Birthday Wishes

        When you ask my husband what he would like to do for his birthday, he always says to be in the field.  His wish was granted on Tuesday, but because of the drizzly day, we did make it to town for dinner and to pick our last new stove.  The first one we purchased in late August. We discovered last week when we went to install it, it was damaged.  We thought the dented-up back would be fine, but when we turned on the oven for the first time, we found out differently.  A loud pop resounded and a spark flew.  Yikes!! Luckily they replaced it even though it had been over 30 days since the purchase date. 
       Anyway, I'm getting off topic.  Here is my husband doing what he loves...farming. 

        Saturday was a beautiful fall day perfect for cutting beans.  No dew, wind out of the west, we should be able to start long before noon and finish our last field of beans.  

         Nice thought anyway ,the combine was having starting issues. So the morning started with a trip to John Deere, 30 minutes away, to get parts for what we hoped would fix it.  Then, I went to the field with him to turn the key, while he primed the fuel pump by the engine. 

 

      First go around was a failure. Now it's a phone call to John Deere to get some advice on what to try next. There was one more thing we can try before running to get more parts. I head back for the cab while he starts fiddling with the injectors. As I try opening the cab, I realize that I did not fully unlock the door earlier and now the keys are locked inside. Oops, one more call to JD to see if they have a key that would work. Luckily they do, but it also means another trip to JD. 

        My husband says he was irritated, but I would say he was more than irritated because we sped pretty quickly out of the field and not a word was spoken on the 30 minute drive. After getting the key, and driving back, we try this last trick.  It worked. She fired up!

        Now that it is noon and we lost all those extra hours. We head into the field to get started again.  The beans are cutting well and his eager mood returns.

         As you can tell from all the pictures of my husband, he is on the phone. Well, yes, he is quite the social butterfly, but it's also the only time he is distracted enough that I can take his picture. 

         We fill one semi and borrow a neighbor's grain cart for the rest.  The beans are yeilding about average which is good.

       Once we finish, it's time to head home while I follow behind in the truck with the head cart.   Two loads of beans to dump at the elevator and the 2013 bean harvest is complete.