So, from my last post, you know we had a Labor Day weekend excursion to the mountains while Taylor, Callie and Eli were here. I know they wanted to be in the field with us before they left for home but it didn’t pan out. We did, however, attempt to pick up a bit of millet on Monday. My memory isn’t as good as it used to be but I think that was a short day. We tried but it still needed more time in the sunshine.
This is proso millet prior to being swathed and laid in windrows.
Eleven days ago…
That’s how long it’s been since I actually took the time to sit in front of this screen and share what the heck is going on with the Z Crew.
The girls made it back. They showed up on the 6th and was put to work immediately. It was awfully good to have them back home with us – even though I’m certain they had a great time with friends while they were away. Callie and her group placed 4th in the nation for their Local Chapter Annual Business Report. 4th in the NATION. I’m so proud of her! So, her trip to Chicago was a success.
The days have been long.
Since my last post, we’ve moved to Limon, Colorado – higher elevation, cool nights and no biting flies (oh…and a view of Pikes Peak from the field). Since six days have already come and gone, I’ll take this one day at a time and get caught up.
Yes, you read that right. More rain. It came down in sheets starting just before midnight on Friday night (6/27). Jim was watching the radar and kept me posted how it looked. “Whelp, it looks like it’s raining at the combine but it looks like we won’t get anything here. It’s headed Northeast”. Then he fell asleep on the couch and it began to rain. Well, first I noticed the intense lightning that kept flashing through the closed shades. So I went to the door and realized the storm was headed directly for us.
One of the events that I have come to really enjoy being a part of is the Association of Canadian Custom Harvesters, Inc. convention. It isn’t the warmest location in the world to vacation in December BUT it certainly brings together a lot of great people. And…it shouldn’t surprise you. Custom harvesters (regardless of the country they call home) are a different breed of people – some of the best you’ll ever meet and good to surround yourself with. Jim and I left for Lethbridge, Alberta on Tuesday morning. I waited until the last-minute to pack (like I always seem to do) and Jim set the alarm for 3:00 a.m. The flight left at 6:00 a.m. I went to bed at 1:30. “Good, this will give me an hour and a half to catch some sleep”, or so I thought. I woke up at 2:00 and felt like I had been sleeping for hours. Who knows why I woke up – maybe I was afraid we were going to sleep through the alarm? Tuesday felt like it lasted an entire week. I would catch myself wondering, “did this really just happen this morning”? Continue reading
It’s been 17 days since we arrived in Limon, CO. Today was the first rain day we’ve had since we started. We may have had down time previously but it wasn’t because of rain. We were nearly finished with the acres we had lined up but the daily storms finally caught us yesterday afternoon (Saturday). We had been lucking out with storms all around us but not on us. It rained 1/2 inch yesterday and 1.5 inches today. I think we’re out of commission now for a little while. Today was pure torture for the girls. They had NOTHING to do and it nearly drove them crazy. I, on the other hand, had quite a bit to get caught up with. It took most of the day but it’s done again. I appreciate the days to get caught up on what gets pushed aside while we’re busy in the field.
We had a day off on Friday but we got right back to work on Saturday. Back to the early mornings and late nights due to the 80 mile round trip drive to the field. We had a bit of bad luck last night as we were driving home. Jim hit a fairly large buck – but as luck had it – the service pickup suffered minimal damage. I really think our vehicles are deer magnets!
The wheat is yielding VERY well. Jim said he was seeing 70 – 100 bushels per acre pretty consistently all day. For brief seconds at a time, he was even seeing 180 on his monitor.
