Great video Ralph. It always amazes me as it seems you ride or drive mile after mile without seeing a single farm or driveway. Looks pretty sparsely populated. Maybe the -40 and -50 degree temperatures have something to do with that?

Charlie I haven't stopped much of the rain from coming your way, but all around me thay are getting soaked. Heavy rains have been within 6 miles to the north, south and east. Indian Lake got almost 7 inches on Sunday amd Monday. We got less than an inch. Been getting gentle rains of 1/2 to 3/4 inch. Weather warnings almost every evening, mostly to the north west of us. The Miami River flood plane south of Indian Lake was completelu inundated Tuesday when I was there. Most of this land is farmed, but probably don't get a crop 3 years out of 10. Soybeans there looked good last week, but not so good this week.

Got the combine radiator back together on Tuesday. Filled it with water and Wednesday morning it had leaked about a pint. Dripped a drop about every 5 seconds. A can of Barrs leak took care of that. Had a couple exhaust leaks behind the radiator so fixed them before putting it back together. Worked more on it today except for a 2 hour rain delay just after noon.

Charlie, wish I could help change things in N.Y. but don't see that happening soon.

Gene

Great video Ralph. It always amazes me as it seems you ride or drive mile after mile without seeing a single farm or driveway. Looks pretty sparsely populated. Maybe the -40 and -50 degree temperatures have something to do with that?
 

Gene

Gene, it is sometimes quite a distance between inhabited farm yards here but it wasn't always that way. Used to be a farm family on almost every section it seems but time and "progress" have changed all that. Farms get bigger, farmers get fewer and small towns get smaller. On the positive side there is not a lot of traffic to deal with on the back roads.
Tremendous heat in the 90 degree range this week will be hard on the canola , some of which is just blooming. It will get a break today as rain poured down this morning and supposed to be a cool showery day.
I shot this video on a warm summer evening while moving some machinery around in the shed. Had to take the old IH out on the road to get the engine warmed up.
[video=youtube;2Uy27HHo6r8]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2Uy27HHo6r8&feature=youtu.be[/video]

Like the video of the IH. Sure wouldn't take a lot of elbow work to make it like new. Always thought I would like to have one of them. Farmer I worked for many years ago had a 110 and a 1 ton. Both probably early 60's. Then traded them both on a 1600 with grain bed. Would have liked to own the 110, but hog operations take a toll on farm trucks.

Wheat still not ready yet here. Still some green heads and stems. Ragweed starting to show badly in the bare spots. Gonna be a race to get combined before they get out of hand. Normally have the combining done before they are a problem, but are a couple weeks late. Getting good moisture for the soybeans with light rains about every other day.

Japanese beetles showing up at the edge of the soybean field next to the airstrip. Mixed a batch of Sevin and glyphosate in the small sprayer and sprayed about the first 12 feet of the beans with the hand wand. Came back by about 1 hour later and didn't see any on the leaves, so maybe it is working. Saw more of them on the weeds in the wheat, Seems they like velvet leaf and giant ragweed.

Still working on the combine. Put a new bearing on the fan shaft this morning. Doing a lot of minor things that get neglected. Getting about done working on it I hope. Having time to work on it I find lots little things to fix.

Gene

We dodged the storm bullet again last night. Severe storms went north of us again. Indian Lake and Lima area got about 5 inches in one storm. Indian Lake is about 6 miles north and Lima is about 25 miles northwest. We had lots of lightning and thunder, but light winds and only 3 tenths of rain, we are in excellent moisture conditions for the crops. Just need about 3 days of sunshine to get the wheat combined and hay cut and baled.

Getting things ready for the Greenville, Ohio tractor show. Have the LA and golf cart out and washed. I will be running the sawmill again with the LA. They will be featuring Cockshutt and Co-op tractors. Still need to get the motor home ready. Hope to take the tractor over this afternoon and motorhome and golf cart on Wednesday.

Hope all are having good weather and have a nice weekend,

Gene

You are a busy man, Gene.  Good that the rain missed you.  Five inches in one dump is a lot of water and takes time to go away.  I did manage to get the hay off the big half of my lawn in the last three days.  The brown clippings laying around don't look all that good, but at least they are clippings rather than growing grass.  As of last night the other half still had standing water in places.

We had a bad last week.  Our little dog, who pretty much ran the house, passed away on Monday morning a week ago.  It could have been a number of causes, but the only thing I can relate it to is the multi heartworm treatment which I had recently applied to the back of her neck.  We will never know for sure but she was a healthy five year old until then.  No more pups for a while I guess.

Charlie

Update:

I took a little cruise around in the golf cart this evening and found the unmowed lawn just about dry enough to do, so I broke out the mower and did.  If I put it off another day, the sky most likely would open up and wash us away.  We are still a little South of the cold line, so still at risk for T-storms.

Charlie V

Charlie;

So sorry to hear of the loss of your dear companion. I had not planned to have another dog after I lost my last one, but Bandy showed up here one snowy morning and made himself at home. When he is gone, I will not have another.

Last night was another stormy night here. I took the tractor to Greenville yesterday evening. Trip over was hot and dry. Coming home I chased the rain from Piqua and finally caught up with it in Fletcher. Lots of standing water and streams running the road ditches. As I turned north off rt. 36 onto 235 I really caught up with the heavy downpour to Quincy and De Graff. Got out of the rain at edge of De Graff, but dreading what I would find when I got home. Rain gauge only had a trace, so we missed it again.

Gene

Sounds like a wet ride home from Greenville, Gene  Lucky the water missed your place.  My daughter in Delaware has been getting a lot more that they need too.  Luckily her garden is raised so it has not washed away or drowned out.

We have had a couple of relatively dry days in a row.  Storms pop up and storms pass near by, but as with you, they have been missing us.  That is fine.  Many beautiful fields or ripe wheat that need to dry enough to harvest.

Charlie V.

Had a few nice days here. I spent the last 3 days at the Greenville tractor show. Had a good time and met with a lot of old friends and made some new ones. Weather way ideal with sunshine and temps in the lower 80's. Overnight lows in the upper 60's so a sweatshirt felt good on the golf cart ride up to the restaurant. Turnout was good and over 40 feature Cockshutt tractors and many implements with them. I ran the sawmill with the LA. I ran it thursday and Saturday.

I came home early today to combine my wheat and finished just before dark. Filled all 3 of my wagons to deliver Monday. Probably about 600 bushels. Kinda disappointed with the yield, but suffered a lot of spring water damage. The ragweed were starting to get real bad, but was able to get through them alright by being careful. Combine ran perfectly, so all the preparation time was worth it.

Bandy was glad to get home. 3 days about wears him out, but he did get to meet a lot of friends, both people and dogs. Most people recognize him and my golf cart before they recognize me.

Gene

Gene, sounds like a good weekend in which you got to take in the tractor show and harvest your crop. Always helps when the weather co-operates.
I think I am glad I finished baling the cut hay since we have had two rains in the past couple of days giving , and this is a bit of an estimate, another six inches. This afternoon's was a violent wind and rain storm that did a little damage to the canola plants plus flooded out every low spot in the fields. Culverts running full again. Whatever happened to dryland farming in Sask. ?
I took this picture while stranded in one of the sheds this afternoon. You can see the rain blowing like snow.

Well the wheat is combined and the wheat sold. A little disappointed in yield, but is done. The wheat straw is baled and most is sold. Hay finally cured and baled on Friday evening. All last week was in the mid to high 90's, so made the baling uncomfortable. Fortunately had some help to get it done. Still have 2 small loads of straw that got rained on Saturday morning, but one load covered and the other in the barn for today's rain. Had 1.5 inches of welcome rain on Saturday and perhaps another half inch today that radar shows to be ending. Temps have been much more comfortable since Friday.

Soybeans are looking very good and corn all around is looking excellent with lots of height and dark green color. Most of it is starting to tassle so cooler temps will help that. Got my grass all mowed Saturday and Sunday after I fixed the oil leak on the Gravely front deck mower.

Started giving Bandy his annual haircut Thursday evening but got too dark before I got done. Still have to finish that this week before I leave for the family reunion on Thursday.

Ralph, that was quite a ride around the wet country and fields. Had nothing like that here, but just a few miles north and south have had heavy rains that left some lakes in the fields, but mostly the dry ground has accepted it well with only minor runoff.

Looks like we are all enjoying much cooler weather. Good respite from the hot muggy weather of last week.

Gene

I watched your latest production on the ATIS list with your three wheeler ride, Ralph.  You sure do have plenty of water in your neighborhood.  I think Gene and I are better off right now than Sask., as far as weather conditions.  During the very hot, dry week last, a lot of wheat went from the fields to the bins.  Very good looking crops for the most part.  Rain came in last Friday evening and made me quit mowing just before dark.  Between then and mid-day Saturday we accumulated an inch and one half. I went to finish mowing last evening with some expectation of finding puddling in the low spots.  As it turned out, I did not get wet wheels at all so the ground drank what it got.  There are sure a lot of extremes in weather across the continent this year.  

Charlie

I think I am up to the 15 inch or a little better point in rainfall now for the past 30 days. Fields are saturated but the crops are sure growing, except where they are standing in water. Spent the last couple of days loading last year's grain to empty the bins for the new harvest (if we are lucky enough to get it). Luckily the semi did not get stuck but there was some concern and a few ruts left. With grain prices in a downward spiral I guess it was none too soon to sell. As usual I shot a bit of video while loading grain. After years of shoveling grain in the hot steel bins I sure appreciate using a grain vac.
[video=youtube;x3jecGO5my4]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x3jecGO5my4&feature=youtu.be[/video]

Ralph,

The grain vac sure moves it along, doesn't it?  I can see your point.  Sure a great improvement over a scoop shovel.  Thanks for the peek at your world.

Our weather is like a roller coaster ride.  Last week in the 90's daytime and 70's at night.  Last two days a flannel shirt felt good to have on and down to 48 degrees last night.  I half expect frost warnings at night any time now.  Ground conditions seem good with enough moisture but not too wet.  Grass is still growing like springtime.  My back field which I mowed at 2 3/4 inches last Friday night is looking like about six inches now.  That inch and one half of rain last Friday night and Saturday just gave it another push.

Went to Canandaigua Tuesday and did not spot any standing wheat along the way, only fields of stubble with the straw baled and gone.  Did see one field with the straw still in windrows.  The oats which I did see were golden yellow and to me looked really close to harvest ready.  All in all it seems grain crops here are pretty much on schedule or maybe just a little behind normal.  I always remember when I was in 7th grade we had a teacher who stated that he wished school stayed in a month longer so the class could take a field trip to see wheat harvested.  School normally got out near June 20 for the summer, as it still does.  As far as Mr. Kaminski's comment, my first thought was " You idiot.  We are not going to stay in school another month to make you happy."  My second thought  " At least half of the kids in this class are farm kids and most likely actually work on their families wheat harvest.  I am sure most of us could give you lessions about that."  The town we were in was named "Wheatland".  That should have been a clue that the kids may have already seen wheat harvested once or twice. I never was too fond of that teacher to begin with.  

Funny the memories we carry through life.

Charlie V.

Charlie, same weather here. The past few days have been well below normal. Overnight temps are starting to scare some people as we inch closer to frost and still needing a month of frost free weather for most crops to survive. It is surprising how big an area this below normal temperature is affecting in Canada and the U.S.
 I finally sprayed my chem fallow for the second time, well overdue. Field was still wet, under water in places but I got over my fear of getting stuck driving through water with an 800 gallon sprayer and front wheel assist tractor. It is impressive, but so are the ruts I left.
Cool weather has been great for sweeping out grain bins. Hauling a little gravel with the old IH, etc.