And Just Like That...It's Fall...

What a difference a few days can make!

The past weeks have been...IMHO...horribly uncomfortable.  The humidity has been so thick you could just about cut it, and the temps just couldn't come down.

Yesterday we spent the day at Eric's final home cross country meet.  How did he become a college senior so quickly?!  It was a beautiful day for running...overcast and in the mid 70's.  First day we've had weather like that in a very. long. time.

He had a great race...

...and the team had a great finish, winning the invitational.  He's 3rd from the right...

Afterwards, as tradition has it, the team and families held a tailgate potluck.  My fingers were freezing by the time we were finished, but I'm not complaining!  As long as there's a blanket to throw over me or a sweatshirt to put on, I'm good.

This week we finished our silage harvest. With all the rain we've been having, the guys have been burning the candle at both ends.  They've been putting in really long days, trying to keep up with all the farms that they need to get to before the corn gets too dry.  The equipment arrived at 1:30 am, and sat waiting until they arrived around 8 am...

For some reason, the silage pipe kept getting plugged up.  Jim is up at the top, and Mark is sitting on top of the blower, working at getting it open...

The last load of silage...

The guys moved on to the next farm quickly, and took the blower with them.  Silo gas, which can be deadly, forms when fresh silage is put into a silo.  To deliver fresh air into the silo, farmers usually run the blower when working inside the silo for the first day or so.  The gas doesn't form right away, so Jim quickly leveled the silage and we set up the unloader after lunch. I was at the bottom of the silo inside the silage room, lowering the unloader at his instruction.  I found our kids' handprints in the concrete, where we had reinforced with shotcrete years ago.

Eric...

...and Jenna...

Things change so quickly!

For now, we hope to enjoy fall!  The West Lampeter Fair is this coming week, and I'm sure we'll be spending a lot of time there.  It might be a muddy mess (it's raining, again!) but it will happen regardless!  It's one of the highlights of the year for us. Goat, sheep, pig and dairy beef shows, baked goods, contests, fair food, and much more bring the community together for a great time.

Silo Filling 2018

Yesterday was the day...

Jim tested corn stalks twice in the last week, and yesterday morning corn silage went into the east silo.  Jeff (the guy who chops our corn) bought a different harvester over the winter.  He always had a John Deere, and this time he bought a Claas.  Merle ( our neighbor and the man who used to chop our corn) wanted to take some video of the harvester so he hung out on the barn hill for a while...

It didn't take long at all to fill this silo as full as Jim wanted it.  Some changes are coming...soon...on our farm, and we don't need both silos to be full right now.  More on that later...but don't worry...we're good with it!

It still makes me nervous when I see Jim "run" up the ladder on the outside of the silo!  I only do it on rare occasions, and I'm shaking in my boots the whole way up...and down...

The silage is beautiful and the unloader is all set up, ready to go!  As I sit here typing, our Amish neighbors are running up and down the road with their horses/mules and empty wagons, preparing for their corn harvest.  I don't envy them that job!  What takes us a few hours can take them days, sometimes several weeks to finish.

Wishing farmers everywhere a safe and bountiful harvest!

Silo Filling Prep...

It looks like today is the day.  The chopper is scheduled to roll in around 2:00 - 3:00 this afternoon, so we spent the morning doing some final prep work in the silos.

We have two silos here at home.  The west one had been empty for some time already, so Jim put that unloader up a few weeks ago.  This morning after feeding the cows, he got the second unloader ready to winch up to the top of the silo.  There's some prep involved...first, the unloader has to be lowered so that there's enough slack in the cable for him to hook it up properly for the journey upwards.  That's my job...cranking it down.  And it's a pretty easy one...

That big electric cord is unhooked...

And here's the cable fastened to the bottom of the silo.  We don't crank it the whole way up by hand, but rather remove the handle...

...and use the electric drill that you see in this second picture.  This picture was taken when the unloader was the whole way up at the top, and you can see how much more of the cable is wrapped up...

Doesn't it look kind of like a lunar lander?  I enjoy seeing the unloader from this perspective, with the shadow against the inside of the silo...

By this time tomorrow, Jim will hopefully be leveling off the full silos, and we'll be setting up the unloaders from the top!  There's a lot of climbing the silos involved on the agenda these next few days!

To Chop Or Not...2017

We've done it before...and we'll do it again this year...

...walk the corn fields and test the moisture level in the stalks before chopping corn, aka filling silo.

This was my view this afternoon...

...and there's one of my helpers!

Phoebe and Murphy tagged along this time, and they had so much fun!  It was like a maze for them...running through tunnels of corn, stepping on the stalks I was dragging...STOP IT!...and getting out some of their pent up energy after several days of rain.

The corn is being tested this afternoon, and we'll have to soon commit to a day for chopping.  There's a narrow window with our small silos...too dry, the silage won't pack well and the air will allow the feed to get moldy.  Too wet, and there's juice, juice, juice.

We'll see...

Preparing To Fill Silos...2016...

It's that time of year again.

Late August...school has started, the weather is s l o w l y turning cooler, and the silos are quickly getting empty.

Behind these closed doors is the silage room...

We store the feed carts in here and lock the doors so that the cows can't get in them and eat themselves sick!  Yes, they would do that!  (It happened one time, and the cow almost died.  After she recovered, she didn't have much of a desire for corn the rest of her lactation!)

Here also is access to the silos, which are almost completely empty, as you can see.  The unloader is resting on the last few inches of silage in the east silo...

This is looking up into the west silo...

This is the old tile silo at the other farm.  Several years ago, Jim put a plastic liner in the silo to make it airtight.  Each year we have to put another plastic liner over the doors.  That's the black strip that is hanging down from the top.  After the silo is full, Jim will cut the plastic off over each door from the top down, so he can open the door and toss the silage down the chute into the cart below...

This afternoon we walked through the corn field that he plans to chop, cutting samples of stalks throughout the field.  We ran them through the chopper and will have the silage moisture tested to see where we're at.  It's too green right now, we know for sure, but once we have the moisture sample back we'll have a better idea of when we might be able to fill the silos.  It can be a nerve wracking process, because we want a moisture level between 66% and 69%, and it also has to suit the custom chopper's schedule!

We bought one load of silage last week to hold us over until we can chop our own corn.  Every year is different, so we'll see how this one goes!

August Around Here...

Can I ask again, if it's really August?

You'd never guess it, with the gorgeous weather we've been having!  Mid to upper 70's, low humidity.  Wow.  Just wow.  And "thank you"!

August is a transition month here...especially this year, because Eric will leave for college two weeks from today, and Jenna will soon start her junior year of high school...and get her driver's license!

The weather will slowly begin to have a fall-like feel to it.  Cooler nights, good for sleeping...

The garden plants are beginning to turn a little brown, and the canning shelves are beginning to fill again...

Jim just began  mowing 4th cutting hay...

The corn is slowly beginning to dry and turn a little brown, suggesting that silo filling is just around the corner...

(actually this field isn't really all that dry yet, but I just love seeing the corn and beans stretching out beside each other! :) )

And the silos are getting empty...

Don't mind all the silage dust in the feed room...but here's where the silage comes down the chute from the silo into the feed cart...

See that hole behind the chute?  The open door means that the level of the silage is almost to the bottom of the 50' silo, and it had better be soon time to fill again, or the cows will be really hungry!

Yesterday Eric picked up these new silo doors at a nearby Amish shop. Eventually the wood rots and the doors need to be replaced, so they re-use the hardware from old doors and make new ones.  When we're ready to fill the silos, Jim will put the new doors in place, and close and fasten all the doors shut, the whole way to the top of the silo.

There are two different styles of doors here...two are for the old tile silo at the other farm, and the one in the foreground is for here...

We almost always begin filling silo (chopping corn) the last week of August, which coincides with the first week of school.  We'll see how the timing works out this year!

Of course with August in full swing, that means that fair season is almost here too!  That's one of my favorite times of the year, although it's usually crazy busy.

What does August feel like to you?

What's Missing In This Picture?...

Yesterday morning the guys came to fill our silos, as planned.  What a beautiful day it was for chopping corn!

They started right around breakfast time, and had the first silo filled in what seemed like no time at all.  It takes about 12 loads to fill one of our 12' x 50' silos.

While they were chopping, I had a few errands to run, and when I came back I saw all the tractors and forage wagons lined up in the field.  I don't think they could have lined them up any more precisely if they'd tried...

However...there's something important missing from the picture.  What do you think it is?

Silo Filling 2014...

Last year at this time, our silos were all full, and fall was heading our way in a hurry.

This year we had a cool spring, so the corn was planted later than usual. So...we're about two weeks behind in harvesting, as compared to other years.  Usually it's the last week of August when the chopper pulls in. (here and here are some of last years' pics) We remember many times...waiting out front with the kids for the school bus, hearing the unmistakable whine of the chopper coming up the road.  We would hear him long before we saw him...

Last week we ran out of silage here at home.  We were expecting it, but it meant lining up the chopper to cut at least a couple of loads of corn so that the cows had some silage to eat.  Jim had been taking moisture samples, and the corn was borderline as far as being ready to chop.  (The ideal moisture for in our small silos is about 67%)  It's not always easy to get silage chopped at just the right time.  When using a custom harvester, you not only have to get the corn at the right time, but you also have to juggle around the schedules of several farmers, all who have the same goal in mind.

The plan was, since the moisture was borderline...to fill one silo and then pull out, planning to come back this week to fill the other silo here and also the one at the other farm.

*****

The chopper is a fascinating machine, at least to me.  It's quite intimidating, especially when you're this close in front of it!  You want to be sure that the guy in the cab knows you're there before getting close!

The sides are folded up here, for travel on the roads.

Jeff took some time to write out some bills while he sharpened the chopper blades...

In the center of the picture, you can see the knife sharpeners.  This was something new to me, and I can't explain how they work, but it was interesting to watch.  I climbed up in the cab and took this picture looking down from the top...

Once everyone was set up, they cut a couple of loads, taking off the outer rows of corn from this field.  I can finally see the neighbors again!  (This is something I look forward to every fall.  I don't like to feel isolated behind corn fields!)  Hmm...who left that mess of silage on the road?  Don't worry...we cleaned it up...

Still trying to decide if the corn was a little too green, Jim squeezed a handful of silage to see how much juice was there.  His hand came away pretty wet...

After much discussion, they decided to pull out and come back in a few days to finish up.  Too much moisture makes a lower quality silage, not to mention a lot of smelly, messy silo juice!  Gotta keep those ladies happy...good silage translates to more milk!  By waiting a few days, hopefully it will be just right going into the silo.

Those "few days" are almost past, and we're expecting to chop the rest of the corn tomorrow.

Filling the Last Silo...

What a beautiful day we had today!  The weather has turned from hot and humid...to cooler (upper 70's) with a nice breeze and low humidity.  Yes!!

The past few days were drying days, as far as the corn was concerned.  The field that was just a little too green to chop on Friday was begging to be chopped today.

Here is a short video of the first load going into the empty silo...

All afternoon as I was peeling peaches, I listened to the drone of the chopper out in the field, and the tractor and blower at the silo, as load after load was emptied into the last silo.  It's a good feeling to have that last silo full.  Around the end of September, we will top off all three silos with our late corn, and that will be the end of silage for this year.

Tomorrow, Jim will level the silage, and we'll spend a chunk of time setting up the unloaders, so he doesn't have to climb up and fork silage down into the cart each time he feeds.

Fall is definitely here!

Silo Filling Adventures...

It was a day of adventures here, with silo filling.

After getting rained out after starting the chopping at the other farm on Wednesday, the guys started up again this morning.

Adventure #1...just as Jim was getting ready to go over to the other farm this morning, he noticed that the fill pipe here at home...at the top of the silo (of course) was broken.  Not so great timing, but there were no options but to repair it.  Now.

It wasn't a "serious" break, but enough that it took more than one person to fix it, and required a service call.  Can you see the shiny section of the pipe at the top?  That's what needed to be replaced...

Jim's running a part to the top, for Tom, the repair man.  Thanks Tom, for dropping what you were doing on your busy day, and helping us out!  That's his silhouette at the top.

The full silage wagons are waiting for them to get finished.  I think it looks a little bit like they're planes, lined up on the runway, waiting to taxi and take off...

Adventure #2...while Jim and Tom were working on the fill pipe here at home, someone had to go to the other farm, climb the silo, and tell the guys who were unloading when it was full.  Had they filled it too full, the fill pipe there would have plugged up.  Not fun when that happens. So...guess who got to do that?  Yep...the one who is terrified of heights!  I climbed up the inside of the chute, and stood up on the top and gave them the thumbs up or thumbs down.  There's a large flat area surrounded by a railing at the top of that silo, but I was still shaking in my boots!  But...I survived!

At the end of the day, we have two full silos, and one left to fill next week. The corn here at home was still just a little green.  It would've been ok, had we continued, but in a few days it will hopefully be even better.  Two down, one to go!

(Almost) Empty Silos...

It's the first week of school...and that almost always means that it's time to chop corn and fill the silos!  We remember countless times, when the bus was stopping out front at the same time that the silo fillers were pulling in.

This is the view from the silage room this morning...

Open silo doors indicate.that the silage level is level with (or lower than) the door.  The doors are opened from the top on down,  so that the unloader can throw the silage out the door and down the chute.  When the open doors reach the bottom, it means one thing...

No more silage!  This is inside the east silo...the unloader is resting just off the bottom of the silo, and Jim has been forking the last of the silage out by hand.  The unloader in the west silo is already at the top, ready for filling...

Jim knows which fields will be ready to be chopped first, and we've been taking sample corn stalks...running them through the chopper...and having them tested for moisture.  Today's samples came back at 70%, so they're still just a little too wet for our silos.  He would like to see them around 68%...which should be in just a few days.  Hopefully by the middle/end of this week, the silos will be full of fresh corn silage.

This afternoon's job?  Putting up the second unloader.  Then as soon as the corn is dry enough, we'll be ready to go!

Irene's Aftermath...

It's been a week since the lovely Irene graced us with her wind and rain...

Many fields were left virtually untouched by damaging winds, but there were others that were left almost flat!  For us "English", who use large choppers to harvest corn for silage, the flattened fields can be troublesome enough.  But for the Amish, who typically use horse drawn binders to cut their corn and then put it through a chopper at the bottom of the silo, it's another story!

This morning we saw our neighbor using something we've never seen before.  When something like this happens, the Amish bishops give their permission for "unconventional" methods of harvesting. 

The horses in front are pulling a two row chopper, which blows the silage back into the silage wagon behind, which is pulled by a team of mules.  This was their first round on this field...this part of the field is still standing nicely...

Every so often they had to stop and unplug the chopper.  The mules wait patiently...

Some minor mechanical difficulties, and they're ready to go again.  Ahead of the horses, you can see the flattened corn...



 And off they go...



It's a bit tricky to hit the silage wagon!  The mules have to walk directly behind the chopper, at least on the outside rows, so the silage blows back over their heads, over the driver's head, and into the wagon.  They got it straightened out!

Some Amish farmers are getting the "English" choppers to come into their fields, but they can't get everyone's corn chopped before the corn gets too dry.  We've even heard of choppers going cross-ways throught the field to try to lift downed corn.  In situations like this, creative juices flow!

Thankfully, most fields aren't like this one!

To Chop...or Not...

This is the time of year that every farmer has a big decision to make...

To chop corn silage...or not!

Our silos are nearly empty, and the corn is almost ready to chop for corn silage...but not quite.   A lot of our Amish neighbors have begun chopping.  You see their binders and wagons slowly making their way through the fields.  The silage is a little green, but the cows need to be fed!

This week we took some samples from our fields, ran them through the chopper, and tested the moisture level.  In our small silos (12 x 50) the silage should be between 65% -70%.  If the silage is too dry it doesn't have enough weight to pack well, and the air will spoil the silage.  Spoiled silage is trouble!  Silage that is too wet isn't good either, but better a little too wet than too dry.

This is one of the fields that we tested. It will probably be the first one that we will chop here at home...

An interesting perspective from inside the field...

The ears are large and the silk is dry and brown...

This is what we call the milk line.  Break the ear in half, and look at the white part of the kernel.  When the corn is ready for chopping, the milk line is about halfway down the kernel.  This ear shows the milk line only about 1/4 of the way down.  There's probably plenty of moisture there yet...

After the sample stalks were run through the chopper, they looked like this...



We took the samples from two fields for moisture testing.  They tested 69% and 70%...still a little bit wet, just like Jim suspected.  But it won't be long...typically the moisture drops about .5% per day, and with the rain we've been having, it probably won't be any faster than that.  So...we've lined up the chopper to come next week. 

Once those silos are filled, it will be a weight off our shoulders.  Trying to get it just right can be stressful...the weather...lining up the chopper...everything needs to fall together just right.

It seems like just a week or so ago that we were struggling to get the corn planted with all the rain we had in the spring...and here we are harvesting already!  Where did the summer go?!

Linking to Farmgirl Friday at Deborah Jean's Dandelion House

Photo gallery from the past year...

It's that time of year...we're in our slow mode...and if I don't keep myself motivated, I can waste a lot of time! 

I'd like to think, though, that blogging is NOT a waste of time...so I've compiled a collection of pictures from the past year that I found interesting. 

 Some of them are directly related to farming, some of them are of family, and some of them are just beautiful scenery.  (Some may be repeats from earlier blog posts, but if you see them twice, you know I really like them!)

Enjoy!


2010 began with a bang!  In February we had two major snow storms a week apart, resulting in 40+ inches of snow...

Our neighbor's farm to the west always makes a great photo, no matter the weather...

Several years ago Jim bought a Honda 50 dirtbike like he rode when he was a kid.  Last winter he found a Honda 100, so now the kids each have a dirt bike to ride.  They use them for fun and for work...

Spring arrived, like always, and I was thrilled...

These particular chickens loved to sit on top of the fence around their pen...



Of course there was also work to do...my nephew from Chicago loved gathering eggs...



And Murphy blessed us with nine adorable puppies...but they wore her out!  They were born in June, during one of the hottest weeks of the year...



Our neighbor Joe came over every day to see them...

The laundry never ended...

Some beautiful scenes shot by Jenna...

And then of course there was some more work...baling round bales...Jim drove the tractor while the Amishman who owns the baler rode behind and operated the mechanism that released the bale into the field...

Fun...it doesn't take alot to be entertained...

We just can't seem to get away from those cows!   (photo by Jenna)

More "real" work...Eric unloading hay...



The east hay mow is almost full...



Jim's dad on his old (1950 something) Ferguson 30, just before he sold it...he used to use it for cleaning out pens...

After a dry summer, we had a LONG day of rain...over 8 inches of rain...(I forgot to empty the rain gauge before bed, so we aren't sure just how much we had, but it was a lot!)

We chopped corn the next day, and left no tracks in the field or mud on the driveway!  The ground was thirsty...

And there's our neighbors' farm again...taken out the west barn windows...



We found a little time to play...we spent an afternoon picnicking with friends at a park...

Fall work was upon us...combining corn, and loads of corn fodder waiting to be unloaded...

My dad repaired our cow trailer...he doesn't look 81, does he?!

This is where the dogs hang out while we're milking...right under our feet...

And this is where Slinky the cat hangs out...high above the dogs...

Self-service balage...or so they think!

Me and my next-oldest sister...Look behind us...I just can't get away from those cows!

And I couldn't let this one out.  We all gathered after Christmas to watch my brother in law start his old 1936 John Deere D that he, with some help from my Dad, restored.  It started up, he whooped and hollered, we cheered, and he's still grinning!  This one's for you, Marty!

And to round out the year, here's another picture of the sunrise on New Year's Day 2011...

Thanks for humoring me...do you have any favorites?