Birthdays, roads to somewhere and air planes

The wind in your face but it's too bright

A quick side note to start off with and that’s a big Happy Birthday to my Dad! Technically, it’s his half birthday but we celebrate it now. Because we all know a birthday can’t measure up to Christmas and all the festivities have worn us out. 

As I write (because I refuse to procrastinate!) this morning, the rising and falling tones of an air plane repetitiously droning nearby joins the symphonic overture of the cheeky leaves fluttering in the light breeze with the cheerful chirps of my neighborhood birds joining in. My sleepy hubby was up with the rising of the dawn this morning to go spraying the corn while crop dusters were out doing the same.

Wheat starting to head out

I, unfortunately, also noticed that the sun was up with the pink ribbons streaming into orange banners across the sky. Scooter, that morning pup, was snoring away on his bed till 8am when I told him he needed to ‘wakey, wakey’ and help write this morning’s post. So far he hasn’t been that big of a help. 

So, the hubby is busy and currently out of trouble, for the moment, spraying that last round of herbicide on the corn. Next up (if the rain stays away) will be wheat spraying. The fields are quickly turning as the bearded heads start to pop up and flower. My hubby always likes to tell me that ‘30% flowering is the ideal time to spray the wheat.’ Well, the headlands are ready but the rest of the field, not so much but that’s changing rapidly. 

We’re out crop scouting together (I’m slowly learning!) and checking those wheat fields, when we come across this road. I obviously had to take a photo because you can’t make this up. I might have mentioned before here and there in a post how the roads in Canuckland are definitely not what I’m used to in SoDak. This is considered a road! Apparently it goes somewhere. At least I don’t have to worry about potholes trying to beach my truck or wobble ‘n’ rumble the alignment to pieces. I do have to figure out where the road is though. The challenges you find in the most unexpected places, eh?

Legal road that goes somewhere

We’ve been fortunate enough to have rains almost exactly when we need them here in Canuckland. I’m really happy with that; I don’t have to water my garden! Sadly the weeds still grow really well and it’s the first year of the garden on what used to be lawn. You can imagine how well the grass is trying to grow back. Sigh. 

Anyways, in SoDak my Dad was saying last night it’s getting pretty dry there. His crops still look pretty good considering, although the beans are quite short yet. He’s thinking he will hold off on spraying for awhile, and hopefully it rains in the meantime, since the beans are short and in the delicate, not quite staged zone for spraying. Dad and Mom went to Wisconsin for a wedding this last weekend and said that crops there looked even worse. Some areas had a bit of rain and others didn’t, others had been too wet in spring and didn’t get planted, etc. It’s been a rough spring for sure for some farmers unfortunately this year. 

Happy Monday! May there be rain in your forecast, coffee in your hand and perfect winds for spraying.

Ramblings on the first day of summer

Going in for the landing

So it was Father’s Day yesterday. It’s one of those holidays that rank right up there with my dad’s birthday. It’s a cool day because, duh, dads are awesome! But really though, peer into that coffee cup with honesty and admit that dads are hard to shop for or find a gift. This year must have been inspired (and I was fortunate to have a good friend in the mix too!) because it was a breeze. 

What better way to show dad we love and appreciate him by gifting him the heavy duty screwdriver set that features the mid-size to tiny size. Why? Well, it was so frustrating to need those mid to smaller screwdrivers and not find it or, find them broken. Sigh. Insert emoji with the eyes looking heavenward and an imaginary ‘tsk, tsk.’ 

Then inspiration struck when I clapped eyes on the rubber mallets. Dad was always saying he needed one, could never find it, yada yada yada. They’re perfect for tapping bearings in place. Say goodbye to the serious sledgehammer and block of wood (and you still get dings in those bearings). So I left for Canuckland with the gifts in my sister’s possession who would present them with a card on the day. Win for planning ahead!

I had thought they (mom and sis) would move the gifts from where I had left them. I’d left them leaning against an old barn trunk (looks like a like classic red barn, paint and everything) with the screwdriver set facing the trunk. This was located next to the foot of the staircase that Dad would trudge about twice a day.

Turns out that Dad had thought we’d gotten some funky hair curlers or something! Oh my goodness, I about fell off the couch laughing so hard my ribcage hurt when Mom was relating the story to me.

Then it hit me. What to get my father in-law? I was stumped. Books are always good but that’s a pretty hit and miss title. I was with a friend out and about helping her with her summer bash party prep and she mentioned that “you catch a Dutchman with cheese.” 

Her father in-law is also Dutch and she was stopping by this small town cheese store. Small town it may have been but it was premium quality cheese. A gift trio and two additional small blocks of cheese (this is stuff you wouldn’t find in the grocery store) and I was set. Don’t worry, I had a card too. Turns out her advice was so true. You really can ‘catch’ a Dutchman with cheese. Score one for the daughter in-law. 

So I’m two days behind posting for this week (posted on the 21^st but I back dated, obviously) because 1) still recovering from being sick  2) Father’s Day  3) I procrastinated and 4) when the hubs asks if you want to go for a flight you say YES! And resign yourself to being another day late with your post. But it was worth it. 

First flight of the year was a win! It was a gorgeous evening, no wind or ground thermals and so much fun. I can’t wait to go up again when the canola and flax fields are blooming. It really is quite the sight. Imagine a quilt that has very square fields in it with brilliant fields of yellow beaming up at you, the occasional dusky blue flax moodily waves and lush, emerald green glints and rolls with the wind. Here and there a circle (potatoes) surprises you with its perfect shape, dark green and a trim border of black dirt. As far as the eye can see and clouds may drift, this is the view you’ve been blessed to see. 

Fellow flier

And for a light laugh or chuckle… I met a friend for coffee and to catch up. It was a lovely, sunny day with a teasing wind, coffee (iced, of course) and so we chose to sit outside on the coffee shop’s patio. About an hour into our chat I felt a little warm on my legs so I recrossed my legs and settled back into the conversation. I did this a couple of times over the next two, three hours and didn’t think too much of it. 

The breeze was cool as it toyed with my hair; the sun was a warm hand as it stroked my face. Then as we got uncomfortably warm, I really looked at my friend and noticed she was gaining quite the sunburn. It hit me then, I was wearing shorts and a light t-shirt, I was wearing shorts. Me, the person who has been wearing jeans and combat boots for planting work, was wearing shorts i.e. the Scandinavian with the winter tan yet on my legs. Uff da.

Only I could get a sunburn on my legs (really painful on the knees, let me tell you) while drinking coffee. I mean, really? I’m a little afraid to ask ‘what next?’ but then a little adventure never stopped me. 

Potato field in the circle

Second Look

Looking back at my posts I realized that I’ve erred and haven’t written too much about planting (or seeding) in Canuckland. Hard to do since obviously I didn’t have first hand knowledge seeing that I was in SoDak; I’m still waiting for a transporter so I can flash here and there. We talked a lot while I was gone but honestly? My weary mind doesn’t retain info like a bear trap as it does during the day and consequently that info drifts silently away like fog before the vivid tendrils of sunrise. My brilliant hubby graciously offered to give me a few notes on what has transpired.

Soybean seed

He writes:

A number of winter wheat and fall rye fields didn't survive and were planted into spring wheat or soybeans.  This was due to the fact of spring freezing and icing.  Like many places, a lot less wheat and lots of soybeans and corn around. Some places were very wet.  Spring was a bit dry but pleasant to seed in.  Some wheel tracks in some fields are present.

We started  seeding spring wheat April 21-22.  After a few days, had snow on it and resumed seeding April 29.  We grow hard red spring wheat.  Some wheat fields had anhydrous ammonia applied last fall of 80 lbs of N so a spring blend of 11-52-9-0 ( nitrogen- phosphorus-potassium-sulphur in lbs per ac ) was applied. We have 2 air seeders. Double disc drill on 7.5 inch spacing and put that blend of fertilizer in furrow. Seedhawk is on 10 inch spacing and bands fertilizer 1.5 inches to the side and 1.5 inches below the seedrow. A blend of 80-45-10-10 is applied on fields with no anhydrous. 

Wheat fields are currently 3 leaf stage (as of end of May) and will be sprayed again next week as the fields were sprayed with roundup before the crop emerged to kill the volunteer canola. All the canola is up. Had a close call of frost which nipped some plants on May 18. 

There is flea beetle pressure but since we've had a rain of 3 tenths on May 21 the canola should outgrow the flea beetle pressure. Fertilizer of a blend of 90 -45-0-10 was banded with the Seedhawk. Some fields we tried esn fertilizer which is a slow release of nitrogen as the nitrogen is coated with a plastic pearl. Seed rate is about 4 lbs per ac.  Only used 13 fifty pound bags per 160 ac.

Corn fields are poking up. Fertilizer is banded of a rate of 30-40-10-10.  Will apply anhydrous ammonia later in June. Soybeans are all planted and should be up this week. Many guys roll their fields.  We didn't but may do so when the beans are up for harvest ease.  Two fields of pinto beans were planted last week and will continue this week (end of May) to finish planting. Treflan chemical was applied last fall and some fields this spring.  Spraying will continue end of week and next week.  Steady off ‘n’ on trucking grain out to fulfill contracts over the next couple of weeks.

Thanks hun!

Currently now we are spraying herbicide on the edibles and will just be finishing the second round of spraying the soy beans. We’re hoping to finish spraying corn in the next two weeks (due to rain showers interrupting) with the final round of herbicide. Week after that we will begin the fungicide application for wheat and canola.

(Please note that in effort to keep the blog on a weekly schedule, I’m back dating this post to it’s intended day but I posted it on June 21. My apologies but I’ve been under the weather for the last week and a half.)

The End

Fall rye

I remember seeing these words ‘the end’ at the conclusion of the latest Bugs Bunny and Elmer Fudd adventure. Can you imagine if those words floated in the sky like a neon sign when you were done with planting? Of course, that’s more Hunger Games series than Bugs Bunny. It would bring the planting competition, er, game to a new level as that flashed across the sky when each neighbor raced, sweat-dripping, machinery limping across that ‘finish line.’ Complete with a grease-streaked mug shot Jason Bourne-style.

Well, it has been concluded that planting has finished for me in SoDak in this last week. Shortly, after last week’s post actually. Planting in Canuckland finished a week before that; the edibles had to wait a short period (delaying the end) till the weather warmed up and it dried off after a rain. During a run for a bag or two of extra seed, always good to be prepared don’t ya know, I had the opportunity to talk with our seed dealer. He wanted to know what we do for fun. I, of course, responded ‘work.’ Well, it’s the truth. Winter is when there’s actually time for fun and vacation so stay tuned for those sure to be quirky adventures. 

Pup in rye

 Okay, so he also asked about where the great spots were for fishing in Canuckland. Me being of the ‘casual’ fisherman type did the whole ‘shoulder shrug, hands up in the I don’t know’ gesture and said that while I could provide the B & B service and limited tour guide duty I would have to ask my brother in-law. My BIL loves to fish, when he can, and usually can reel in some sized fish so he would know the good spots to sink a line. 

My fish recognition scale revolves around the small world of blue gill, perch, bass, trout and salmon (only because I buy salmon in the grocery store). Clearly, I know exactly what lure and bait to use for the big dogs, er, serious fish. Myself, I prefer the half of a wriggling worm on my hook with the classic hook-style to it and a cheerful, happy red and white bobber. If I’m really feeling my skills are strong that day, I’ll even add a sinker. Yup, I am that confident.

Well, now that planting is a wrap and all my varieties are noted through the ‘Farm at Hand’ app (Canuck-based app but quite a few US farmers use it as well); that my hubby had gotten me hooked on when we were dating. I’d better be going and track down that hubby of mine and get a lesson or two in chemical application Canuck-style. 

I hope your planting/spring season finished well and is off to a great start! And may the winds be ever in your favor.