2012 Fall Harvest has began ....

And already it has been interesting.  We've had several things happen that never happened before. We have shelled corn in August before. Many years ago Steve had a sand field that because  of dry weather he and Dad shelled before the Bumpus reunion.  One field. We held off as long as we could stand it and started August 30.

Actually we held off just a little longer.  Our first activity of the day was to go see Lee Bline and buy a used corn head reel from him.  I hoped I never needed one of those, but we decided it was time.  I had ordered one from our local John Deere dealer but their supplier failed to deliver it when they promised it.  Our salesman said "I have a neighbor that wants to sell his.  And I guarantee it has not been abused." It also saved me about $1000.  So we made a quick trip and got it.  But looking at the weather forecast we decided to shell corn if we could. We shelled a little corn near the shop to make sure everything was working like it should

and then headed for some places that will be a problem if we get the 6" of rain they are talking about.  We hope the yield is higher than the moisture.  The elevator ticket for the field he is in is 21.0%.  Well, the ticket for the elevator that unloaded the truck.  It was refused by the first place I took it for aflatoxin.  They use a simple yes/no test strip

What s aflatoxin?  The quick answer is "Aflatoxin, a toxin from a naturally occurring mold" After this year? Mold?

A sample is ground, mixed, the strip is put in the container and in 5 minutes it shows yes or no indicators.  It was kind of humorous until it failed the guy in front of me.  And my load.  Oh, and if the test is negative there is no charge. To add insult to injury if it is positive they refuse your load and charge $20 for the test.

So NOW what do I do?

The guy in front of me and I had the same idea.  We both went on to Annapolis Grain.

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Stacey probed and ground and sampled ... but using a different tester.

The one they use gives a numerical readout.  All we knew with the first one was it was over 20 ppb.  When she ran it on her machine it said exactly how much was there.  Oh, and hers showed 1 ppb on the other guy's load and 2 ppb on mine.

So I unloaded and came back to the field.  As I cam through West Union the truck started to run a bit rough.  So when I got to the field I popped the hood.  It was running rough because a spark plug boot was on fire!

So I changed trucks.

But we got started, nobody got hurt.  nothing major broke down.  I guess it might be considered a good start.  But this is coming.

On the lighter side of things

My friend John has been posting lawyer jokes on Facebook. Beats talking about the crops and weather.

IT CAN BE HARD KEEPING A STRAIGHT FACE AS A COURT REPORTER
These are from a book called Disorder in the American Courts

and are things people actually said in court, word for word, taken down and published by court reporters that had the torment of staying calm while the exchanges were taking place.

ATTORNEY: What was the first thing your husband said to you that morning?
WITNESS: He said , 'Where am I, Cathy?'

ATTORNEY: And why did that upset you?
WITNESS: My name is Susan!
____________________________________________

ATTORNEY: What gear were you in at the moment of the impact?
WITNESS: Gucci sweats and Reeboks.
____________________________________________

ATTORNEY: Are you sexually active?
WITNESS: No , I just lie there.
____________________________________________

ATTORNEY: This myasthenia gravis, does it affect your memory at all?
WITNESS: Yes.
ATTORNEY: And in what ways does it affect your memory?
WITNESS: I forget..
ATTORNEY: You forget? Can you give us an example of something you forgot?
___________________________________________

ATTORNEY: Do you know if your daughter has ever been involved in voodoo?
WITNESS: We both do.
ATTORNEY: Voodoo?
WITNESS: We do..
ATTORNEY: You do?
WITNESS: Yes , voodoo.
____________________________________________

ATTORNEY: Now doctor , isn't it true that when a person dies in his sleep , he doesn't know about it until the next morning?
WITNESS: Did you actually pass the bar exam?
____________________________________

ATTORNEY: The youngest son , the 20-year-old , how old is he?
WITNESS: He's 20 , much like your IQ.
___________________________________________

ATTORNEY: Were you present when your picture was taken?
WITNESS: Are you shitting me?
_________________________________________

ATTORNEY: So the date of conception (of the baby) was August 8th?
WITNESS: Yes.
ATTORNEY: And what were you doing at that time?
WITNESS: Getting laid
____________________________________________

ATTORNEY: She had three children , right?
WITNESS: Yes.
ATTORNEY: How many were boys?
WITNESS: None.
ATTORNEY: Were there any girls?
WITNESS: Your Honor, I think I need a different attorney. Can I get a new attorney?
____________________________________________

ATTORNEY: How was your first marriage terminated?
WITNESS: By death..
ATTORNEY: And by whose death was it terminated?
WITNESS: Take a guess.

____________________________________________

ATTORNEY: Doctor , how many of your autopsies have you performed on dead people?
WITNESS: All of them.. The live ones put up too much of a fight.
_________________________________________

ATTORNEY: ALL your responses MUST be oral , OK? Wha

t school did you go to?
WITNESS: Oral...
_________________________________________

ATTORNEY: Do you recall the time that you examined the body?
WITNESS: The autopsy started around 8:30 PM
ATTORNEY: And Mr. Denton was dead at the time?
WITNESS: If not , he was by the time I finished.
____________________________________________

ATTORNEY: Are you qualified to give a urine sample?
WITNESS: Are you qualified to ask that question?
______________________________________

And last:

ATTORNEY: Doctor, before you performed the autopsy, did you check for a pulse?
WITNESS: No.
ATTORNEY: Did you check for blood pressure?
WITNESS: No.
ATTORNEY: Did you check for breathing?
WITNESS: No..
ATTORNEY: So, then it is possible that the patient was alive when you began the autopsy?
WITNESS: No.
ATTORNEY: How can you be so sure, Doctor?
WITNESS: Because his brain was sitting on my desk in a jar.
ATTORNEY: I see, but could the patient have still been alive, nevertheless?
WITNESS: Yes, it is possible that he could have been alive and practicing law

 

the past week

I'm bouncing between feeling like I'm just spinning my wheels and no making any progress at all.  I think is normal for late August ... and this year is far from normal.  We are getting more involved in the seed business on both ends of the scale.

Almost all our beans are seed beans this year, and we are trying to build the seed sales business.  That means we need to be planning and getting ready for storing all our beans on farm this year.  "Fortunately" corn should not be a big problem. And we need to be getting with customers and potential customers.  And going to things like the southern Illinois Field Show (last Thursday) and Becknology Days at the plant in Atlanta, Indiana 3 days next week

All this and keeping up with my never improving To Do list and a corn harvest that has already started locally.

My friend Jim is between jobs, so I asked if he'd be interested in doing some handyman jobs for us?  Not necessarily farm work, but things that just need done we aren't getting done.  He's spent a couple days just cleaning up trees and such for Mom.  Trimming, clearing mulberry spouts from under the pine trees, etc.

Thursday we came back from the southern Illinois Field Show to the aftermath of a storm.   Here's the neighbor's field west of my house from the bucket truck

Trees down in West Union, power outages, etc.  So Friday Aman, Jim and I threw the chain saw in the truck, tied on the lawn mower trailer, and proceeded to do a little clean up for a couple ladies at church

We got limbs off a roof, cleaned up down limbs and trees, etc.

Jim wouldn't take any money for helping us. "I ain't taking money for helping people."

Next week I have an eye exam with dialation. I won't be worth anything all day. Becknology Days are the end of the week.  And customers need called on.  Plus my gray water drain I have to get cleaned out. And .. Oh, did I mention Saturday I brought the bucket truck home and did a bit of tree trimming for Sue?

Our oak trees are getting some really bad galls. The one on the west edge of the yard is constantly dropping limbs and galls.  It doesn't have nearly as many to drop now.

So we'll see what next week brings.  I may have to have Jim come help in my yard!