What Else But Combining

Not complaining that I spend almost every day in the combine, or swather, or tractor. It is normal for this time of year. Weather is pretty nice and the scenery gets better every day. This shot over the steering wheel this afternoon while cutting "Brandon" wheat. New variety for me and I'm impressed with it so far.

Took another photo from up on the bin ladder today while watching the grain fill up to the point where the bin won't hold much more but before the auger  plugs up. My truck driver ready to close the gate when I give the signal. So far, so good. 

Just at a rough calculation I must be half way finished. Heavy rain predicted for the weekend (or earlier) so that will be an unwelcome break from harvest that could set us back who knows how long. Today looked pretty damp and hopeless at first but the sun came out and I was able to finish another wheat field. Early too. In the house by 9:00. I almost felt guilty. But did not want to move machinery another 9 miles down the road in the dark.
I've been shooting a short video clip most days in the field in hopes of stringing it all together into a harvest "vlog" when I get around to editing. With as long as harvest gets to be lately I might have to make it a two part Roosty6 video.
In the meantime, Happy Birthday to The Lazy Farmer

More Lazy Farmer

No, not Budde Shepherd . This is a link to some actual original newsprint clipped from an old paper and pasted into a scrap book many years ago.  They are in pdf but of course copyright rules prevent me from posting them here.
Its rained again. At this rate I will be swathing canola before I have completed the first cutting of hay.
We did get a break to at least get the old crop canola hauled to market last week. All the rain means the gardens are doing well in the area.

In spite of some hot days I managed to get the new (to me) shed on site and leveled. Its not big enough to hold a vehicle or tractor but it will hold some of the important junk I have cluttering the actual work areas of other sheds.

I sort of wasted a day at an auction yesterday. The machine I was interested in was just too huge and complicated looking so I passed it by even though it went cheap enough for what it was. On the positive side I did win the free draw at the end of the auction and came home with  fifty dollars. Enough to pay for the new carb kit that is in the mail for the #Mercury .

Not Quite Fateful Eighth

Well last week's post about the fateful eighth almost came true for some. We missed the worst of it here but south country got some major wind and hail damage. The power was off all night over a large area, including me. About the worst effect here was that the 3 tenths of rain made the gravel roads muddy enough that I didn't want to take my "antique"  IH truck to the museum show and park beside the rest of the real antiques. I drove the "all weather ' Blazer to get there and it was a good sunny afternoon of looking at the classics.

The next two days I was able to get a second application on the chem fallow. Long overdue but still the ground ranged from wet to mud to water as I dragged the sprayer through the field. Dust was non existent. The sloughs have definitely expanded a bit from the last time I was out there in early June. Seems I am getting to be a smaller farmer every year lately. Some places I can barely get through between sloughs with my small and out dated 60 foot sprayer. Not sure how I would deal with it pulling 90 feet but try finding a new 60 foot sprayer!

Hot and humid "jungle weather" the last  few days are pushing the late crop along to maturity. Might be time to get the swather ready to roll. First thing to check, is the AC working?
In other news it was a wild ride for the lazy farmer recently when a mechanical/hydraulic failure almost caused disaster.

Rain On The Window Pane

The rain today puts me in mind of this "Lazy Farmer" story. I should be sitting in my rocking chair as I type this I guess. But then I am not quite yet the lazy farmer. Trying but too many things to do before I get around to it.

I Need To Stop Reading The News

Really, news stories like  this one about a truckload of frozen dead coyotes  spotted in downtown Saskatoon recently. True enough, the driver made a poor choice to leave the load uncovered, knowing how it might offend the delicate sensibilities of some city dwellers. But then the comments turned into an arena for farmer bashing. Ranting on about spoiled rich farmers in their $75,000 pickups who spend most of their year on holidays and the rest of it shooting defenseless wildlife. Yes, it was just that crazy. Trolls no doubt account for some of those inane comments but I think there are also a few normally sensible people out there who just don't have a clue about life outside the city and off pavement, how and where their food comes from. And the ever decreasing number of us who are willing to put up with all the B.S. that is dragging farming down from the life style it used to be.
Don't believe me??? Well here is another site I always come away from feeling a little hopeless lately. Agriville is a discussion forum of mostly Sask. farmers. Younger and smarter than me when it comes to growing and marketing grain. The common theme there lately seems to me that we are finshed, Grain production in central Canada is no longer a viable option since the railways are unable or unwilling to move the grain to ports which apparently is why the price is so low here right now. That is a serious problem in a land-locked province like Sask.
Crop prices have been in a downward spiral since harvest and grain movement seems to be at a standstill. Diesel fuel has taken quite a jump up in price. Fertilizer, while cheaper than it was last spring, is now increasing steadily in price.
On the positive side, farm land prices are higher than they have ever been and outside "investors" are beating down the doors to buy our land. So there you have it.
In other news, the lazy farmer has snow. A little unusual for them.
Looking back in history to late 1972, from the old black and white photo album , hard at work on a new shed.

Stormwalk January 2014

Even though it was cold and windy to the point of dangerous wind chill, I had to edit this video down quite a bit to make is short enough to upload to youtube. When I shot this video a few days ago the sundogs were out which is an indicator of cold conditions. Wind blew so hard that a lot of the snow just blew away. The few places it did settle produced some very hard drifts. I spent an hour or so yesterday with tractor and blade clearing up around the barn and shelter area hoping to get the snow out before the cattle pack it down. My driveway may or may not be passable , I will find out tomorrow maybe. I didn't feel like walking a quarter mile in that freezing wind to see.
While I was out risking frostbite the real lazy farmer was out in a field planting rye grass in a different part of the world, far removed from Sask. . Quite a contrast.

The Continuing Harvest

Yes, harvest continues. It seems a long time ago since I started, almost a month. Statistics likely say that harvest is 99 percent complete in this province. As usual I am slightly out of step with the norm. Numerous breakdowns and unco-operative weather are what I blame it on. The few that are still harvesting have called in help and work with fleets of equipment that make my one man/one combine operation look small and inefficient. Well not just one man. I am at risk of offending my ever reliable truck driver who puts up with driving my 42 year old International truck to haul the grain.
I am actually on the last field and it is flax. Standing flax that could be direct cut if my International combine could actually put it through. That is impossible though and has been discussed at length in previous blog postings here. The John Deere pull type handles it well but having only a pickup header, I have to swath the flax before picking it up. Single 21 foot swaths of course. I have found out to my great displeasure that trying to put double swaths through the combine is more trouble than it is worth. After spending too many hours inside the combine with various saws and hooks laying on straw walkers as comfortable as a bed of nails, I came to that conclusion. My nephew finally brought his "sawzall" which eventually cut through the tightly wrapped straw in the beater.
The deer and possibly the moose have been making their trails through the flax. And the bush rabbits that run ahead of the swather are showing disturbing signs of turning white, a sign of winter approaching. As does the chill in the air when I step out of the cab. The flax seed flows almost like water as it pours out of the unloading auger of the combine into the truck box. Good and dry today. Tomorrow, who knows?
In the meantime, read a few interesting comments by the lazy farmer about why we blog.

A day or two ago in another flax field when the sun was shining, unlike today.

Working The Deer Pasture

As the picture indicates, this summerfallow field got a little out of control and the deer were finding it to be good pasture. It made for a nice photo as the sun came out from under the clouds about an hour before sunset. By the time I finished the field the moonlight was reflecting off the beaver ponds. It was one of the jobs I was able to get at while waiting for the weather to dry up enough to resume harvest. We have fallen victim to bad harvest weather. Rain. And then days of intermittent cloud, not enough wind to dry, just kind of at a standstill. Then when the crop is almost dry enough to bin safely, rain strikes us down again. Not a good place to be when over half the crop is still in the field.
And we are not alone. Similar conditions happening in the lazy farmer's part of the world . As we approach October with shorter, cooler days, less drying, the harvest window closes a little more each passing day.
The deer may have plenty to eat this winter.

I Wonder Why

So many viewers have clicked on my youtube video of swathing barley in 1988 ? I suppose swathing is not so common anymore. Pull type swathing even less common so it may be a strange practice that people just have to learn more about. 75,606 views!  The old harvest video of my uncle and his John Deere 95 has attracted a lot of interest as well. When they made that recording of the " Red River Valley" back in the mid fifties they would never have dreamed it would be the sound track for Uncle Don's harvest video to be viewed thousands of times all over the world. Maybe I should have monetized my youtube videos so I get paid every time someone clicks on one. I have resisted it for a long time since I dislike ads so much myself and don't want to subject others to them just so I can make a few cents. Then I could sit back and just let the money roll in and be a lazy farmer. Unlike the real lazy farmer who I think actually works harder than I do.
Over six inches of rain here in less than a week. Thank goodness I have not cut any hay yet. It would be nice if I had finished spraying crops too but I didn't quite make it.

My uncle's 95 John Deeres as they are today.

A Harrowing Time

The weather continues it's best efforts to drive me insane. Damp and misty this morning but barely wet enough to be a problem . By the time I drove to the end of the driveway there was moisture on the windshield so I stopped, waited, finally headed back to the yard to do something while the weather made up its mind. I don't mind being shut down by real rain but this indecisive weather that keeps me on the edge of doing something is far more annoying. I finally did harrow pack for a couple of hours til the sun came out. Then came home and went to finish seeding flax and then harrow the field to try and pull out some of the wild oats I missed. Can't help feeling that whatever I do on this field I am just re-arranging the deck chairs on the Titanic. Flax is a poor competitor with weeds and this field is contaminated with wild oats that are resistant to the common herbicides. The only option I have is a soil incorporated spray that needs to be applied now before the crop comes up.
Unfortunately it is raining now and forecast to be wet for the next few days so between that and the incessant wind I may not get the chance to spray. Consequently the field will be a weed patch in places. I could re-plant later but it is getting late for wheat. I have plenty of oats seed but obviously that is not an option. There is no herbicide known to man or giant chemical company that will eliminate wild oats from a crop of tame oats.
And in other interesting news I have been mentioned on the latest page of
the lazy farmer blog which should bring me great recognition and prestige.

Snowbanks and Potato Planting

I might be crazy for doing it but I planted a row of potatoes today. Its true , those are snowbanks in the background you see in the photo but I usually try to get at least a few planted the last week in April. Its not exactly a family tradition but most years it turns out ok.
This mixed up spring is keeping us all off the fields so this is the closest I can get to working in the soil. The old roto tiller fired up on the third pull, eager to work the ground. South sloping garden sheltered by the big evergreens had dried nicely . Snow and colder weather in the forecast for tomorrow so I figured its now or never (or at least much later).
Meanwhile, somewhere to the north of me it snowed last night at goldengrainfarm . At the other extreme of agricultural happenings there are good planting conditions in the land of The Lazy Farmer .
I am , as usual, somewhere in the middle.

Spring (and hope) Deferred

I was reminded of one of great Uncle Arthur's old sayings "hope deferred maketh the heart sick" while considering the latest weather forecast. We are already way late on the spring thaw and the latest forecast is for more precip, rain or snow, and clouds for the next five days. Not much hope there at all. The window of opportunity for getting our crops planted in a timely manner diminishes further with each passing day.
A late melt is usually a fast melt meaning more runoff and flooding. I guess I can count my blessings to not live on a flood plain. All our water drains to the Qu'appelle river eventually, after all our sloughs have filled up and run over , so we can usually count on seeding a few acres that stick up amongst the sloughs.
I really should count up the number of times I have had to open my driveway this year.I would suspect it has been one of the busiest winters for the snowblower in nearly 40 years of snow blowing.
We broke record low temperature levels the past couple of nights but I won't comment on global warming or climate change. There is already a good discussion on that subject over at the contrary farmer
This photo is from my latest driveway dig out. Even with that much snow its hard not to be at least a little hopeful when you have this much sunshine and blue sky.
Meanwhile, far to the south of me, the real lazy farmer has been rained out of the field.

Driving The Winter Driveway

The video of these impressive snowbanks along my driveway should be fun to look at this summer when its hot . Middle of March and no sign of winter letting up. More snow coming tonight and no thawing predicted in the near term forecast. Looks like it will be a late spring, and a wet one if flooding predictions are right. Maybe as bad as 2011? I've spent many hours and many gallons of gas running the old tractor and snowblower up and down the driveway numerous times. At least my fellow blogger the lazy farmer is able to get in the field and plant an acre or two.

Beautiful Winter Day

After our first taste of winter on the weekend we are getting a break the past day or so with sunshine and mild temperatures. Nearly up to the thawing point so the snow is settling. I didn't bother to start a tractor to move any, just drove through and made ruts with the 4x4. Another day or so and it might just melt. Maybe I really am the "lazy farmer".
Deer hunting season started up this week. I did a little deer hunting with the camera this afternooon on our wildlife land and saw several including a couple of well antlered Bucks that should make a good trophy for some hunter. Took this picture from over a quarter mile away across the valley on full zoom so it is a little grainy.

Planting potatos to pushing snow

Yes, less than 48 hours ago I was planting potatos in dry soil on a sunny warm day. This morning I will need to get the snow shovel out and clear a path to the barn to feed the cattle. Well, actually I am too lazy to do that and will likely just walk through the heavy wet snow that fell overnight. And is still coming down blown by a strong NW wind. Depressing, but this too shall pass. I guess it was too early to really be spring.
The cows will not be happy but then they complain at the best of times about nothing. This morning they have a reason.
The potatos I planted will be safely insulated under a layer of snow and I guess the extra moisture will help them eventually.
Anyway, today's miserable weather is an excuse to imitate the lazy farmer
 and spend more time indoors. Wait, I think I hear a cow complaining. Time to get out there.

Summer Heat

Seems not long ago we were complaining about the late, cold spring. Today is a real old fashioned summer day with temp near 90 and humidity up to the uncomfortable level. Sitting in the cool basement for a break I thought this cartoon from the "Lazy Farmer " series was appropriate.
I don't know if I'll survive to see the age of eighty-five. And Mirandy won't come through for me because she don't exist, by gee!
Actually haying went pretty well so far. Baling yesterday in the comfort of the cool , dust free cab was quite enjoyable. Some nice hay that had hardly any rain on it. I even shot a little video for youtube when I get it edited and uploaded.  Cutting the hay was a bit of an endurance test with mosquitos and pollen driving me to the limits by the time I quit.
I'm caught up in baling but there is more I could cut. Just have to decide how much more I might need to get the cattle through the winter.
This heat is bad news for the canola crop as the blossoms are really dropping off. It seems to have been a short blooming season anyway. Maybe due to the shallow root system that developed as a result of seeding in the mud.
Of course this weather can bring up summer thunder storms and the threat of the "big white combine" (hail storms) that can wipe out a crop in minutes.
My flax is looking good with the first blue flowers showing up these last few mornings. I don't see a lot of flax seeded locally so maybe I will have a scarce commodity if I'm able to produce a crop of it. Prices are good right now.

The Lazy Farmer

Its amazing the things I have saved over the years. Back in the 60s one of the "big 2" farm weekly newspapers was the Winnipeg Free Press. As a kid, the humour and comic sections were my main interests . For a few years they ran this series of pictures and verse about a fictional "lazy farmer" that I must have felt worth saving. I don't know too many lazy farmers in real life although sometimes I think deep down maybe I am one myself. Only my fear of failure and what the neighbours might think keeps me working enough to make a living.

New Year

Well, made it through Christmas and New years. No resolutions here though. Just keep on doing whatever seems to be working. We got lucky with weather over the holidays. No storms or bad roads although a little frosty. Actually had water dripping through my ceiling one cold morning. Turned out there is enough heat escaping through the ceiling and roof to melt the snow which then freezes at the lower edge of the roof backing up the water which then leaks under the metal sheets. I had to climb up on the roof and shovel about a ton of deep snow off to solve the problem.
I broke the bale spear on my front end loader lifting a hay bale today. Weak metal I guess as I doubt that the hydraulics on a 47 year old tractor lifting small round bales should over-stress a spear thats designed to lift any average round bale. I improvised with the remaining stub spears and a chain to get the hay bales out. Another project for the repair shop I guess.
This post was mainly intended to test if I can post those fancy blue links like the lazy farmer
Ok, I think I have it figured.

Dressed for winter, I spent an afternoon putting oats through the old hammer mill for cattle feed last week.