Tuesday, September 6, 2016

One Of These Things Is Not Like the Others

Do you remember this song from "Sesame Street?"

One of these things is not like the others,
One of these things just doesn't belong,
Can you tell which thing is not like the others
By the time I finish my song?
Did you guess which thing was not like the others?
Did you guess which thing just doesn't belong?
If you guessed this one is not like the others,
Then you're absolutely right! 
We started corn harvest on Saturday. We also quit corn harvest on Saturday when we had a breakdown. The row headers (those things that look like missiles) are supposed to "float" and flex through the field. However, the cone on this particular header took a dive into the ground instead. The very same row header malfunctioned when Randy tried a test cut last week. He ordered a new one, and we picked it up Saturday morning in Hutchinson.
 
Naturally, it was Labor Day weekend, so the equipment dealership closed at noon Saturday and wasn't open on Monday. Randy plans to be at the parts counter when they open this morning. We'll see if we can get back up and running without having to wait on another part.

After lunch on Saturday, I was on my way to the field to get the first photos of corn harvest 2016. Randy had already cut one semi load of corn, but he wanted me to wait for pictures until we got into a little better corn than he found on the perimeter of the field. But, by the time I got there for the photo op, we were already broken down.

I rode along to Stafford in the semi instead.
Main Street, facing south, as we approached the 4-way stop.
It was only a partial load, but Randy didn't want to leave it sitting in the truck, potentially "sweating" and increasing the moisture reading.
Taken through the back window of the semi as the grain probe dipped down into the truck to get a corn sample.
We take most of our grain to the Zenith branch of the Kanza Co-op, but it was closed for the Labor Day weekend, so we went the extra miles to Stafford.
It's always a little more of a challenge because the elevator is right on U.S. Highway 50.
It requires a bit of maneuvering - and several extra glances both east and west down the highway - to weigh on and then depart after unloading.
But it wasn't that busy on Saturday, so no traffic jams were involved.
There were no traffic jams on Main Street either, even though it was coffee time at Elroy's, the pizza place. Going down the brick streets of Stafford's Main Street in a semi can rattle your teeth a bit.
Sitting up higher gives a different perspective than the one I get in my car. Now, if only the windows had been cleaner, but even if I'd had Windex with me, I don't think my gymnastic moves would have been sufficient to get them cleaned. We already had one breakdown. We didn't need a farm wife breakdown on top of that!

So, we didn't "labor" as much as we'd planned during Labor Day weekend.

11 comments:

  1. Farming always has its highs and its lows. The wayward floater is one of those lows. I hope you are up and running again today. Loved the different perspectives of Main Street!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Yes. Even though it's the "same old place," it sure looked different from that angle. Randy was trying to make it work, but he ended up taking it off again. When I took lunches at noon, they were going to attempt to just cut 6 rows at a time. The new parts are supposed to be in Hutch tomorrow. (Of course, we get to pay for expedited shipping. Oh well!)

      Delete
  2. Oops! Hopefully you're up and running again by the time you read this comment! Of course...always on a weekend and/or holiday. That was our broken water line this weekend. Grrr...
    I like those brick streets, and the midwestern towns look so different from towns here. I think I could enjoy living there for a time.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I forgot...I was going to ask what crop that is in your header picture? Sorghum? Milo?

      Delete
    2. Yes, we call it milo; others call it sorghum. Sorry to hear about your water line break. I hope you got it fixed today!

      We like our little town!

      Delete
    3. Milo or sorghum...it's gorgeous! (I know...that's not it's purpose, but I've never seen anything like it :) )

      Delete
    4. I thought it sure looked pretty against that little glimpse of rainbow in the sky. Kansas is the No. 1 producer of milo. The majority of it is used as animal feed. However, there's a niche market for human consumption now, especially with the gluten-free fad.

      Delete
  3. Hence the saying " Life wasn't meant to be easy!" Do hope all is sorted now and I also love your header. A great capture of sky, milo and rainbow!

    ReplyDelete
  4. I made two trips to Hutchinson (a bigger town about 45 minutes away) and one trip to Stafford for parts/farm runs yesterday. (That doesn't count going back to Stafford for church choir rehearsal and a church Ad Council meeting.) Randy is off to Pratt - another town about 45 minutes from here - for truck repairs this AM. But we are limping along and got a fair amount cut yesterday, despite the issues, so that's good!

    ReplyDelete
  5. Trust it to be on a long weekend. For some reason the odds are always stacked against us farmers on long weekends!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I think it's part of Murphy's Law, or, in this case, Farmer's Law!

      Delete