Gene, glad to hear you got through the eye thing and see some improvement. Charlie, we had our first reallly nice day today. I think it must have hit near 70 degrees. Of course we are still drying up from Friday's rain and nothing doing in the fields yet but its looking hopeful.
Here is a pic from today. Discovered a big beaver dam and lodge where they are trying to flood some more of the land i farm so we tried to remedy the situation somewhat. I am standing on top of the lodge in this photo. [ATTACH=CONFIG]617[/ATTACH]

Ralph, you look like the King of the dam.  Probably 1/2 stick would take care of that if it is still legal.  Too many regulations these days. We do not have much in the way of beavers in this area other than what are called bank beavers in some streams.  Other areas of the state do have them.  

I guess Gene will be busy for a few days getting organized for work days.

Our weather has been pretty boring of late.  The massive blizzard we were promised with wide spread power outages turned out to be about one inch of wet snow and not really bad wind.  I am glad it was not more, but it hardly seems justifiable to close every school for miles around in anticipation of something that does not occur.  We may touch freezing tonight and day temps in the 40's are predicted until next Tuesday. This weather is a wait and see game.

For lack of anything better to post, I will leave you with a picture of Tommy.  I found this shot yesterday in my oldest digital camera.  It is a better quality photo than I get a lot of the time from my latest and greatest cameras.

[ATTACH=CONFIG]618[/ATTACH]

Charlie V.

  We may touch freezing tonight and day temps in the 40's are predicted until next Tuesday. This weather is a wait and see game.

For lack of anything better to post, I will leave you with a picture of Tommy.  I found this shot yesterday in my oldest digital camera.  It is a better quality photo than I get a lot of the time from my latest and greatest cameras.

Charlie V.

Nice looking cat Charlie. I used to have some like that, friendly too. Now all I have are a bunch of wild reprobates that won't give me the time of day unless it is feeding time.
Weather is absolutely miserable, although it is not raining here yet there is rain in the forecast. The wind is wild and the radio actually mentioned wind chill this morning. If I could just get into a climate controlled tractor cab and go to work it would be ok but things are just not falling into place  this spring.

Getting dry, but cool weather here in Ohio. Forecast to be warming up. This morning should be out last freezing morning. Had a nice half inch of rain last week that dried enough by Tuesday to get back to working ground. I planted my soybeans on Wednesday and finished in a very light rain. Got a nice half inch or so of rain Wednesday night then down to 29 degrees on Thursday morning and 32 degrees this morning. The rain gave enough moisture to start the beans swelling, so next weeks warm weather should get them off to a good start.

Work day scheduled for tomorrow, due to the forecast for cold wet weather, has been postponed till next Saturday. Chance of rain and high of about 45 degrees doesn't give a good mood for outdoor work. I concur with the officers decision. I do have everything ready to go when weather is right.

Monday will be surgery on my other eye. The right eye has turned out well. Met with my optometrist(Sp) on Tuesday and it has completely healed and my distance vision in that eye ie 20-20. Really plaesed with it, though I will still need reading glasses. I can live with them.

Would be hard to get a picture of a cat here. Bandy won't let them hang around very long, but he goes to the neighbor's and won't bother their cats, ducks or chickens. He allows the chickens and ducks to graze in our hayfield and pays no attention to them.

Gene

Finally, after almost a week of dull, cold, windy and damp weather, the sun came out for a day Monday. Perfect timing for my scheduled seed cleaning at the plant. Got my wheat all done and back in the bin ready to go. Sure was nice to work in the sunshine for a day at least. BAck to clouds and threatening showers today though. First of May and next to nothing doing in the fields yet. Not late yet and not quite time to hit the panic button but every day brings it closer. [ATTACH=CONFIG]619[/ATTACH]

Ralph;

Hope you finally get some favorable working weather. Had favorable weather here until last evening. Had 1.5 inches of welcome rain last night and warm temps for the next few days. Most corn has been planted. and a good start on soybeans. Most like to wait till after May 1 to plant beans here, but many started earlier counting on the warm forecast. Rain last night came pretty hard and fast and left standing water in the low spots in the fields, but the dry ground will soak it all up. Forecast high temps in the mid 80's for the next 3 days.

My beans have been in the ground for 1 week now and should respond to the warm wet weather. The beans I planted a month ago are up and growing now. Seems that experiment paid off. Nice to see them growing.

Eye surgery Monday went well. Have to take it easy for a couple more days. Gonna need new glasses for near vision. My old glasses are too strong now. Need only half as much magnification now.

Gene

Pleased to hear your surgery went well, Gene.  Have been wondering.  I have to keep moving this AM.  Have to get a shot in the eyeball in a little while.  Just a note from my trivia department:

52 years ago this morning this young guy started a new job with a small company.  In 2008, some 48 years and 3 months later I retired from the same company.  A real job hopper I am.  

Charlie V.

Well Charlie, you have me beat by at least ten years at sticking to the same job. It will be 42 years this August when I took my first "on the job training" riding the fender of my Uncle's 730 Case learning the ropes of cultivating summerfallow with weeds three feet high. It was a learning experience and a wonder it didn't turn me off farming forever. Also surprising my Uncle didn't fire me off the job. I wouldn't have had the patience to put up with some of the stupid mistakes this new "driver" made. But 40+ years later I work the same land with a much newer and more comfortable tractor. The old 730 sits in my shed, rain beating down on the metal roof wondering when we will ever get to plant a crop on those fields.

Been good growing weather here in Ohio. Couple good rains the past week have gotten the crops off to a good start. My soybeans have emerged better than I can remember in recent years. The heavy rains left some standing water in low spots , so may have some damage there.

Work day at Portland went well. The rain here missed the Indiana area, so the ground was dry for our tasks of trimming trees and painting buildings and roofs. After a foggy start, it warmed to about 75 degrees with light winds for a pleasant day. Crops in western Ohio and eastern Indiana look excellent with corn mostly 2 to 5 inches high. Actually saw some hay being cut, probably for haylage, as there are a lot of big dairy farms in the area. Some field work was being done in the area, but too wet here at home.

My work career was a lot more checkered than you folks. Had a variety of jobs, from aircraft mechanic for Uncle Sam, mechanic in a repair garage, commercial pilot and flight instructor, farmer and and farm hand and finally retired in 2002 after 30 rears of factory work.

Gene

Good to hear the crops are growing in Ohio.  Most of the field work seems to be shut down here for the moment due to the cooler temps and wet ground.  I noticed a decent size Case/IH tractor sitting in a field yesterday that had been fall plowed.  The tractor had in tow a string of implements probably 32 or 36 feet wide and included disc, drag, and who knows what else.  It looked like the field would be plant ready after one pass over with that rig, but it is patiently waiting for the right ground conditions.  We dropped to 23 degrees two nights last week and hit 37 the night before last so it isn't quite summer yet.  Another inch or more of rain called for tonight, so it will not dry up real soon.

I did quite a bit of farm day labor when in school.  Also did nearly a year in a local gas station part time which was often 36 hours a week.  I did most of a year on a dairy farm, mainly in the barn my last year of school.  Following graduation I worked as a mechanic in a small town Chevrolet dealership and doubled as their 24 hour tow truck operator. I did not mind that work and would have possibly stayed at it long term if I could own my own business.  That not being the case, very low pay and zero benefits did not seem like much of a future.  When an opportunity in the screw machine industry came my way, I took it to try. Little did I know it would last the rest of my working career.

Charlie V.

Eeeeek.  35 degrees F at 5 AM today.  However, we are promised a stellar day today.  High 72, clear skies and wind under 5 MPH.  I think they have the wind wrong as it is already more than 5 MPH.

Charlie V.

Weather in Ohio has been delightful all week. Daytime highs in the low to mid 70's and nighttime lows in high 40's to low 50's. Lots of sunshine and few clouds. High tomorrow and Saturday in the 80's. The cool mornings make you want to pull the covers up and just enjoy the warm bed for a few more minutes.

Attended the Portland swap meet yesterday with nice morning temps and 72 by mid afternoon. Very good turnout and lots of treasures to consider. Bought a few things I needed, like a wheel for my wagon, a couple battery boosters, wiring supplies and a 12 volt electric water transfer pump. A few other items I have forgotten about. Very seldom the swap meet has this nice weather. Usually heavy rains or cold and windy. Will go back tomorrow to pick up a few more things I have coming in.

Corn planting rapidly winding down. Soybean planting going rapidly and near done. My soybeans are looking excellent and off to an early running start. Lots of hay being made. About 10 days earlier than normal. I cut my hay today. Have a good stand but more weeds than I like. Can't believe how many big square balers on the trip home from Portland. Looks like these guys are running 10 MPH across the field. impressive sight seeing all those big bales laying in the fields. Didn't see a single small square baler anywhere. Maybe I am the only one left?

Visit Tuesday to eye doctor was good news. I now have 20-20 distance in both eyes. Will only need reading glasses for near vision and then only for close work. Can read the computer without glasses, but do need the glasses for the keyboard.

Gene

Here in WNY it was a good weekend.  Saturday in the low 80's.  Yesterday became hotter and stuffier.  A thermometer here at the house was sitting at 92 by mid afternoon.  The soil has dried nicely and a lot of field work is going on.  The ground that looked worked and rolled three weeks ago has not sprouted anything yet.  I thought I would see soy beans of corn by now, but nothing showing.  It seems like a long time for germination, so maybe that land is not planted yet.  I did find out that the AC in my SUV still works when I ran it for a time yesterday afternoon.

Great news about your eyes, Gene.  that should keep you in the air for a long time to come.

Charlie V.

Good going for the past couple of weeks, almost continuously but it is all over this morning. Rain and the next couple of days look the same. I've got a lot of seeding done but still a couple of hundred acres to go which I think is about typical for the area. No major breakdowns, just long days in the tractor so a day or two off is not unwelcome.
My trail cam has not caught any great wildlife pictures but it did catch me driving by on the Cockshutt 40 yesterday. [ATTACH=CONFIG]620[/ATTACH]

[video=youtube;rsArC-VVmek]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rsArC-VVmek&feature=youtu.be[/video]
A few scenes from the tractor seat this spring while seeding. We have had close to two inches of rain today so the tractors are getting a rest.