Gotta love that rain. If you didn't, last week was bad for you. The crop is coming like gang busters. It liked the rain! I enjoyed it. It did make me think about having an afternoon nap, but there were so many things going on that it just didn't happen. Maybe next week.
The weather is trying to get the gardeners as the temperature dipped to 1.7 C one night. Apparently the temperature did get to -3 C at the river. That is too darn cold for June. These forecasts have people scrambling as they rushed to cover the tomatoes and other freezeables in the garden. Any colder and it will be nipping the canola crops that are coming nicely. I am safe on this one as mine is not up yet, but I see a risk at the end of August where a hoar frost rain I marked coincides with a new moon. If the Big Guy wants to freeze us out, it will happen and there isn't much we can do about it. I have no rain marked for this coming week June 8 to the 14. I could be wrong!
On the home front, son Ron has finished seeding my canola. He took the outfit home as our granddaughter Danielle is graduating and plans to drive the tractor as her means of transportation to her graduation. She apparently has the inside of the cab cleaned out and her dad and her have rigged up a fire hose to get the outside dirt off the tractor. It will be no small project as her dad has had something like 70 oil patch tow jobs this spring and the tractor is a John Deere but at the moment it's the colour of mud. It has been a good tractor and it deserves a little lovin'.
My airseeder is still down the hills. It still has a broken rockshaft. I built a brace to go from the frame down to the wheels, but we were having difficulty raising the cultivator up. We were using two Jackalls and a front-end loader, but the cultivator was still stuck in the ground. If we had persisted I am sure we could have got it up, but it started drizzling and you know the feeling when you realize "there must be a better day." We abandoned the project, went home for supper and will go back at it this coming week.
I have a few other projects I want to accomplish this coming week. First will be the man Sven will spend a couple of days on the rock picker. Then we will get the sprayer ready to go. The nozzles all need to be blown out. That happens in front of the shop where we have access to the air compressor. Put some water in and check for leaks, flush the booms. You know the routine.
Then I have a little project caused by my own stupidity. I set up two hopper bottom bins that I would have for seed and fertilizer. I built a little pad and put the bins in place. I was happy with myself thinking this would work fine. Ooops. The water comes off the field and pools in front of my bin pad. The land that I want to load on has turned into a swamp. The bins have to go to a better spot. I have another place opposite my other bins that has a gravel driveway to load on. There are some dead tires and other treasures to be moved. That's a job for the weekend warrior work force and Cole power.
My semi is still down the hills and I would like to get it home, but to get it out of the field at the moment would be a tow job. I will wait and drive it out when it gets drier. I have two semis and one project I would like to do is put a permanent towing hook on them both. They both have that receiver that you can slide in a tow bar. I don't like that system. I think my brain can invent something stronger and better. We will see. I don't like towing trucks anyway, but if I had a permanent tow hook maybe "Murphy" will leave me alone and I won't have to.
In politics, the election in Ontario is almost over. The polls have the Conservatives ahead of the Liberals and NDP. Polls are polls and may not be indicative of the way the election will go. The only poll that counts is on June 12 and the people will decide. I have great faith in the collective wisdom of the people. The people will decide and the people are very seldom wrong. Good luck to all. Win or lose, the process makes our democracy work. My hat is off to all candidates.
Closer to home the race for the leadership of the Conservative Party of Alberta is going hard. Three candidates are Jim Prentice, Ric McIver and Thomas Lukaszuk. They are canvassing the province selling memberships and seeking support. This run for the leadership is not for the faint of heart. First you must have 500 members sign your nomination papers. Then there is a $50,000 non-refundable registration fee. After that you must put your life on hold while you travel the province seeking support, making speeches, shaking hands and kissing babies. They will continue on until the convention in September. This election should see wide participation by many Albertans as not only can you vote at the convention, but if you have a membership you can vote from anywhere by phone, computer or iPad. I hope it works better this time, as they used this system last time and that is how they got Redford! What a disappointment.
Joke of the week: An old farmer was sitting in the living room waiting for supper. His wife was in the kitchen. He heard her say "Now sweetheart honey, what do you want for supper? Chicken, pork or beef?" He replied that he would like chicken. "Not you, you old fool," she said, "I was talking to the cat!"
