Friday, February 19, 2016

Outside, the wind is howling!  It is blowing like we’ve not seen in months.  The sky has become overcast, but the temperature is warming.  Near 60º now, headed for mid 60s in the afternoon.  Tomorrow, 70ºF is predicted.  I guess the March winds have arrived a few days early.

The sunset here yesterday was spectacular!

Inside, some shop work has been occurring.  John has been servicing the JD 4730 sprayer, changing fluids and filters.  The JD 9360R tractor is in the shop today for the same process.

John swings down the shields under the belly of the 4730 in order to access some of the service points

Brandon is working to sort out all the proper filters to service this 9360R tractor

The hood latch didn’t want to release this morning, but Brandon and John got it un-stuck eventually. Then, it was easier to do the service work!

Brandon swept clean the last storage bin of soybeans yesterday.  The soybean storage bins are MT (empty).  Those soybeans, now in hopper tanks over the truck driveway, will be delivered to market soon.  We still have some 2015-crop corn left here in 3 of our bins.  That will be sold as Ross figures out the when/where to market it.

Pat and I returned Wednesday evening from a week out in Portland, Oregon…we were visiting our son Philip there.  We had a great time with Philip, exploring the city, and experiencing a few of the gazillion restaurants.  We rented a car for the weekend, to do some extended excursions– up into Washington state, and out to the Oregon coast.   We sure enjoyed our time away.

This is the Pacific Northwest College of Art,(PNCA) in the Pearl District of downtown Portland. Philip works here. This magnificent old building was once the Post Office for Portland.

Powell’s Book Store covers an entire city block, and is a Portland landmark.

Our Saturday travels took us to Roslyn, Washington, where an old favorite TV show, Northern Exposure, was filmed. We had lunch at “The Brick”.  We also saw the Maryville Museum, overlooking the Columbia River in south-central Washington.

Our Sunday road trip included this stop in McMinnville, Oregon. We drove past some of the vineyards where Philip had become acquainted during his previous job at Oregon Wine Board. We eventually got to the chilly and windy Pacific before heading back into Portland.

Near dusk, we made it to the Pacific Ocean near Tillamook. It was rainy and cold, but still it was neat to see, hear, and smell the waves.

Back on the farm, we continue our preparation for #Plant16.  Have a good weekend, everyone.