I think the title of this posting will give you a pretty good view of what’s going on in camp today.
This is a part of the job that tends to wear on me. A day off (or even a couple of days) is always a welcome break. We’re on our 8th day of sitting – except for the two days of moving equipment to Deerfield. We worked pretty hard up to June 2nd which was the day we completed the last field in Arnett – just before the rain. So, I DID enjoy it… for a while.
Me and Callie
Jim and I headed back to Shattuck yesterday a.m. to get the combine and header – and Frank.
The view of Shattuck through the window of the Pete and from a direction I hadn’t seen it from before – North looking South.
The above cloud formation was something we saw nearly every night since Saturday.
Since we finished on Saturday, the past four days seem like they lasted FOREVER! The rain we received on Sunday morning continued on and off nearly every day. We were going to load up yesterday but it rained most of the day so we decided to wait one more day since there was no hurry to get to Deerfield.
Things are pretty low-keyed in the Zeorian camp right now.
Yesterday was a day of being on the road. Callie and I left camp yesterday morning and headed for Woodward, OK. Jim and Taylor had left about an hour earlier to get Frank to his appointment with the mechanic. Frank had a leaky wheel seal and a broken spring. I swear I’ve been treating him nicely…sometimes, though, things start falling apart because of age (believe me, I know).
This morning while I was lying In bed listening to the rain and thunder it made me think about how rain is either a good thing or a bad thing – depending on one’s circumstances.
For me, at that very moment, it was a good thing. It was a pull-the-covers-to-my-chin sort of feeling. I could lay there and not feel bad that we were getting more rain which would extend our stay in Shattuck because the wheat wasn’t getting cut. I knew that before we left the field last night – only ½ hour before the storm hit – the final acre had been cut, the trucks had been dumped, and the combine had most of the field dirt blown off. When I realized there was no reason to feel bad for the rain, I enjoyed it.
Yesterday seems like a week ago and I’m even struggling to remember what we did other than cut wheat.
We finished the smaller of the two fields near Arnett yesterday and moved to the larger one. This field appeared to be a piece of cake. However, it’s yielding 60+ bushels per acre and the straw causes a little bit of an issue at times. So, it feels like I’m creeping when travelling at 3.2 mph. I remember when that speed was tops! The field is relatively flat – no terraces like the rest of them have had. And, the best part, it’s across the road from the elevator.
Today began with a trip to Fargo for fuel and then back to the farm where the combine and header spent the night. A quick fuel up, wiping of the windows and we were off on our 12 mile tour. The final acres we have to cut are on the outskirts of Arnett, OK. Once we arrived at the field, Jim thought the best thing to do was to put the header on the combine and test the wheat’s moisture.
Pretty much a normal day with nothing much to report. We started and finished the field that we had to leave. It was PLENTY dry today! Test weights averaged 62/63 lbs, the protein was really low…7-8% and the average was 40/45 bushels per acre. The field was ROUGH with a lot of terraces. It took us the whole day to cut 135 acres. I like the variation the terraces bring to your day but if it’s time you’re trying to make, the flat fields are by far the best! We’ve got approximately 2 ½ days left of the acres we came to Shattuck for. Then what?? Will we move on or find something more to do around here?
We put in a pretty full day today. It was hot – no wind – and the wheat is plenty dry now. No more worries about green. We can just GO! The test weights remain in the 62 lb range. The field we’ve been working on for the past two days will probably average 50-55 bushels. Not too bad considering this area was suffering from drought this time last year!
