Hi Ralph,

  Now I know.  The other weed which I mentioned and thought was Jewel Weed is NOT Jewel Weed.  I have posted a photo here and perhaps you will be able to tell me what it is.  It is a spreading type ground cover with a reddish colored vines and green meaty , juice filled leaved.  Wherever
other vegetation has been removed, this weed fills in prolifically and is fast growing.


Charlie V.

Charlie, that weed picture you posted sure looks like the weed we call "portulaca" or some call it purslane. It is a very persistent weed and hard to kill. Even pulled out by the roots and turned upside down it will keep trying to grow.
I have heard it is edible but never tried it yet. I have a lot of it in my garden along with round leaf mallow.

Thank you for that information, Ralph.  Having a name for the plant to work with made it easy to find all of the information I need.


Some rain today which is good.  Much more further North of us.  (Rochester)  We  have gotten back into very dry conditions here as rain has been just about non existent.  I noticed some fields of soybeans that changed from lush green to about 50% yellow in two to three days.  Hope the pods and beans were mature.  I suspect the fast change is due to dryness  and record setting hot weather.  Corn is going dry quite fast also.

Charlie V.

Tried to think of the name for purslane, but wouldn't come to mind. We have it here, common in late summer. Seems to do best in hot dry weather. Not a great problem, but covers a lot of ground where nothing else grows, like drives and bare lawn areas.

Had a nice rain Friday night of about 3 inches. Think it all soaked in and don't think we wasted a drop of it. Have had timely rains for the last 6 weeks and things are nice and green. Looks like I will get a 5th cutting from my hay, never had that before.

Brought home another tractor last week. Another Case VC, 1941 model. Tractor has been dismantled for about 25 years. Plan for this to be my winter project. Tractor is pretty straight with junk rear tires. Couldn't pass on it for $400.00.

Getting the combine ready to harvest soybeans. Time and outside storage has taken a toll on the machine. Had to repair some rusted areas. With the price of soybeans I want to keep as many inside the machine as I can. Soybeans are ripening rapidly, but uneven. Have most dropping leaves, but in low areas of the fields they are just now starting to turn. Will just have to wait on them. Saw one field last week that had been combined, must have been a very early variety.

Gene.

http://saskatoon.ctvnews.ca/winds-wreaking-havoc-for-local-farmers-1.953504

This is what are dealing with here the past couple of days. My canola swaths survived pretty well except for some of the exposed hilltops. Other areas much worse from what I hear. Poor crop to begin with , now it gets blown away and threshed out by the wind. There are some unhappy farmers in Sask. I can't complain though as it could be a lot worse.
[ATTACH=CONFIG]639[/ATTACH]

Thank you for the thought on the Purslane, Gene.  I was confident you or Ralph or both could help me out on that one. Congrats on the put together project.  Local Craig's List had one early this week that I thought was interesting.  I am not sure of the model, but it had the tube center similar to a F-cub.  I think it was a VC or similar.  It was in VG condition, at least close to show quality.  $ 1200.00.  I thought about calling, but really do not need another to care for.  No shock that the listing was gone later in the day.

Disappointing about your high Sask. wind, Ralph.  Sure did havoc on the swaths.  Hopefully by now you have most of what is left thrashed out and in the grain bins.  It looks like a bit of a turnabout on weather today.  We had a cold front show up yesterday PM which brought us just over an inch of rain.  We are still on the dry side, so that is not a problem, but temp. is now 57 F and not going to climb much for a couple of days.  The TV told me this morning that your neighbors to the South in Montana are 10 to 20 degrees above normal so I am guessing you might be getting some of that warmth also.

Most of the area agriculture looks about normal for this season.  It is a given that some crops will be a little light, but at least there are crops for harvest.  The locally grown Tomatoes which I have been buying sure seem to be good.  Great sandwiches and salads.  I like the chunky blue cheese dressing.  I had some very good cucumbers too, but they may not really be my friend when it comes to digestion.

Charlie

Charlie, the swaths were not as bad as expected for wind damage. Wheat swaths showed a little too but really can't complain compared to some. I have lots of video and photos of this harvest that I will eventually get around to either posting in an online album or video on youtube but time is a little short supply right now . If I don't get some sleep I find myself wandering off the rows of swath with the combine some evenings.
Good crop of tomatoes here too and I have most of them picked as there are frost warnings tonight. Still pretty green.
Photo from today...

Weather in Ohio last week was ideal for our area. A bit cooler and dry after a light morning dew. High temps in low 70's and lows around 50. Only mild winds till Saturday when we had wind speeds up to 40 mph gusts. Got 1.5 inches of rain on Fridayevening.

I combine most of my soybeans on Wednesday and Thursday. Had to go around several patches of very green beans, but got the bulk of them off. Rest should be ready by end of the week. Yield running about 50 bushels with moisture of 11.2 to 13.2 percent and test weight of 57 pounds. I was one of very few running this early, so no wait at the elevator. The combine ran perfectly with no breakdown or adjustments. Guess the time spent getting it ready was worth it. Ground condition was good and only left left normal tire tracks in the ground. Soil moisture here is now officially adequate. Friday's rain and more rain for this week may change that to more than adequate.

Been watching the hay crop for a fifth cutting. Growth looks very good and just waiting for the first signs of blooms and a window of dry weather to get it cut.

Gene

Gene, is 50 considered a good yield for soybeans? I don't know of any grown here but people are a bit fed up with canola and it's disease problems this year and are actually talking about soybeans.
I'm done harvest except for the field of flax that I just finished swathing. Incredible dry conditions. There are big cracks in the ground and the swather makes no tracks at all. Hay is done. I cut a little  when I finished the flax but it is pretty dried out and had a few frosts on it so not much better than straw. Dug a few potatos this week and they are not bad. They come out of that dry powdery soil clean enough to eat.
Here is an aerial view of my yard taken a week ago. You can see those big 42 foot double swaths of oat  straw behind the yard. [ATTACH=CONFIG]640[/ATTACH]

Ralph;

Those are some impressive windrows. Takes a pretty good baler to handle them. Glad your harvest has gone so well. Now you just need some of the rain we have been getting. Nothing going on in the fields right now. Most soybeans are still too green. Had a frost this morning that may harm the latest beans. Was 32 degrees and clear sky and no wind, perfect for nipping late crops.

Soybean yields in my area can run as high as 65 BPA, but 40 to 50 is much more common. A good yield on my farm would be 60 BPA. County average is most likely in the 40 bushel area. My 50 bushel crop this year with current prices is a good money maker. I planted an early variety and planted early, so was able to get a good start from the early rains. The early harvest helped to beat the market drop that occurred the day after I sold mine. Sure helps the spirit and pocketbook. Won't be near as worried about bad weather now.

Charlie, is anything happening in you area? Got any frost yet?

Gene

Congratulations on your soybean crop, Gene.  From the reading I do, you did better than many others.  It looks like Ralph has been going great guns there in Sask. as well.  This year has to beat last years mud with sunken equipment all over the place.

We now have enough water here too.  Not a mud hole, but not dry either.  In some years with very dry conditions the tree leaves can start showing color at their edges in mid to late August.  Not so this year.  Just now in late September I am seeing some yellow starting to show in some areas.  Right around here there is almost no color change yet.  Much behind most years.  I suspect that sooner or later we will have a hard freeze into the 20's and half turned leaves will drop in a day or two.  We have been down to 38 F two or three times, but no frost at this point.  A goofy weatherdude on Tv was making a big fuss yesterday, saying his neighbor saw frost in the morning, but the temperature there was 39 deg. F.  I am not a weather dude, but to find frost at 39 degrees it seems you must look into your home freezer.


A week ago I saw a clever farmer who left headlands on a cornfield probably 40 or 50 feet wide when he planted.  Then he cross planted soybeans on the headland.  When I drove past he was in the combine taking off the headland soybeans.  That brings to mind the old "Waste not, want not" adage.  Other than that I have not seen a combine in motion.  There must be several varieties of beans out there.  Some soybean fields have totally dry stalks with almost no visible leaves but top to bottom with pods.  Other fields have taller plants with plenty of leaves that are a mix or green and yellow or perhaps all yellow.  Still others have short plants, lots of leaves and mixed amounts of color.  I think the latter look more like kidney beans or white pea beans.  Lots that I do not know.

Charlie

Five days can make for a lot of change.  Took a little 35 mile ride around the block yesterday PM on the way home from  the gas station.  I am seeing a lot of yellow in the tree leaves and some red.  The brownish burnt orange appears om some oaks. Unfortunately skies were overcast so there was no sunshine to give the leaves brilliance.  Corn and soybeans are pretty much on hold while they dry more.  We have had enough rain now to make puddles appear in a few fields.

Charlie
.

Still no rain here in this part of Sask. and I am done with harvest as of Saturday night. Lots of leaf colour out there now but they are falling fast as the winds get up. Took a pic of the old Loadstar in the field on the last day of harvest. I don't think there is much, if any crop left to harvest in this area. It has been a month of un interrupted harvest weather which is rare.

Ralph;

Send me an air mail stamp and I will send you some of our rain. Have had close to 12 inches the past 2 weeks. Ground is very wet. Very little harvest completed here. Yesterday, I did manage to finish the 1.5 acres of green soybeans beans I went around 2 weeks ago. Finished at 3:30 and got the small load to the elevator. Came home and started cleaning the combine when it started raining again. Got it about half cleaned. The beans were a little wet at 15.7 percent, but at least I am done. Probably the only done. Some corn was taken off over the weekend as the wet ground is not as much of a problem. Got about 1 inch over last night and raining again this afternoon. Started about 3:30 pm. Looks like it will last through tomorrow, then return again on Friday. Was hoping to plant wheat this fall, but not looking good for that right now.

George Willer's estate sale will be this Saturday. Will be selling the tractors, truck, Mercedes car and motor home. Shop equipment and tools will be later, but don't have the date on that yet. I will be going to the sale Saturday. Weather forecast is for cooler weather. Hope the rain holds off.

Starting to get a little color on the trees. Maples are usually one of the first. Have a few crimson maples showing their bright red colors.

Yesterday Bandy and I were walking through the soybean field when we saw some sort of solid black animal. Was about as big as Bandy, maybe 65 to 70 pounds. Had a long black tail almost as long as its body. I walked closer to try to get a better look, but it disappeared into the neighbor's soybean field. It walked with a high step like a cat would. Couldn't identify it, but sure looked like some sort of feline. The same black animal was in the east lawn a few nights ago and Bandy stayed close to the back door and when I went out, he told me there was something out there. It ran off as soon as I opened the back door.

Got the wood stove going again this afternoon. Need to take the damp chill out of the house. Only 62 outside, so not too cold, but just damp chill. Nice afternoon to enjoy the fire and have another cup of coffee.

Gene

Several stories on line about this one, Gene.  I know it is 150 air miles away, but sounds like you and Bandi need to keep a sharp eye.

http://www.recordpub.com/news/article/5196698

Charlie

Charlie;

I agree we will have to be on the lookout. The tail on this animal more resembled a fox's tail. Did a google search and came up with these images of black fox. Hard to tell from the distance the exact size, but these images below look very close to what I saw. This would explain whe Bandy was not more alarmed when we saw it in the lawn that night. He would have likely been scavenging apples under the trees. Foxes are fond of apples.

http://www.google.com/search?q=black+fox&hl=en&biw=1385&bih=605&prmd=imvns&tbm=isch&tbo=u&source=univ&sa=X&ei=q65rUIj_A4qVyQGfjoGoAw&sqi=2&ved=0CCgQsAQ

If the image page doesn't come up, Google black fox and click on images.

Gene

P.S. I mowed my 5th cutting hay on Sunday, just in time to get all this rain.

G.D.