Wheat Harvest. The Last Day No. 2 (16 of 16)

The most startling thing about the shiny used combine was how few design changes had been made between my machine (1995) and this one (2008.) Dad really liked this combine and thought I should just buy this one from them until I showed him in the HPJ how much they wanted for it ($185,000.)






And that's the end of that.

Wheat Harvest. The Last Day No. 1 (15 of 16.)

We were in desperate need of a new sickle bar, which was not in stock on Sunday when we called. I decided I would go ahead and cut out the borders of the field first thing Monday morning so we could go ahead and clean out the combine while we waited for the loaner header they were bringing out since they didn't have the sickle bar for us.
You can see what a lousy job our header was doing. Then things got worse.


I pulled back on the stick. There was a ker-chunk, and the happy little combine could go no further. Deep inside the confines of the transmission, something had gone horribly wrong:
After the mechanic came out and confirmed what I suspected, the first step was to unload the grain tank on the combine into the grain cart:

Then tow the combine to the edge of the field...
...so they winch it onto the truck.
The truck had brought out a shiny used combine which the dealership had gotten back off of rental:

Here we can see my combine being hauled away while we resume harvest in the shiny used combine.

There was a nice harvest moon for our last night of harvest.

Wheat Harvest Days 11-13 of 16

First wheat in the new bins!



It is nice to have a lackey.

Boyd grew this PostRock for us, and it was the last of his wheat that needed cut, so we cleaned his machine out and were able to finish it up that night.


Note the brighter lights on the new John Deere on the left. Just like in the ads. Their combine is a mere 13 years newer than ours.

Keenan and Ari came out to ride the morning of the 4th of July.

Using all three tanks at once.


Dad went to see W. speak in Oklahoma on the Fourth, so I got to run the combine. There was a little down time waiting for the substitute truck driver.

And what kind of Independence day would be complete without fireworks? Lear's pictured above, and the city of Garden City's pictured below:


I apparently left my camera at home on day 14. But it involved roading everything back north. It was also the only day of the sixteen in which no wheat was cut. It was also the day that Levi went back home :( .

Wheat Harvest Days 8-10 of 16

This was the first time to use Chris's new auger.



Fr. Wesley came out too that day, but he didn't color any pictures.



An early finish.

I took advantage of some showers to spray my milo.


And back down south on day 10.