Thanks giving

Helping soil test

Today is THE day. I’m finally heading south snowbird-style. Sadly, I’m not a true snowbird; I’m not retired or show the passing of many decades in my face. Or, not sadly, I like working, I feel productive. I was supposed to be south over a week earlier but hey, just shy of six inches of rain in one week will muck up any plans for harvest. By the time you read this I’ll have the wind in my hair, the sun on my face and the miles racking up behind me. Unless you’re one of those perky, chipper sorts that wake before the birds then I might be throwing the duffel into the truck and then on the road. With coffee, okay, two travel mugs of coffee. Thanks to a bestie and an early Christmas gift (she’s got all her Christmas shopping done, BEFORE October) I have a 24oz mug. Yeah! Talk about the extra coffee. :)

Sun bathing, er, napping

 And while I’m driving through Canuckland all the stores will be closed in deference to Thanksgiving. I’ll be honest; it takes some getting used to having Thanksgiving in October and two in one year. This year, I’m actually around to celebrate Canuck Thanksgiving with hubs, his family and siblings (and my super cute little niece). It’s nice to actually be around and celebrate with them.

With this dry year we’ve had, we’re combining corn already. So Canuck Thanksgiving and American Thanksgiving both have corn harvest in common this year. It feels a little bit like home. Oddly enough we haven’t gotten a hard freeze yet either but the corn P7527 is coming off at 25% moisture. Not bad, considering no frost. The P7211 came off at 21.5%. Whoa.

This looks the same as the last round

My experience with corn moisture is along the lines of ‘whoa, pull that combine back and go drink coffee or fix something.’ Here in hub’s world, 21.5% moisture is within their optimal range for combining. Of course, it takes a detour through the dryer then to an aeration bin, while still hot, to take another half to one percent moisture out. From there, it’s transferred to a bin for storage.

Hubs asked if I wanted to combine some corn this past week. The big green machine sat ready with its ridiculous-looking chopping head on. (When I’m used to seeing a 20 inch – 12 row – 20 feet corn head, a 30 inch – 8 row – 20 feet head looks funky in comparison.) Now normally I jump at every opportunity to combine (it’s fun!) but I’ll be honest. The green machine doesn’t have the quietest cab ever. And it’s louder when harvesting corn than, say, beans. 

One of my failings is that I’m prone to headaches. A rumbling combine, the odd combo of whistling and rattling golden corn stalks as they disappear into the whirling chopping knives, the weighted thunks of ears of corn bouncing into the head and the crunching thunder of the ears passing through the rotor, the lost silence of corn shelling – separated and cleaned – and finally, the dull, glass-edged shatter of clean grain raining down in the holding tank. All of that pure sound filtering through the cab is enough to give me a migraine. My lovely red combine muffles that enough where it’s bearable and I can also listen to the radio. Win.

May your week be full of gratitude, the crops dry and your coffee nearby.

PS Thank you to my hubs for the photos this week. :)