2004-8-26
Yesterday we took some machinery north. The 8010 is by Minot where the MacDon guys found something ripe to cut. Number 8 combine and the MX with cart are now in Tioga. The drive back to Regent was interesting due to the mountains and rain after dark. Those 25MPH corners are just not cool in a semi. This morning Shane left for school and the rest of up loaded the remaining machinery for transport.
2004-8-24
We brought number 4 combine back to the yard and washed it up. It's header and number 8 combine got loaded onto the trailer for transport north. Things have been pretty static for the last couple days. Tonight, another game of soccer.
2004-8-23
Last night we went up to Dickinson for food and shopping. It rained more than an inch overnight so it is a little slick outside. Today we were able to sleep in for the first time in a while. This afternoon we loaded up the 8010 just before more rain came.
| YouTube Video Loading the 8010 |
2004-8-22
Yesterday Brent took a couple guys with him up to Kenmare to drop off a couple pick-up headers that we had here for canola. Today, he took off with number 6 truck and a combine heading for MN where it will cut some wheat there while the rest of us are up in Kenmare. Also today we finished up probably the rest of the wheat we were going to cut in this area. All the combines got services and cleaned off for another road trip.
2004-8-20
It was again cold this morning. We loaded one combine today to head back to MN for some wheat there. We waxed and polished a couple pickup trucks today, made some repairs, and eventually sampled some durum with the 8010. After supper, a little Nintendo, some soccer, and a movie.
2004-8-19
Another couple big days of cutting. Most of the wheat in this area has been cut, but we are looking at getting some extra acres before moving north. We saw a herd of 19 antelope today along with the hundreds of pheasants. Shawn and some of the crew left this morning for Montana with two combines.
2004-8-17
The other half of our crew arrived yesterday from SD. Since then, we have had two very big days of cutting on both spring wheat and durum. We apparently had a bad batch of fuel because 3 machines needed new fuel filters today. Between that and the grain elevators being full, things have been interesting.
| YouTube Video 1050 Grain Cart |
2004-8-15
Slept in, got up, ate breakfast, ate lunch, and played Mario bros. on an original Nintendo. I read most of my latest issue of MCP magazine, including a technologically confusing article on Kerberos. The guys in Gettysburg, SD finished up today so two of our guys took trucks down there to help move everything up here in a single trip. Later this afternoon, we tried some spring wheat and found it to be dry. We only cut a few thousand bushels since the elevator was closed. If it doesn't rain tonight, we should be able to get started well before noon tomorrow.
2004-8-14
We cut another couple hundred acres after lunch today. We have again ran out of wheat dry enough to cut so I'm not sure what we will be doing tomorrow. Tonight however, we had a good game of soccer to work off some energy.
2004-8-13
Today was the first day in about a week where we didn't have to wear sweatshirts. We were able to get serious about cutting wheat and got a couple hundred acres cut this afternoon.
2004-8-11
We cut a few truck loads of durum wheat today. It will be put on air in a hopper bin to dry down. There is a big storm forcast for this area tonight so we are trying to cut anything we can in case of hail or rain. Durum wheat is graded not just on moisture and test weight, but many other factors such as color. Rain can wash away the darker color and then it is no longer worth the premium price that quality durum wheat gets. The weather has been cooler than normal and will continue this way into the weekend. I was able to get a video of what a MacDon draper header looks like from the cab.
| YouTube Video 36' MacDon |
2004-8-10
Today we cut about 150 acres of nice ripe spring wheat. BTW, today's lucky number is 23.
2004-8-9
The weather is still cool and cloudy, not good for drying the wheat. After lunch we tried the wheat and it was good enough to cut for a few hours.
2004-8-8
We serviced the combines this morning and went back to the campers for lunch. It rained a few times after lunch and we spent most of the day watching TV. Since its Sunday, there wouldn't be much to do in any of the larger towns around here. After supper we played some football just to get out and move around a bit.
2004-8-7
We finally got started on some durum wheat here in Regent. We cut for a couple hours before a big storm front moved in. Looks like we get to spend another evening watching movies.
2004-8-6
It rained again this morning. We took a couple machines out to the farm and rebuilt the sickles on both with new sections. After lunch we put fuel in all the trucks and then went to the pool in Mott again. We sampled the wheat this evening and it is, um, wet.
2004-8-5
It rained most of the morning so we slept in. After lunch we greased and fueled the combines so they are ready to go when the time comes. We washed, waxed, and polished service truck 2 to a bling bling shine. The draper heads got hooked up and we will rebuild their sickles tomorrow.
2004-8-4
We got up a little about 5:15 this morning to finish packing up the campers and head on up to Regent. The trip was good and crossing the Misouri river at Mobridge was interesting. The combines are too wide to safely meet any traffic on the narrow bridge, so I went ahead and stopped traffic on the other side. A few hills, lots of pasture, and now we are into the wheat country of North Dakota. We spent the afternoon unloading the machinery and went to Mott this evening to go swimming. Regent is the home town of Tyler, one of our crew members here. The yellow truck is his awesome '04 Dodge Rumble Bee.
