The Word of the Week is…Flexible.

I probably don’t brag enough about my kids some days, especially so they can hear it, but this week they were amazing!  I got them off the bus or straight from school everyday and we didn’t go back home until it was time to go to bed and they never complained!  They have learned there are certain times of the year that things are going to crazy busy and you must learn to adapt and be flexible.  We did homework 3 nights in a row at the fertilizer dealer as we were getting another load to take back to the Farmer at the field.  They ate supper in the truck, they did their reading in the truck, they even helped one another with school projects.  How many of your kids could you take on a 4 hour road trip and they wouldn’t complain or ask how much longer?  My boys were raised this way and understand that timing is everything.  I love them!!!

I also had to remain flexible this week.  For some crazy reason, I offered to host Easter dinner for Randy’s family.  It has been a long time since all the cousins were together.  I don’t know why I didn’t think about corn planting taking place this week.  I had my house cleaning and kids activities that I wanted to get ready this week.  Somehow I thought that I would have lots of time to get it all done.  Guess there is always the morning of the dinner.  I have learned just like my kids that timing is everything and other things just have to wait and may not be that important-like having a clean house or the flowers I wanted to get planted. 

I promised to post some pictures from the week.  Things obviously were a bit crazy and by the time the little boys went to bed I just wanted to sit and stare into space and not think about anything.  The planter has stopped for a little while, so here are the pictures I promised.  I hope you enjoy them.

Randy spent a lot of time in the planter tractor this week.   The planter monitor gave him a lot of fits-it didn’t work at all on Monday, but they finally got it fixed on Tuesday evening after 2 service calls.  Our planter has a “computer” that lets the driver know how many seeds per acre you are planting, how many acres per hour, and a lot of other stuff.   The tops monitor is the planter monitor.

The bottom monitor is for the auto steer for the tractor.  You will notice that the Farmer is not touching the steering wheel and yes we were going through the field.  The auto steer unit works on the same principle as a Garmin or TomTom.  Satellite signals help drive the tractor straight back and forth through the field.  This is much more accurate than human driving (which means we use the right amount of seed and or chemicals) and the Farmer also thinks it really decreases his fatigue at the end of the day.  He does have to pick up the implement at the end of the field and turn around and then he just has to push a button and the tractor takes over again.  We joke that he could eat a steak while planting now.

I did take a picture of one of our neighbors conventional tilled fields, so you could see the difference between what our fields look like and some of the neighbors. 

Everyone has been anxiously watching the wheat crop.  Some of it has already headed which is about a month ahead of schedule!  With the high humidity we have been experiencing, next week will be spent spraying fungicide on the wheat.   Fungi can decrease the yield and some of them can actually be toxic.

I also took a picture of the oats that we have planted.  These have only been growing about a month.  We haven’t raised oats for a long time, so it will be fun to watch them again.  Our youngest is all excited-he thinks he is going to be able to make his own oatmeal.  LOL

And just because I am the Cattlewoman of the operation, here is a picture of what I was responsible for this week.  I love my babies.  We had a couple of new babies this week and we are still waiting on the boy’s heifer to calve.  She is looking more pregnant every day and her udder is starting to get bigger which is a great sign.    

 

 It has been a very busy week and everyone is looking forward to the Easter holiday and a day of relaxation before the next round of activities.  We still have cattle to work, fungicide to apply, fertilizer that needs applied and I am co-chair for the PTO Book Fair on Thursday.  And most importantly, my best friend from college that lives in California, will be here on Wednesday!   It will be a fun filled week I am sure.