Wheat Harvest 2016

Last of the dairy cows
June 19^th 2016
High clouds, 91 degrees
Humidity: 52%
Dew Point: 40 degrees
Wind: NW @ 7 mph
Forecast: Increasing clouds

The farm is down to one dairy cow.
Just a few years ago the dairy herd had 100 cows, more or less.
Actually being milked there were about 50 cows, more or less.
Now we have one dairy cow, more or less.
Millie is still on the farm, but she hasn’t been milked in several years. She started out as an FFA (Future Farmers of America) cow. She was raised by a couple of middle schoolers. They fed Millie with a milk bottle when she was just a calf. When she got older they fed her with a bucket. Almost a family pet. Of course she was an FFA project so once she was ‘selling’ age she had to be sold. Rather than going to the slaughterhouse she ended up at a dairy farm. From that dairy farm to Trego Center Dairy.
Millie was still vey much a people cow.

Oh she’d hang around with the other cows. Come in and get milked with the other cows. But she never went to any of the cow functions. None of the parties or post feeding get-togethers. Millie would always be at the edge of the gathering. Often lying down. Not really paying attention to the conversation.
But if a person would walk out into the pasture, Millie would be on her feet and walking toward them.

Most cows who have been around people will tolerate them. As a group cows will often walk up to the person. But if a person walks toward them the cows will move away. Not necessarily run away, but move, in a leisurely fashion….away.
Not so with Millie.
She will walk right up to the person and gently butt the person with her nose and ask where’s the grain bucket.
Guess Millie is still more pet than property. She still walks around the pastures by the house. She’s a bit more independent than before. But if someone walks into the pasture with a grain bucket, Millie will walk right on over. So will Norman. The bull.
Norman and Millie now have the farm to themselves. All of the grass and grain and water and hay they want. And none of the crowded jostling. And….
Trego Center Dairy still has a dairy herd.

Counting wheat berries
June 20^th 2016
Sunny: 94 degrees
Humidity: 35%
Dew Point: 64degrees
Wind: WNW @ 5 mph
Forecast: partly cloudy

Bruce was praying.
On his knees.
In the wheat field.
Right behind the combine.
Now the Mai clan is very religious. We’re church going folks. Zion Lutheran for those out here at the farm. Bruce was even baptized at Zion. Been on the church council many times. Even president a number of times. Sung in the choir. About the only time we’re not taking up a pew or two on Sunday morning is in the middle of wheat harvest. Even then a fair number of the family are in the pews. Since cutting doesn’t usually start until late morning only a few may stay home getting things prepped for fieldwork. But as soon as service is over everyone heads for the field. But to see Bruce down on his knees out in the field is a bit unusual. Then Clayton Andrew joined him. OK time to get out of the grain cart tractor and find out what is going on.
I could only assume things must be going really good.
Or really bad. And one way or the other just maybe I should be joining the service.
By they time I walked over to them I could see Clayton Andrew blowing on the ground. Even for an old hippie who once dabbled with ‘New-Age’ religions, this is a bit unusual.
The light dawned.
Bruce and Clayton Andrew were blowing the straw away from the ground so they could count the wheat berries (seed).

The combine has just over a bazillion controls. Ways to measure and regulate the speed of the combine. The speed of the reel. How far the reel slides in and out on the header. The angle of the header. The height of the header. The speed the conveyor belt brings the cut wheat to the feeder-house. The speed of the thrashing. The speed of the unloading auger. Sensors that measure the dampness of the wheat. Sensors that measure oil pressure. Hydraulic pressure. All of the pressures inside big diesel. And the rest of the bazillion other things.
The goal of the machine, of course, is to get the wheat berries off the plant and into the grain storage tank on top of the combine. But some of the berries inevitably get thrown out the back. Actually a fancy combine like the Moose will tell you about how much grain is getting ‘spilled’ out the back.
But the only way to be sure is to get out of the combine, go to the back and look on the ground. Most folks count the berries in a square foot (some do a square yard) of ground. Also folks check the berries themselves. Are they broken? How many are broken? Then depending on what is found the driver makes adjustments. Today the decision is to make a couple of subtle changes and keep on cutting.
Sitting in the grain cart often leads to time to think. Think about the field. Where to move to so as to be ready for the combine. Time to think about the ins and outs of cutting grain. Think….about….a machine that follows the combine. Some sort of vacuum cleaner. Perhaps actually attach it to the chaff outlet on the combine and vacuum the chaff right out of combine. Separate the wheat from the chaff…..

Concrete
6.20.16 0800
Sunny: 76 degrees
Humidity 72%
Dew Point 64 degrees
Wind S @ 5 mph
Forecast: Sunny

John & Jan had everything ready by 7:30 am. Bruce showed up by 7:40, Carolyn, Michelle and i were there by 7:55. Concrete delivery time….8 am. Dan, the concrete man, and his truck arrived at 9:10. He got held up in town.
Well not held up as in ‘robbed’. Not many people want to steal a concrete truck. Even loaded.
John & Jan are remodeling a barn. Making it a home. They have both officially retired and come back to the farm. Not at the farm where Grandma used to live, but about five miles from the farm. They have some land and an old homestead. The old house is gone, but the barn, garage, root cellar, water and electric are still there. The place is quickly becoming the John & Jan Mai homestead.
John & Jan, Bruce & Joel and a friend named Frank did the concrete work on the South side of the barn. This will be the family room. The concrete work today is on the North side of the barn, which will soon become two bedrooms and an office. Between the concrete slabs will be the mudroom, kitchen, dinning area and two bathrooms. The South is the large family room and a sewing room for Jan at the West end.
An hour after Dan arrived the concrete work was done. At least the concrete was on the ground. The floating (smoothing) kept John busy most of the rest of the day.
At 10:16 Bruce headed home. We’re going to start cutting today!
Carolyn, Michelle and i headed home about 10:50 after posing for a few pictures. Jan is putting together a scrapbook of the adventure of making an old milk barn into a home.
When Carolyn, Michelle and I headed out John was in the middle of the new concrete, down on his knees resting on a four foot square of plywood. Finish float in hand.
Some day all of this concrete will be covered over. No one will see this fine flatwork. Well almost no one. A few of us will know.
And we have some photos to prove it.

Flat Cat

7.5.16 @ 3:15 pm
97: Clear
Dew point: 50 degrees
Humidity: 65%
Wind: S @ 410 mph
Forecast: Potential rain

It was Heidi’s turn to carry Flat Cat.
We have a fair number of cats at the farm. Anywhere from a few to 20….or so. Currently there are three litters.
Some of the cats stay for years. Some for a short while. Moving on after resting up a little. Perhaps learning to live with dogs. And avoiding cow hooves.
Most of the cats who move on head to Los Angles. It’s a dream that many farm cats have. Perhaps it’s the idea of bright lights. Or movies. Or the chance to make it in the big city. Perhaps its just because we listen to a lot of rock and roll. Often The Doors.
Those cats who hang around for generations, have names. Often several names. Never three names, but often two. Pirate Kitty is also Mose. Mommy Cat is also Gray Tiger. Most of the cats just have one name. Chiropractor Kitty, Achilles, Calico and Little Girl Junior.

The dogs seem to have their own names for the cats. But what those names are neither the dogs nor cats are saying.
Seems Flat Cat stopped by the farm on the way to L.A. But never moved on. Never had a name until Flat Cat became Flat Cat.
This afternoon Heidi was walking with Flat Cat. Heidi was proud. Head held high. Really proud. Ridging around on the seat of the four-wheeler proud. Heck she was prancing. Of course this could be because she was carrying Flat Cat by the tail. If Heidi didn’t hold her head high she would trip on Flat Cat’s front paws. They slide along the ground.
There is discussion that Flat Cat is from ancient Egypt. Certainly Flat Cat has a very regal bearing. Straight as a board, but with a slightly startled expression.
We’ll probably never know the real history. As always neither the dogs nor cats are saying.

Traditional Kansas Thunderstorm

7.5.16 @ 10:30 pm
75: thunderstorms
Dew point: 68 degrees
Humidity: 60%
Wind: NNE @ 10 mph (gusts to 40)
Forecast: Rain and hail

We laughed most of the day. Watched the clouds build in the North. The weather apps and all the animals said the storm would stay by the Nebraska border. Even at dinner only Joyce was mildly concerned.
But by 9 pm there could be no doubt but that it was going to rain. By 10 pm there was lightening and thunder and rain. By 11 it was a real life Kansas thunderstorm. Rain drops the size of small dogs. Some light hail. Lightning everywhere. Across the sky. To the ground. A continuous grumble from Thor himself. (Hmmmm good name for a cat).
The rain coming in sheets. Just like an East Coast hurricane. I could see as far as the Shed. About 40 feet away. The big light still on for Heidi.
And Max.
Was surprised to see Max standing in the Shed doors. They’re big. Big enough for a combine (without the header) to drive in. The Shed faces dues East. The rain is coming from almost due North. So inside the Shed was dry ad well lit. Occasionally Max would step to the edge of the doors and look toward Bruce & Joyce’s house. Looking out Grandma’s kitchen window i couldn’t see their house. Just blowing curtains of rain.
Not sure if Max could see their house. It was only 40 or so feet away from him.
I went to the back door, turned on the lights and shouted for Max. Figured he could stay in the laundry/mud room at Grandma’s.
He heard me. Looked over. Even through that rain streaked 40 feet from Grandma’s door to the Shed, i could clearly see the look of disbelief. Max looked again at Bruce’s. Looked back at me. Then turned around and went back into the Shed. He was dry and could curl up on the four-wheeler seat.
I’m sure he would have been glad to have the company. But if i wanted to sprint the 40 feet to the Shed, well, that was my affair.

The Great Henry Field Crop Lines

6.24.16 @ 8:25 pm
100: Sunny
Dew point: 66 degrees
Humidity: 40%
Wind: SSE @ 20 mph
Forecast: Sunny

A few years ago i saw a National Geographic story about the Nazca Lines (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nazca_Lines) in Southern Peru. Guess people have known about the lines for many years. But since there are only some low hills on the Nazca desert no one actually knew what pictures the images the lines created. The people actually making the lines had no idea what they looked like. Once seen, from the air, it was obvious that the lines are a way to contact space aliens. Seems some scientist with a National Geographic grant (therefore the show and article) figured out how the lines were made. Made by people without the use of flying machines or balloons.
I first noticed the Henry Field Crop Lines yesterday.

Straight lines that run through the wheat field on the Henry land. Perfectly straight lines. Running precisely East /West (or perhaps West/East depending on your celestial orientation). A ten-inch wide, straight as an arrow strip, where nothing grows. As straight as if someone had taken a giant razor blade and ruler to the land. There is no wheat at all. Any small plants that were there have turned grayish black. The wheat next to the lines is perfect.
The lines themselves are barely visible in the uncut wheat field. But once the wheat is cut the lines jump off the landscape.
Throughout the day i lined the tractor up with the lines. Stood on top of the tractor with a broom we use to sweep out the grain cart and measured the angle of the sun. Sent my results to some technology friends in North Carolina. They pulled up Google Earth and superimposed my measurements. There can be no doubt but that the lines actually run from the East to the West.
Also the width of the lines should be visible from space.
The technology folks have requested satellite imaging of the Henry field on the next pass of the NOAA satellite. Involving NOAA was a stroke of genius and certainly not mine. Not only will we get some high-resolution photos but once NOAA is involved perhaps we can finagle some time on their Cray XC-40 super computers. Crunch the numbers on the relative position of the sun and the lines by time of day and the day of the month.
The current working hypothesis is that the space aliens can tell when harvest is done by the appearance of the lines. Using the super computer we may be able to figure out where in space the lines would be most visible and therefore in what direction to look for the space aliens.
All and all an exciting twist to harvest.

Window Towel

6.27.16 @ 6:30 pm
83: Partially Cloudy
Dew point: 60 degrees
Humidity: 50%
Wind: ESE @ 7 mph
Forecast: Chance of Rain

We have posted several shots, and videos, from the inside of the grain cart tractor. A couple of folks have noticed the towel stuffed along the right side of the back window.

A few have even made some….well let’s say questionable comments, about the need to use a towel to help keep out the dust in a 21^st Century John Deere tractor. After all we have equipment with GPS, auto steer, automatic download of field parameters to a computer. However it is often dusty in the field. I guess it has always been dusty in a wheat field.
There is a family story about Albert (Elfriede’s husband) coming in one evening so covered with dust that his clothes, front and back, were all the same color. So were his hands, neck, face and hair, except the very top of his head. Where his hat had been sitting. He was also wearing goggles. And when he took them off he looked like a reverse raccoon. Only his eyes and the crown of his head were dust free. But you’d think a John Deere 8410 with A/C, surround sound, fully adjustable, lumbar support swivel seating would not have a problem with leaking dust in the cab.
It doesn’t.
But it does have a problem with leaking sunlight.In the evening as the sun moves toward the horizon, the sunlight leaks in through the back window. And it can get kind of warm. The A/C will keep the cab cool…but shoulders and back will feel the sun.
When the sun finally sets and night cascades across the field we work by tractor lights. Just like car lights. But a bunch more. Scattered around the tractor and grain cart. The Moose (new combine) is often mistaken for a space ship on a low level search and capture mission.
The grain cart lights end up reflecting on the inside of the front window of the tractor and make it a lot harder to see. About six years ago American ingenuity kicked in. I took an old bath towel and hung it in the back window of the tractor. Still works like a charm.
Of course when we are off loading wheat from the combine onto the grain cart or off loading wheat from the grain cart onto the semi, it is important to be able to see out the back window. So with a bit of string i fixed the towel to the right side of the cab. Near the back window. On the left side of the cab is a good old fashioned ‘cap hook’.

A one inch cut in the corner of the towel loops nicely over the cap hook. The towel covers the window. The sun is held off and the reflections kept to a minimum. And when needed the towel can be easily dropped out of the way.
Many people have said that Albert was an awesome farm and one who liked to try new things. Everyone at Trego Center Dairy says he would be impressed with all of the electronic technology that has come to the farm. I like to think he would be just a little impressed with my tractor window shade. Of course he might be a bit embarrassed that a son-in-law of his was too wimpy to take a little sunlight on the back!

Sunglasses in the grass alas

6.22.16 @ 4:30 pm
94:  Sunny
Dew point: 62 degrees
Humidity: 46%
Wind: N @ 3 mph
Forecast: Cloudy

OK there is a lot of dust and wheat chaff in the air when the combine goes by.
 New Farm Rule….#231
       Do not get out of the equipment (tractors, trucks, etc) as the combine goes by.
But i did.
Just wanted to check on the amount of wheat in the semi. Of course i could have done that quite comfortably from inside the tractor. We have a really cool camera on the end of the grain cart auger. We installed it three years ago (post on 6.27.13: Grain Cart Camera) and then revised it the next year. Clayton Andrew’s idea (this year he is working on a Drone camera mount that can be applied to the window of the combine….actually any window, and he can run the camera with an iPad). Although i had been using the camera (on the grain cart) for the last two days, i totally forgot about it. This is what happens to a city boy who gets to be a field hand two weeks a year.
The semi, by the way, had plenty of room. And i was covered in chaff and dust.
Got back in the grain cart tractor. At least i had the foresight to wait until the combine chaff and dust vortex had settled. No sense having a tractor cab full of wheat chaff and dust.
About 20 minutes later it was time to get out of the tractor and jump in the pond. There was no one on this field but Bruce and John, so i could easily strip down to my shorts, perhaps strip down to nothing all. Just had to wash away itchiness. It was 97 degrees. The pond water would be about 80. Perfect for a field skinny dip.
Too bad there is no pond in this field.
But i got out of the tractor, took off my sunglasses, hat, shirt and boots (since i was wearing shorts the chaff and dirt was all down in my boots). Brushed away the itchiness. Soaked in the sun for a few minutes. Then climbed back into the tractor feeling….well not as good as a skinny dip in the pond, but a lot better than before.
About half way out to get another load of wheat it occurred to me that the sun was a lot brighter than i remembered. Then i remembered my sunglasses on the tractor step. Nothing to do but go get the wheat. But when i came back to the semi i did my very best Big Bird. One day on Sesame Street Big Bird said to retrace your steps until you find what you lost.
I could see the tractor tracks in the newly cut wheat. I could even find the area where i had stopped to de-dust. And that is when i saw the shiny edge of a glasses frame.
Stopped the tractor and climbed out full of confidence.
The reflection was a shiny stalk of cut wheat catching the sun. Ah well perhaps only Big Bird could find a pair of glasses in a freshly cut wheat field.

Lets cut wheat

6.23.16 @ 1010
89: Cloudy
Dew point: 70 degrees
Humidity: 50%
Wind: WNW @ 3 mph
Forecast: Clearing

The farm cleared out a bit this morning. Clayton & Jessica & boys headed back to Topeka. Janelle and her kids headed back to Denver.
About 9:30 am Bruce headed back West to put fuel in the combine and check on the wheat. Can we cut or is it to wet? There was a bit of rain last night. Nothing to brag about. Not even enough to measure. But the humidity makes it hard to cut the wheat. The wheat berries (seeds) are dry enough but if the wheat stem has taken in moisture (often from the humidity).
Hard to cut.
Hard to separate the berries from the wheat stem.
Today the forecast is for rain. Not a lot but thunderstorms and wetness late morning early, afternoon. 60-70% chance.
So if we can get any cutting done it would be nice to do it.
About 10:10 Bruce called….’Tell John & Bob to come on out. We’re going to start cutting.’
Harvest is a time when folks work together. Carolyn & Jan started filling water jugs and lunches (in our newly initiated take out boxes), bags of ‘trail mix’.
By 10:25 John & i were on the way to the field.
By 11:00 Cutting is underway again