Green fields

The wheat is really greening up.  It's amazing what a little fertilizer and rain can do.

Quentin planted about 20 more acres of corn this morning, but then quit as it was starting to sprinkle.  Not much more than a sprinkle so far, but there may be another wave come through this evening.

Growing corn!

I decided to go out and check the corn fields today.  I went out to the last field Quentin planted and did a little digging.  (Shhh...don't tell Quentin I was out digging up his corn.  I put it back!)  I found kernels with short roots coming out!  They were only about 1/4", but looked nice and healthy.  We have a chance for rain again tomorrow, which would keep the men out of the planter for awhile longer, but we'll see what we get.

Happy Easter!

Happy Easter to everyone!  We had a nice rain early this morning and even some SNOW.  It didn't stick, of course, but it was big beautiful flakes.  We were very excited to find 0.8" in the rain gauge.  Corn planting will be on hold for a little while, but I'm sure the guys will find something to fill their time.

Raining!

We awoke this morning to a nice shower.  Wonderful!  It hasn't amounted to much so far (0.2"), but there is a chance again tonight and tomorrow morning.  Only a farmer would pray for rain on Easter!

The wind finally died down yesterday, and Paul was able to catch up spraying on newly-planted corn ground.  Quentin will likely get back on planting next week, unless it rains a lot.  In the meantime, they have some more time to work on the combine repairs.

Pause in planting

Quentin finished up a small field of Paul's this morning near the house and has decided to shut the planter down for awhile.  It has been VERY windy with no rain so the fields are getting too dry fast. The dust is really rolling!  Hopefully, we will catch some moisture this weekend as they are predicting.  In the meantime, Quentin was able to take advantage of the slower pace and planted some test strips comparing different hybrids in this field.

Corn planting

Quentin did start planting some corn yesterday.  He began on Chambers' home place and finished most of it last night.  Today, he plans to finish up that field and do one more field over there on Rose Marie's.  Then, he may move back closer to home and do a little here.  He doesn't want to do too much this week just in case the weather decides to turn nasty.  It's best to spread out the planting (and the risk) when you are able.  He had good moisture to plant in to, but it's never too early to start praying for rain!  It has been a relatively dry spring here thus far.  Maybe that will mean we are saving up the rain for July-August!

Ready to roll

The buzz of activity outside can only mean one thing...time to plant some corn!

Vacation!

I am signing off the blog for a few days.  The kids and I are vacationing at my parents' house.  Don't worry.  We left Quentin home to work, and we'll catch you up on all the farm news next week.

Pond check

We haven't gotten a lot of rain this winter, but Ken's pond is still filling nicely.  It is getting closer to the pipe every time we visit.  The wheat on the dam has filled in, but it will need some more permanent grass to finish it off.

 

Paul is busy spraying, and Quentin is cleaning and doing routine maintenance on the planter and tractor.  Spring is coming quickly!

First sign of spring?

This is the first sign of spring at our place!

Spraying and such

We had a small shower again last night, just a 0.1".  Not enough to keep the men out of the field for long.  Paul has been spraying soybean ground on the days when it hasn't been too windy.  Quentin is ready to get the planter out and start working on getting it set up.  With these warm days, he is getting anxious for planting to start.

Rain!

We are getting a nice, gentle rain this afternoon.  We have 0.3" in the gauge so far with the possibility of another wave coming in later this evening.  It will be great for the wheat, especially to soak in that fertilizer they put on yesterday.  The men are using the time to work on combine repairs under the cover of the hay barn.

Rain coming?

We have some good chances for rain this week so the men are scrambling to get a few more things done in the fields.  Paul did some spraying on soybean ground Saturday, but it is much too windy for that today.  They are spreading fertilizer on wheat, and Quentin is finishing up one last field strip-tilling for a neighbor.  We hope we get some rain!

Throwback Thursday: Tractor rides

Six years ago, Isaac had his first tractor ride!  He still loves to go with Dad or Grandpa, but school takes up a lot of his time now.  I saw this and said "Look how tiny he was!"  Quentin looked at it and said "Look how clean my coat was!"  I had to give him that one.  The last six years have been pretty hard on this coat.

Future farmer?

Noah is practicing his tractor driving skills...just in case Dad needs him to take over for awhile.

 

 

The rain missed us Monday night, but there is a few more chances in the forecast so we'll keep hoping for a little moisture to settle the dust.