Filed under: October 2012
Corn all shocked, drought field salvaged
October 12, 2012
After a very short night, we went at it and got the corn all shocked. The night was short due to pouring concrete very late in the day yesterday. The temperature was cool, almost cold. The cement wouldn’t dry enough to work it. That job finished just before midnight.
My alarm went off at 4:30 am. I jumped out of bed with the lightening speed of an aging man who had been up half of the night 😮 I grabbed a quick cup of tea and out the door I went. I was off to pick up some of my farmer friends who would help with the harvest.
We got hitched to the corn binder by 9:00 am. The corn field was a little damp from a passing shower. The breeze and sun had it just right in no time. We started out cutting the pitiful, drought stricken corn and soon realized that we were in for a long day.
I would say that half of the corn field was too short bind. The corn binder was set all the way up, but still some of the plants just plugged the machine and ground everything to a stop. We had a field conference, developed a plan and went back to work.
The plan was, I would mow everything that was too short to bind. I divided the field the way it grew. I mowed down the worst stuff sacrificing many small nubbin ears. There were a few nice ears that also went down. I will not waste that corn, the pigs will very soon graze the harvested field. They will glean the wayward ears.
Once we got rolling again, we made great progress. We had a boy follow right behind the binder. I mean he held on to the back of the machine and pulled out anything that wanted to bunch up and jam the machine. He was a big part of our success. I mowed the field. I selected what would stay and what would go. I also mowed after the shocks were made giving the field a very neat appearance.
My hired man (Justin) and another young farmer boy, were our shock builders. Justin caught on quickly as Jacob, the farmer boy, showed him how to build a shock. They flew around the field like they were in a contest. My buddy Marvin drove the horses and watched the binder. He kept the job moving and the machine running smooth.
The day was perfect. The sun stayed out bright and cheerful on a nice autumn day. The breeze was stiff and cool making it a nice day to work, for both men and horses. The good feeling of another job completed, filled me as I sat down to supper.
It has been a whirlwind past couple of days. The concrete slab for the wash-house is completed…. even if it did takes lots of effort and lantern light! The corn field has been harvested and tomorrow we will lay the rest of the block foundation for the wash-house.
I am sure that folks who really know me will think these last couple of days were busy for me. The ones who don’t know me will be amazed at what we have accomplished… in fact … they might even be shocked!
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