Another week of summer gone, one more week closer to winter, darn it. The weather is much like late fall or November. Well I guess we are closer to November as we are past the middle of October. Every morning I wake up and there is frost on the pumpkins. It melts off as the day gets warmer, but soon the days will be so short and the sun’s angle so low the frost will not leave. It’s called winter. I am not looking forward to winter.
On the Hult farm son Ron and grandson Josh have finished combining. They were done just before this last rain. Grain is in bins and the elevator. Curtis is done combining and the grain is in the elevator. Trucks are coming next week to haul it away. Son-in-law Roland is not done baling. He has about a day left. There sure are a lot of bales. I see bales and more bales all over the country. Feed-moving equipment is going to be busy. Frank is finished the canola here where I live and is probably totally finished by now. Bradley has two-thirds of the green feed in the hills cut. The canola is still standing, sprayed, dead ripe and waiting for the fleet. It will probably be done by the time you read this.
There was some farm land on the pasture I sold Greg and Mike. They seeded it to barley and cut it for green feed. They have it baled and hauled it home. The hills are starting to look bleak as the leaves are falling off the trees. People look at the fall colours and prattle on and on about how beautiful all those orange and yellow colours are. I don’t like it, to me that’s death. I like it when everything is green. I guess I have to wait another six months for the cycle to come around again.
In the countryside I see a few guys hurrying to finish combining. Not many combines still running. I see other activities. I see guys putting on anhydrous. That’s what farmers do to inject nitrogen into the soil to fertilize the crop for next year. I see some heavy harrows running. That spreads and breaks up the straw from the last crop so the seeding operation in the spring can put the seed and fertilizer into the ground without plugging the seeder machine and the new crop can come up easier. I did a lot of heavy harrowing when I used to farm. I am a heavy harrow believer. I see some pea fields have been worked just to make it easier to sort through the stubble and seed in the spring. Those fields look nice to an old fossil like me who believes black is good. There is no satisfaction to spraying a field and waiting a week to see if it worked. A combination of spray and tillage will keep your soil warm and ready to go for next year.
By the time you read this the attack ads will be over, the goose will have been cooked, the fat lady will have sung and Stephen Harper may or may not be prime minister of Canada. Maybe Mr. Trudeau will have to be ready. This election race has been closer than a Blue Jays playoff game. I am sick of the campaign. I wish it to be over. The public are worn out from all the campaigning. The candidates are looking tired and are wishing it were over. Even the media doesn’t seem to have the same enthusiasm. Some in the media are blatantly cheerleading for Trudeau. First, when it looked like Mulcair was winning they were on his side. He could do no wrong. Then he slips a little in the polls and they quickly jump on the Trudeau bandwagon. How can we ever expect fair and honest reporting with guys like that in there. Well, thank God it is over. Looks like Mulcair will slip to third place. That is fine with me. I really did not want him as prime minister, anyway.
My hat is off to all those people who let their name stand for election regardless of what party. Your efforts are what made democracy work and I thank you.
In other news, the editor for the Lloydminster Source, Colin Budd, has moved on and is now with the credit union. Thank you to Colin for taking my column and printing stuff that comes out of my head. I thank you for allowing me to express my view, as I know it is not always what the crowd mentality is. I will miss you even though you didn’t print all of my jokes. I wish you all the success in your new job, but I have a negative. Over the years I have developed a distrust and dislike for bankers. You are with the credit union so you are somewhat safer as long as the members can prevent the suits from amalgamating the whole system into Credit Union Central Bank. At that point the members are out and the suits have control. Your value to the bank is less than that computer and desk you sit at. The bank will have no problem throwing you or anyone else under the bus. You are probably fine at the local level but as you climb up the ladder you will find they are not all nice people.
Joke of the Week from grandson Santi (9): What is a mouse like after it comes out of the shower? Answer — squeaky clean.
