Once More–Cross your Fingers and Your Toes–Monday, December 1, 2014

Posted on December 1, 2014 by Dayphoto

Daily we check the corn…riding out on the four-wheelers to get samples from all the fields. Samples on the ends, samples in the middle…then THERE IT WAS…the moisture content said…”Give it a go!” So we did!

Down the rows he went

Opening the driest field

Filling the truck with red/gold corn

Because it was the Thanksgiving holiday and the Elevator was good enough to stop and let everyone have a break….we parked the truck under the car port

Where Monkey-the -cat spent lots of her time checking to see WHY the grain truck was close to the house and not out by the barn.

Silly cat!

Gradually the sun started to set filling our skies with a purple haze

It was stunningly beautiful,

Unusual and gorgeous all rolled into a swiftly darkening day

Terry left for the Elevator at 5 this morning…when he called he was 13th in line and more arriving. It’s 9:00 a.m. right now and he still isn’t home. He will be lucky to be here at noon.

Keep your fingers and toes crossed, send prayers and magic thoughts, please that this load passes and we are out-on-the-land until all the corn is in!

Your friend,

Linda

A Week Later— Wednesday, November 5, 2014

Posted on November 5, 2014 by Dayphoto

It’s been a week (today at 11 a.m.) Life without the Fuzz Dude goes on. I still want to put two bowls of dog food out, or reach down and pet Fuzzy when I’m sitting somewhere.

Being distracted with others who need food, conversation, activity has helped. Although, it has made me really behind on answering my comments and emails. I have over 300 comments and emails combined that I need to respond too. I hope to get to everyone. Please know that I have appreciated your kind thoughts and comforting words….even those of you who wrote on my Pinterest pages.

Terry took a sample of corn down from all the fields…still too high…the lowest field was at 17% the highest at 18%. We continue to wait. Although, the huge dip in night time temperatures is sure to keep drying out the knerals, which is good.

Two huge stacks of hay has been sold, although, the buyer is leaving them here for a time. He took a third of them yesterday and will call when he is ready to come back out, maybe in a couple of days. Only a small stack is left (100 or so bales). The other 300 bales go to the Delta Elevator. Almost done with that crop…Excellent! What every one strives for to get their product sold.

Those really neat cows

Neighbors-Cows

I was so happy to see (at our neighbors) made the great escape and traveled into our Upper End by jumping the fence between us. It was only three, but three is too many. (with corn to be harvested…you can lose a cow in a corn field and the cow would make a mess and possibly bloat)

Terry and I (Boomer rode along) headed the cows down the hills and into the draw of the Back Forty where we could open the gate between our two farms and send them home.

We had them rounded up and in their home land in just about an hour. BIG SMILE 🙂

It was nice to have people to take evening walks with, Boomer and I enjoyed the company.

Anyway, please know how much your words have meant and that I WILL try to get everyone answered soon!

Your Friend,

Linda

The Song of Fall—Monday, October 27, 2014

Posted on October 27, 2014 by Dayphoto

Soon now. The stalks and the ears are getting that ‘look’. Soon.

Sometime today Terry will go out and pick a ear from every field —shell each ear in it’s own test bucket, then take the ear to the elevator to get a moisture test. To harvest our corn the moisture needs to be at 14, any higher than that the corn will mold in the elevators. If you are selling to a feed lot then can take a higher corn moisture….but not where we take it.

Our haystacks are shrinking! Very little left now. The man that is loading out will take that whole stack he is working on, as I took the photo. There is a smaller stack (100) which goes to a horse woman, and the stack that is still covered (we cover all the hay) goes to Delta Elevator. Terry’s goal is for the hay to be gone before winter sets in and Hank’s cows arrive. We have to build pretty good fences around the stacks if we still have hay and cows; preferably we just give them the run of the place otherwise.

In checking the ground in the alfalfa field we realized that it’s terribly dry, so we will start the irrigation water this week. We MUST do it this week since the Ditch Company will turn all the water off November 1st. A week is enough to get the whole thing wet then the alfalfa will go into the winter nicely. The wind is blowing now and it’s cold. A cold front is moving in today and will linger for at least five days. I love walking in the fields with the wind blowing —- here is an old video from a long time back of the wind in the corn…

I find listening to the wind in the corn as lovely as wind whistling through pine trees.

Late afternoon Fuzzy, Boomer and I go for a four-wheeler ride around the farm…up to the headgate, through the Upper End, into the Back Forty, down the road by the alfalfa field, sometimes over to the equipment area and then to the other house, or we just drive into the corn fields and sit and listen to the sounds.

Peace floods my heart, mind and soul. I am so thankful to be able to live and work here.

Life is Good, My Friends, Life is Good!

Wishing you the best of the day!

Your Friend,

Linda

Storing Corn

Posted on December 8, 2010 by Dayphoto

We are at 15.4% so have begun again. This time we will be storing it in the butler bins.

That is a tarp over the loading shoot to keep the moisture out.

We haven’t had to use these bins in a long time, but at least we have them. Put the corn in, run the fans, unload the corn after it has dried enough and take it to the dairy. Lots of work, and much more expense, but better than losing it.

Linda