The weather has been typical late harvest weather, frosty and tough in the mornings, not fit to combine until noon and then you can go until midnight. This is thought of as short days but not really. In the past, I found the system would make you quite tired after a few days. The sucky part of this time of year and this job is that half of your time is spent working in the dark.
On the Hult farm, son Ron has a day or so left on canola. He bought a new Dicky John moisture tester after the last Dicky John was killed in an invasion and assault on our elevator. The first little Dicky was smashed by some guys who thought they were tough and feeling their wild oats. A new Dicky John had to be purchased but, unfortunately, this new Dicky John, we have found out, is an absolute liar. Its moisture tester is out by two or three points. Using this machine, son Ron inadvertently took off some tough canola. He is now trying to get some dry stuff to blend with the tough stuff so it is in a saleable condition and not subject to heating.
Farther west, Curtis is combining away with his new combine and is going right along. It is new to him but it appears in good shape and is well looked after. It has only a 21-foot table. Son-in-law Roland is making bales left and right behind him. They will both be done by the time you read this.
On mornings when the grain is tough, Ronald and Curtis are in the elevators turning grain. From experience we know that after a week or more you have to turn the grain in the elevator or it starts to heat. I don’t know if it is the grain coming in warm or the fact that bins in the elevator are eight to 10 feet wide and 50, feet tall but we know the grain must be moved to the next bin or it heats or mold forms in the bin. You can’t just pull it out the bottom and dump it in back on the top, it has to go to a different bin.
In the Waseca area, there is only the odd field left to combine as most people are done. Those who are done early are sitting back with smiles like a cats that ate the canaries or they are sitting there in a happy frame of mind with the weight of the world lifted off their shoulders. I know it to be a good feeling.
Bradley started cutting green feed in my hills. Looks like it is going to be quite a heavy crop. He sprayed the canola down there so I assume he is going to straight cut it. I expect the fleet to show up any day and then it will all be done.
I have seen some eager beavers already starting to put on anhydrous. The farming cycle starts again and I know it is good to get it done. I found in my hills that applying anhydrous in the spring gave a lot more bang for the buck. I am not saying it is right or wrong, it’s just what I did.
In politics, the election race continues with all parties bringing out their platforms on the same day. Is it a coincidence they all choose the same day? Harper and Mulcair are planning balanced budgets. Trudeau is planning a $10 billion deficit. He is doing just like his father before him. He has nice hair and is planning to put the country farther in debt. He appears to be leading in the polls, if you can believe the media. He is not getting my vote.
Stephen Harper says, if elected, he will pass a law that no civil servant can wear a hijab to work. I agree with him and no one appearing in any court should be anything but bare headed. Mulcair is wishy washy on this subject as he is afraid of offending these people's civil rights. What about the civil rights of the rest of us? Justin Trudeau wants to get more information and he is just not ready to decide what he thinks. Lord love a billy goat. Is there only one in three who will stand up for Canada?
Joke of the week (as told to my wife Bev by Linda Richards): In the old west a man walked into a crowded saloon with his six shooter and fired a bullet into the ceiling. In a loud voice he said, “I will shoot any man who has been sleeping with my wife.” There was dead silence and then a small voice from the back of the room said, “You don’t have enough bullets, sir.”
