Most, maybe all of the winter rye is harvested 2nd week of August 2016 journaling
I got a bin of grain a week ago, but one original wood bearing in the straw rack died and its mate was almost gone. Both of the parts combine's bearings were also on the way out. I didn't know anything about wood bearings when this happened, but that didn't last long. Looked around and found replacements, but as the weekend had arrived it was faster to make my own. And I finally know why I saved that chunk of maple from 1995's kitchen counter project.
In the process the milling machine's motor starter crapped out; it's hotwired while I decide whether I really need one for a 1/2 HP motor that runs maybe 5 hr. in a busy year. I had to dig out the lathe's boring bar to arrive at a hole bigger than 5/8" but less than 13/16", but the two I made have run 6 hours without problem. And then yesterday morning I had to make a new hinge pin: cut 5/16" rod, drill two 1/16" holes for cotters. I used the Walker-Turner drill press. One drill broke as it started to exit, but I was able to punch the fragments out leaving a usable hole.
The two fields J planted produced about 6 tons. The one across the state line was thinner and less consistently seeded, but still worthwhile. The current Google Maps image is from this spring and the crop is visible, south and SE of her paddocks.
There is a 3rd field, but I don't have a shelter for the combine near it. I will look at it before leaving for the NOFA conference and see if there's hope for next week. Today's 1.5 CM of rain will accelerate weed growth and once they're too tall it becomes very difficult to keep unwanted seeds out of the grain.
I did get to the beach with J and M last week. My garden has survived with attention from both me and M. I got the body work done on the Civic. Next month Youngest will be attending www.sspc18.com. I got a call from Middle and his fiancee Sunday AM, made from their camp on Signal Ridge south of Mt. Carrigain.
My house and barn have undergone considerable cleaning and organizing, in part because Youngest's horse needs 2 months of reduced turnout rest and my barn has empty stalls. More field cleanup remains, as there were a couple of trees cut last year but no appropriate time for brush burning with the winter's limited snow.
In the process the milling machine's motor starter crapped out; it's hotwired while I decide whether I really need one for a 1/2 HP motor that runs maybe 5 hr. in a busy year. I had to dig out the lathe's boring bar to arrive at a hole bigger than 5/8" but less than 13/16", but the two I made have run 6 hours without problem. And then yesterday morning I had to make a new hinge pin: cut 5/16" rod, drill two 1/16" holes for cotters. I used the Walker-Turner drill press. One drill broke as it started to exit, but I was able to punch the fragments out leaving a usable hole.
The two fields J planted produced about 6 tons. The one across the state line was thinner and less consistently seeded, but still worthwhile. The current Google Maps image is from this spring and the crop is visible, south and SE of her paddocks.
There is a 3rd field, but I don't have a shelter for the combine near it. I will look at it before leaving for the NOFA conference and see if there's hope for next week. Today's 1.5 CM of rain will accelerate weed growth and once they're too tall it becomes very difficult to keep unwanted seeds out of the grain.
I did get to the beach with J and M last week. My garden has survived with attention from both me and M. I got the body work done on the Civic. Next month Youngest will be attending www.sspc18.com. I got a call from Middle and his fiancee Sunday AM, made from their camp on Signal Ridge south of Mt. Carrigain.
My house and barn have undergone considerable cleaning and organizing, in part because Youngest's horse needs 2 months of reduced turnout rest and my barn has empty stalls. More field cleanup remains, as there were a couple of trees cut last year but no appropriate time for brush burning with the winter's limited snow.