and looked for Colts shirts and "stuff". It's been nice weather the whole time I've been here. The Pilot is loaded and ready to leave tomorrow morning. I'm looking forward to seeing all the equipment working in the fields.

Shades of Harvest

On my drive to Indiana last Thurs., I saw so many shades of Harvest - from bright, green beans that were still growing to beans turning yellow, and corn with the top and bottom third dry but the middle still green to corn that was ready and being harvested. I don't think that I've ever traveled back and forth between Iowa and Indiana at this time of year. Loved it! I can't wait to see all of the equipment busy in the fields when I go back to Iowa this week. Really there was almost nobody working in the fields on the whole way here until about 40 miles west of Carmel. I stopped to take most of these pictures over in that area. There were 2 guys in this tractor with the one waving. They looked happy to be going.



Speaking of busy in the fields, Bill and the other farmers in our area have gotten started this week. Last I heard they had started in beans.











It has been record setting dry here in Carmel. I couldn't believe how brown the yards were when I turned in to mom's subdivision. Saw on the news today that there was a corn field on fire and they're expecting lots more this fall.