Weather turns nice, things get busy

Well finally the weather gives us a break. Temperature soared to +20F today so I was able to do a bit of catching up on jobs that were not too attractive at below zero temps. Pumping summer diesel out of tractors , adding thinner and pumping it back in. Installing snow blower and spending hours blowing snow off my yard and driveway.
My old reliable Massey Super 90 has developed a major water pump leak so I can't use it to put hay bales out until I fix it. That looks like a difficult job so I removed the front end loader to at least improve the accessibility to the engine. Now I'll have to find an alternative to handle the big bales til the Massey is back on the job. The first option I think will be to install the bale spear on the 3 point hitch of an even older tractor. The 1953 Cockshutt 40 currently has the snowblower on it so I'll have to make that switch. Hopefully we will not get a major blizzard while I have the snowblower off. Just in case we do get snowed in I think I will install the dozer blade on the "new" tractor, my 1980 model 2090 Case. It will push snow clear into next winter and all in the comfort of a heated cab so I guess things will be under control for the time being.
I cheated a bit with this picture, its not from today, or even yesterday. In fact it was taken in 1990. Same yard and tractor (and driver) though.

Whats Wrong With This Picture

No, not the one above showing my neighbour's wheat and my tractor and house. I'm referring to the price of the wheat in the picture. I just got the returns for a semi load and a half of spring wheat and the results are less than inspiring. The gross price per bushel is $3.20 per bushel which I guess is not all that bad for #3 wheat (although I really question the grade as it is sure some nice heavy wheat.
The net price per bushel is a different story. By the time all the deductions such as elevation, rail freight, terminal cleaning, weighing and inspection, are taken into considerations, I end up with the princely sum of $1.70 per bushel. My Dad was getting that much for the same wheat back in the 1960s. True enough, theres a good chance the wheat board will have an interim and final payment coming to us later this year so it may look a little better then. But still, when over half the value of your grain is deducted by the "middle man" it makes me wonder why we are bothering to grow wheat .

Remembrance Day

Remembrance day 2010, the day we remember those who served in the military over the years, both past and present. I missed last years as I was still harvesting. Luckily this year I am finished with harvest and a good thing since we received about a foot of heavy snow in the past 24 hours. So I did not get out today either as the yard is heavy going and highways are not great driving conditions.
The above picture was taken near Oldenburg, Germany, just after the end of WWII. My Dad and a group of the guys from the 18th anti-tank battery sitting around an Archer self propelled gun. No doubt feeling pretty good that the fighting is over and they have survived and looking forward to going home.
My Dad never had a problem discussing his military experience and I wish now I had taken more time to listen or ask questions. He made some life long friends in the 18th anti tank battery and they kept in touch over the years and at reunions.
Dad put down some of his experiences on paper in the last years of his life so we are lucky to have those records along with many photos like this one.
One of these days I hope to put them all together into a book form, just to preserve a little history,, lest we forget.
Going back a little further, heres my grandfather, H. Nevard's wedding photo. 1919, just after he finished his military service in the Canadian army , 195th battalion in WWI.

Another Reprieve from Winter

Great news, last week's snow has mostly melted and its nearly record high temperatures here the past few days. Time for us to catch up on a few jobs that need doing before winter sets in.
Unfortunately that snow last week contained a lot of water that will only add to our already saturated soil problems. Every slough is full and running over to the next one. Culverts and creeks are running like spring time, something I don't ever recall seeing at this time of year.
The wet conditions add to the problems of moving grain. I had to use the big Magnum tractor and borrow a neighbour's huge nylon tow rope to pull a loaded semi of wheat this evening after it became stuck in a patch of mud and melting snow.
That picture above shows the results of my unsuccessful attempt to pile some of the flax straw. The soil surface is so wet that the blade pushes mud into the piles which is not acceptable. Mud causes the straw to stick and wrap on the tractor wheels. Guess it will have to wait til spring (or freeze up).

Long Shadows in Tall Stubble

Could this be the beginning of winter? Looking out the window today I
can believe it. Quarter mile visibility in blowing and falling snow
with temperatures a few degrees below freezing are a major contrast to
a few days ago when this picture was taken. I was baling some wheat straw
and the blue sky with the long shadows over the tall yellow wheat stubble was
pretty impressive.
The old Massey baler made good solid bales as the wheat straw was a little on
the tough side.
Its not unheard of for winter to start in late October in Sask. but I'd
sure appreciate another month of the nice weather we have been getting
for the past while. I was extremely lucky to finish harvest just a couple
of days before this weather change. Yes, the last of the wheat is in the
bin, good yield, not so great quality at #3 but maybe the price will
make up for that.
In fact there are still a few acres of canola swath unharvested but due
to the fact that they are surrounded by water I doubt they will be harvested
this fall, or maybe at all.
Now to keep crossing jobs off the list of things to be done before winter.
Haul gravel for the cattle area, finish cleaning out the shelter, repair
the wind damage on the shelter roof, repair the wind damaged fence, finish
hauling the last of the hay bales home, etc,,,. Theres more but you get the
idea.

Days Grow Short

Old song reference, days grow short when you reach September. (Even shorter in October)
Another busy day trying to get this year's long harvest wrapped up. I spent the morning "scouting the swamps" on the trike. This last field of canola has a 25 acre piece that is almost an island.
Inaccessible except by my fat-tired trike I don't see much chance of getting a combine through all that water. Ironic as once I'm in there the canola swaths are on mostly dry ground.

Its a good year for muskrats and geese. Not sure but the old timers had a saying about muskrat houses and how high they were being an indicator of what type of winter is coming. I've never seen their houses this high before.
These geese are having a fine time gathered around this large body of water on another of my fields as they feast on the last green growth of weeds on the summerfallow. Hunters were having a time this morning too as I heard many shotgun blasts from further north.


My last bit of wheat (50 acres) still stands waiting. Its cut off by a small creek which has been up to now, too wet to consider crossing with a combine or to haul grain across. Today its looking a little more hopeful. As there is no bin space left on that farm and no grain movement at present, I spent the afternoon transferring a bin full of wheat to my home yard. 4 loads done and one to go.
The wind was against me today and the poor old IH Loadstar had to work hard with the heavy loads against the strong west wind. Yesterday I was wishing for wind to take the combine dust away as I combined flax but the wind just disappeared and dust hung in the air. Today I would have appreciated a quiet day but no such luck. Until the last load when the wind dropped to a dead calm. Traffic on the gravel road increased to the point that I could hardly see for dust in the approaching darkness.
Just can't seem to get the timing right.

Another Day in the flax

Today's day in the field was on the swather for a change. Cutting flax with the self propelled IH 4000 swather went reasonably well although cold riding out in the open at temps hovering around 60 degrees. I tried warming up my frozen spam sandwiches by the exhaust manifold of the swather engine but it was not too satisfactory, mainly drying out the bread while still partially frozen in the centre.
Only about an hours work left to do but as the sun was down it was getting hard to see the cutting depth. Also hard to see the water patches before I drove into them. I narrowly escaped getting stuck several times that way.
The crop is a little disappointing with many acres that were drowned out and replaced by wild oats and foxtail which seemed to thrive on excess moisture. Bouncing through the ruts I made back in June with the sprayer was really annoying and luckily did not break anything.
Predictions are that flax will hit some really high prices this winter since there is not a big production anticipated from this years harvest. I hope so. Its been a hard crop to work with and we need a little reward.
Heres a picture from the last day of combining flax. Out amongst the swaths of flax and the water that reflects that typical dark blue of autumn skies.