What A Relief!

I've emptied 9 grain bins in the past 24 hours and my back isn't even tired. The grain vac has to be one of the best inventions ever. And what a relief to get rid of that high moisture wheat without any spoilage or beetle infestations. I'd been a little worried about it ever since the weather started to warm up. The small fan did not seem to be doing  much drying even after running a month. The big fan at the West farm did dry some. It all came out of the bin in good condition and is sold to make space for the new crop.
It was a long scenic 100 km round trip to get the grain vac but it was worth it. It was worth shooting a little video as the countryside is half yellow with blooming canola. Clouds were looking their best so this video will make you think all this world's a sunny day.
Now if I can get a day or two without extreme wind so I can get the chem fallow under control maybe I can get back to haying. Hardly a day without a rain shower.

Hot Day In July

Yes, by our standards today was a hot one. I saw mid to high 90s for the first time this year. Humidity was high too and a hot wind blowing. Not good for flowering canola but it did bring on a good old thunderstorm which left me with 6 tenths rain, if I can believe the gauge. It looks wetter. A few hail stones too just to scare us.
Its no use me complaining about the heat over on the ag forums as the guys from Southern U.S. always have me beat for heat and humidity. But they can't figure how I function on the farm in our winters extreme temps either.
I took the drone up for a short flight mid day. Showing the canola which is fading fast in the heat. Some blossom fall-off is normal at this stage but the heat and wind will accentuate it and is hard on the crop.
Still sitting with a broken down haybine and more hay to cut.  I could (and might) use the swather to cut what hay is left but it is a little weak in the wobble box and I don't want to stress it out too bad as it has a couple of hundred acres of canola waiting on it in a few weeks. Combine needs some major disassembly and repair as well. Or do I keep pouring oil through it for another year? Seems lately that everything I own leaks oil. Or anti-freeze.

Crop Spraying/Auction sales/Haying

I think crop spraying is finally slowing down. Not to the point I have unhitched from the sprayer but just taking a break before hitting the chem fallow a second time. Did a poor job on the first application. Amazing the difference it makes leaving out one jug of Roundup from the mix.
Finished the last of the canola last week and shot a bit of video while driving. Plus a little outside taking a close up look at what appears to be herbicide drift damage to my canola from the neighbor's spraying. Contrary to popular belief, the newest sprayer technology is still not immune to high winds and ground speeds.

Looked at a really nice self propelled at an auction a few days ago but could not quite bring myself to spend what it would take to bring it home. 

Nice , well kept equipment, good weather made it an interesting auction but its taken me 24 hours to get over the back ache from all the standing around. I need to remember to sit down on a piece of machinery for a break sometimes. 

Haying has begun, on a very small scale here. Just enough to try out the 40 year old haybine and make sure everything works. It does. Baled up a few small squares along the driveway to replenish the supply in the hayloft that I depleted over the late winter when I had a cow confined in the shelter. 

Naturally laying a few swaths of hay seems to attract rain. Not a lot but just some damp drizzly weather that puts everything on hold until the sun comes back. 

Early canola fields are blooming already. Pictures to follow.