Sunday, October 20, 2013

#173, The End is Near!

  As I sit here, hunting and pecking this out, I have one field left to combine. That's not to say, by the time you read this I won't be done, because honestly, it's been pretty damned hard to find the time to write. Add to that, I've become so focused toward finally completing my harvest, any spark of inspiration or wit burning in my imagination has been temporarily snuffed out by lung-fulls of grain dust, sometime when I wasn't paying attention.

  Before you read the next paragraphs, I want you to know, I don't consider myself driven. In fact, I might even be leaning toward the lazy side. And while I've been combining my ass off at every available opportunity, I can't keep from thinking if I was a harder worker, I may be done by now. I'm just saying, a Sunday on the couch with my wife and a stack of movies is looking pretty damned attractive right now, even though the end of combining doesn't mean that's any closer.

  Anyways, the last three nights haven't gone so well. Thursday around midnight, the cab of my combine filled with the distinct smell of smoke. I spent a good half hour going over things but there was no sign of anything burning. I decided to continue, but before I finished the round, was shut down buy the sound of banging and clanging. Unless you're in the drum corps, banging and clanging are not good sounds. So I went home and tried to sleep with my memory filled with all of the images of combines burnt to a crisp, mid swath, that had flooded my twitter timeline over the last month.

  Friday night, at 4:00 am, (which I know is technically Saturday morning, but the days are all sort of running together here) as I was unloading canola, again with the banging and clanging. In the hopper tank of my combine, there is metal slide that helps distribute the grain evenly in the hopper. That broke loose, and was eaten up by the auger. So I got shut down again.

That doesn't belong in there.


  Last night, (Saturday) I was trying to clean up the last of my wheat, and it was trying to rain. I had so little left, and the more it drizzled, the more difficult it got to get the crop into the combine. Wet crop doesn't slide as well as it needs to, to get where it needs to go. You're not supposed to combine in the rain, and I probably looked like an idiot. Then half my lights went out, and the slip clutch fell apart.

  On the bright side, my combine didn't burn to the ground, and the Thursday banging and clanging wasn't such a difficult fix, so it didn't take too long to get going again. Friday night, 4;00 am banging and clanging, was easily fixed by cutting the slide out of the auger with the cutting torch, and everything still works without the slide, so not so bad either. Saturady night, I was able to patch the slip clutch back together enough to finish the field with the lights I had left, and even though the straw was getting quite damp and hard to get through, turned out the wheat was still dry. So that was good.

  When I eagerly began this harvest I remember the moon was full and bright in the sky. Now the moon is full again, and I'm eagerly anticipating the end of harvest. Granted, I lost a couple weeks in there, because of rain, but it's been a long-assed haul. I'm ready to be done. I have one field to go, and weather permitting, and if everything hangs together, I should finish on Monday. The light at the end of the tunnel is in sight, and I'm headed in that direction. Cross your fingers.

  ...........also, when you're combining between midnight and 4:00 am, majestic Mr. Owl likes to fly in and sit on the side of the truck and watch me combine. Apparently when I leave, he also likes to sit on the combine. I can tell by the nasty gift he left me on the deck plates in front of my door the next morning.

12 comments:

  1. The breaks just went out on our truck, which neatly derailed our plans to use said truck for things. I could not imagine dealing with all the machines you have to keeping running. I would probably end up trying to guilt trip the crops into combining themselves and then go bankrupt when that failed to work.

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    1. Hi Holly,

      Meh.....brakes are overrated. :)

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  2. It's amazing that you can keep all your machines in proper working order, but I imagine that's just part of the job.

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    1. Hi Stephen,

      It is part of the job, but there are certainly times when when I question my ability to complete that task.

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  3. I know when the machines aren't running nothing gets done. That isn't good, especially when time is of the essence. I must say, I have a lot of respect for what you do...thanks.

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    1. Thanks McGuffy Ann,

      I appreciate that. :)

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  4. Ken, my hard-working friend,
    You may not see yourself as 'driven' but you sure are the hardest working farmer I know!!! This post blew me away because, well, do you really do all this farming and such in the wee hours of the morning? Is this a Canada thing? I guess I didn't realize that such an occurrence took place. I see the farmers around here, lumbering along in their fields but it's morning, or broad daylight, or even dusk, but at 4 a.m?! This had me going, 'huh?' Wow - I will be cheering you on from here, hoping that you get done Monday, and then I hope you DO take a whole day or two (or more!) to lounge on the couch with your wife, movies, pajamas, quiet, relaxation...you deserve it!

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    1. Hello, my friend!

      I don't always work that late. It usually happens a few times in the spring, and most certainly in the fall. When winter is knocking at the door, you have to make use of all the available time afforded to you.

      Monday came and went, and I wasn't any nearer to the end. However the time for lounging is coming, just not for a while yet. :)

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  5. You need to get a picture of that owl! That is pretty cool.

    I think your combine is as tired as you are and is ready to be tucked away for the winter. He's coming up with every excuse why he just can't go on one more minute, and then you keep fixing him and blowing his plans. Hopefully you and he will get a well-deserved rest soon!

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    1. Hey Kianwi!

      My phone doesn't take very good night time picture. But I did try. He only flew away when I nearly bonked him with the auger when I went to unload grain into the truck.

      We were both tired, but not finished! No rest until all the crop is in the bin! :)

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  6. That owl...I suspect they're waiting for you at Hogwarts.

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    1. I may as well try running into a few brick walls to see if I can find that half landing. Lord knows I feel like I've been banging my head against one for long enough!

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