What I Did Today

Grandpa was wanting to disk some of his ground, and his disk has a bearing out, so he used Dad's. I took the 8320 over and helped Grandpa adjust the stops, and then he took off. I got a parting shot:

I finally got a chance to work on my liquid fertilizer applicator, also. When I bought it, it was set up as an 8 row bar with 30" spacing. I need 36" spacing. Luckily, the bar was wide enough that I could just take the units loose and slide them over. Easier said than done. Actually, the units weren't bad. One of the gauge wheels seemed to hate me. I had to heat all of the nuts on that gauge wheel bracket until they were red to get them off. Luckily, Dad had new bolts, so no big deal. I took it on a couple of dry runs out in the field and I think I'm satisfied with it, but might need to do a little more tweaking. I also need a couple of new tires for my gauge wheels, but I'm pretty sure I've got a couple around somewhere.

Tools of the trade: 15/16" wrench, 3/4" air impact and a knife to cut the old hoses off. I also had a BFH (Big F...in' Hammer) around somewhere, and the torch. 

My oldest seester is home, so I should be getting in the shower here pretty soon. Mom and Dad are having the family over, so it should be a fun night.

3/29

We knocked a couple of projects out today. We put the tank brackets on the 8320 and put new blades on Dad and Grandpa's stalk chopper. I got a little bored with the whole stalk chopper project, so I decided to get Dad's mower out and mow his lawn. I'm kind of a freak when it comes to mowing lawns. It's pretty much one of my favorite things to do.

I can't remember having to mow this early in the year. The trees are all blooming, and the way it looks, Dad's first cutting of alfalfa will be about a month earlier than normal. This is crazy. I'm too pessimistic to think that this weather will last. It's going to freeze again. Heck, another snow isn't entirely out of the question.

3/27

Not much happened today. I chopped some stalks, had to change a bearing, met with a dude about life insurance, drove to town to get Shay, watched Justified.

This is chopping stalks in case you had forgotten:

I like to space off when I'm chopping stalks. I was thinking about writing a book, kind of a "year in the life of" thing. Make it a diary. Get something out to the masses about what it's really like to be a farmer. I don't have the dedication to do it, and I have no idea how to get something like that published, but it would be cool. I was also trying to decide which Cross Canadian Ragweed album is better - Highway 377 or Garage. Also, Sons of Bill have a new album out. Checks it out.

After Many Threats From Shay

I decided to blog.

I can't really say why I haven't felt compelled to write. It's not lack of subject. More of a lack of motivation. Once you stop writing, it kind of snowballs, and before you know it, it's been a month since you put words to paper. Or computer screen.

What's been going on? I was in the field a couple of weeks ago, but then we had rain, and now we're waiting for some stuff to get sprayed before I can get back to work. I've been cleaning up around our place lately, getting things in order in the shop, setting up my diesel and gas tanks where I want them, and taking out some small trees. I also got the mower out today to get it ready for the season and decided to mow while I was at it.

This is the latest addition to the pickup collection. I've wanted a square body Chevy or GMC for a long long time. I wanted a 3/4 ton 4 wheel drive. I wanted an '87, as that was the year GM went to fuel injected engines in their trucks. It all came together a couple of Saturdays ago. Shay and I like it a lot. It needs some body work, so I'm planning on having my brother do it and paint it this winter. Maybe a 4" lift and different wheels and tires. Or not. I actually really like the steel wheel/hubcab look, so we'll see. Anyway, here it is:

These hog feeders and bulk bin were leftover from when Dad raised hogs. They were in the way, as there's a driveway next to them, plus about a billion trees had grown in the area, so I moved the feeders and bulk bin to the scrap pile and dug the trees up with the loader and put them on the burn pile. I also had the pleasure of moving a decent sized pile of cinder blocks to another location. Anyway, it's done now.
 

I finally got the shop cleaned out and put in order (for now). Eventually, I'll put overhead doors in and get some new wiring run so I can have my tools on the north end, but this will work until then. I didn't take any "before" pictures, but there were a lot of spare parts and miscellaneous stuff that needed to be burned or relocated to the barn. I believe this building is 40'x60'. These pictures were all taken from the south end.

Charlie likes to get his picture taken.

So does Hannah.

Mowed the yard.

This Is What's Been Shaking

My new (to me) sprayer was delivered to Dad's place last Friday. I got it home and parked in the back of my shed:

Saturday, Dad and I went down to Davenport to pick up my new (to me) liquid fertilizer applicator. We also swung through Clay Center and picked up some parts for Dad's row stalker from a Channel seed dealer we know.

I've also been kind of working on Grandpa's old blue pickup. Well, it finally got kicked into gear. My brother, Sam (Hambone), fixed my steering column yesterday, and this morning, Dad and I put in the new carpet and the $10 seat I picked up. I need to get a seat cover for it. Forgot to do that when I was at NAPA today. Anyway, here are the before pictures:

Here are a few after shots:

I should've washed my floor mats. They make the new carpet look like crap. I'm waiting on reflector lights and a new bowtie for my new grille (that Dad scored at a swap meet yesterday). After that, it's going to town to get the front end and brakes rebuilt. I also need to change the oil and put in new plugs and wires, but it's coming along.