So Close But So Far

I guess I should look on the bright side and be thankful I didn't get soaked riding home on the open tractor. It was threatening thunder storms most of the afternoon while I was raking hay but I figured why wait. I've done that before and nothing happened. There were empty grain bins I could go inside if it did start to rain heavy so I kept on til the job was done. And it didn't rain.
I even dared hope I might make it home, hitch up to the baler and come back to bale the hay. It wouldn't take long. Hay looks nice and green having had no rain at all on it.
But I guess not. I had barely parked the Massey in the quonset and I was hearing raindrops on the metal roof. It didn't amount to much but it might not be over yet. And I guess I'm done as far as baling for today. Once again I'm a day late. If it rains much I can use the time to work on repairing a major breakdown on the haybine. Just one big bearing destroyed  but a big job to take apart just to see if the roller shaft is ruined or not. If so, maybe its time to part it out and look for a replacement. This cattle hobby is getting expensive.

Spraying to Haying

I finally got finished (for now) spraying crops and unhitched Monday morning. Removed the duals from the 2090 and should have probably hitched up to the haybine and cut hay. But I don't usually start til into July. It is a little shorter crop this year since  we have had so little rain. A big change from the past decade when I was always complaining about too much rain.
Luckily the crops are hanging on using subsoil moisture. And it has been mostly below normal temperatures which does not  stress the crops so badly. Those forecasts of a hot and  dry summer were a bit out but its not too  late to come  true. Heat predicted for next week.
According to photo records we are little behind last year as the canola was blooming yellow by this date. I'm not seeing much for flowers yet but any day now.
Wheat prices have taken a real nice jump. They will likely increase quite a bit more now since I just sold the last of mine a couple of days ago. Too bad canola is not doing the same but maybe its just a matter of time if we don't get rain.

Heading home on the grid road in the land of living skies. 

Baling With The 847.

Summer marches on and hay is being made. Between rains I managed to get most of what I will need for this winter. Theres more I could cut but not much point if I don't use it and have to carry it over another year.
The old auction sale baler works pretty well and sure beats the way I used handle little square bales. Nice working inside out of the dust and heat too. Although all those years and multiple thousands of small bales handled in summer heat gave me a real appreciation for the way I do it now.
CBC radio in the background keeps me entertained and informed with no distracting and annoying commercials.
Crops getting just enough rain and not too hot so they are looking pretty good. Although some canola fields are pretty uneven in maturity and will be a real challenge to guess when its time to swath. If the "sky is falling" crowd at agriville  are right, disease and insects will not leave much for us to harvest but mine looks good from the road and thats as close as I am going to look for now. That can be an interesting site to visit but sometimes a little depressing.
Another half inch of rain last night. So far we have missed the hail and tornados but August is traditional for hail and violent thunderstorms in Sask. so....