Thursday, August 25, 2016
We currently estimate 3 weeks until harvest begins.
We continue to prepare for #harvest16. Today, some headers get maintenance attention.
The CIH corn head came into the shop this morning to be serviced and prepped for going to the field. The oil level in the gearboxes will be checked and made correct. Here, John lubes the gathering chains.
The JD 640FD header and its carrier wagon got serviced today. John is correcting the air pressure in the tires. These are now ready to go harvest soybeans!
The MacDon is getting prepared today, too. Brandon uses the electric grease gun to do some lubrication.
The combines (CIH 8230 and JD S680) will be brought out tomorrow or next week to receive a thorough going-over. They will receive a good wash job in addition to checking the belts and chains. The engine oil on each is about 100 hours away from requiring a change, so we’ll run about two weeks, then pull them in for an oil change on some rainy day, or foggy morning.
The last step of harvest prep will be servicing the grain elevators, and that will include cleaning the pit…the yuckiest job we have at Carnahan & Sons.
Next week, I hope to return the bush hog to cleaning up some fields’ roadsides… and this will be the final pass of the bush hog for summer. We also like to use it to mow around most fields post-harvest.
On the home front, our deck needed a refinishing. It has been out there for a number of years, and a mere stain/seal was not going to be enough to protect it this time. So, we opted for a Rust-Oleum Restore 10X coating. After pressure washing the deck, we screwed down the loose boards. Then, Tuesday, Wednesday, and this morning, we applied 2 coats of the Restore. It has the consistency of pudding, but it is also gritty. I must admit that I was achy and sore after each hot day of applying that stuff. But, today, it feels good to have the deck protected once again. It was also a boost for Pat and me to have John help us. We planned this for this particular week, because the forecast was for temperatures in the 70s. However, the temps turned out to be in the high 80s and low 90s! … and it’s not shady, until late in the evening.
John and Pat are about to put the finishing touch on the first coat of protectant on our deck.
There was lots of crawling around on this thing to get it painted. After the first coat, it was a bit intimidating to think about going over it again, but we resolved to get it done. “Grin and bear it” my dad would have said. I must confess to being quite sore in the aftermath of this work.
Finally, we also cut down a couple overgrown bushes and opened up the view from the deck once again. Chainsaw work on a hot, muggy morning? Glad it didn’t take long!
Our hearts and prayers go out to our fellow Hoosiers who were hit by tornadoes yesterday.
Hope your weekend is great.
