Live Your Story
  • HOME
  • ABOUT
    • CONTACT
  • MY STORY
    • BACK AT THE FARM
  • SERVICES
  • HOME
  • ABOUT
    • CONTACT
  • MY STORY
    • BACK AT THE FARM
  • SERVICES

Back At The Farm

Flames on the Plains

7/21/2016

0 Comments

 
We certainly had some excitement here yesterday.  A spark from an equipment malfunction on the neighbor's combine ignited a fire.

​It burnt the standing wheat, wheat stubble and spread into the pasture to the north where our heifers are on summer grazing.  

Bart, Wyatt and Shale left the field where they were putting up straw bales and rushed down there to make sure the heifers were moved to safety.  

Chase stopped combining our wheat, loaded up the 4-wheelers and met them all there.  

With the help of several other neighbors and the Alliance Volunteer Fire Department, the fire was quickly contained.   
After dark, we received another call that sparks in the tree row had flared up. Bart, Chase and Wyatt rushed back down there. Once again the AVFD came out with their grass rigs and neighbors pitched in to help. I'm not sure they've assessed the damage yet. 

With temps in the high 90s to over 100 degrees, fire remains a real and daily threat here. Dry conditions and low humidity also contribute to the risk. We were very fortunate that it was not windy yesterday.   The outcome of this story would have been drastically different if it had happened last week when our winds were over 40 mph.

We are thankful that no one was injured, the cattle are safe and the fire was quickly contained.

Love, MOM
Picture
0 Comments

High Winds, Wheat Harvest And Hay Crews

7/11/2016

0 Comments

 
The potatoes by our house are blooming.  I always think they are so pretty when you look across the field.  This year the variety planted here blooms with white flowers.  
I went into town yesterday to get some groceries.  As I stepped out the back door, the pivot was just going by on the potatoes.  Even on such a hot day, that is a refreshing sight and sound.
Picture
​We had a hot weekend.  Wheat dried down to below 12% moisture with a couple 100 degree days and the alfalfa that the guys swathed was ready to bale.  Jack came down from South Dakota with his truck yesterday and part of his crew came down today to help.Things are in full swing as wheat harvest and putting up 2nd cutting of alfalfa overlap. We got the little bit of dryland wheat out yesterday afternoon and some of our wheat.  About 20 acres of our irrigated wheat field is still too green to cut.   It is 10:30 p.m. and Chase is still in the combine in Jack’s wheat field, filling the last truck for the night.
Picture
The rest of the crew has gone to their beds as they will be back out at 3 a.m. to rake and bale a couple more fields of alfalfa.  High winds really changed our plans today.  Dad and Uncle Jack went out at 4 a.m. today and baled the alfalfa field south of us while it was tough enough to hold the leaves on the stems.  With the winds of 35-40 mph forecasted, they paused the baling process.  Casey moved bales with the HayHiker, Wyatt worked on equipment, Chase combined wheat and Jack hauled wheat to the elevator. 
 ​​
Picture
Dad and I went to town for parts and then checked heifers. ​
Picture
Even the dogs were tired of the wind today.
They are keeping me busy putting  meals on the table but I enjoy cooking for them.  I fixed beef brisket, ranch potatoes and green beans for dinner.  Pulled a long loaf of homemade sourdough bread out of the freezer to make garlic bread.  I baked a rhubarb cake using my grandma’s recipe and we had that for dessert with strawberries and ice cream.  They came in shifts for supper.  Tomorrow morning I will make a breakfast tater tot casserole and some fruit.
Picture
Dad and I baled some grass corners over the weekend.  He raked and I followed him and baled.  We make a pretty good team after 28 years of practice!   
 
Love,
Mom
0 Comments

Fourth of July on the Farm

7/7/2016

0 Comments

 
Picture
We went in to town to celebrate the 4th of July with friends from church.

​Larry grilled his traditional bratwurst and everyone brought delicious side dishes and desserts.  Then we watched the Jaycee’s fireworks display.
 
It is a cool day here today.  Only 73 degree F this afternoon – a rare day in July.  Casey and Shale are swathing alfalfa as we get started with putting up the 2nd cutting.  Dad and Uncle Jack are doing some repair work on Jack’s bidirectional.  Chase is getting the combine and truck ready to start cutting wheat.  Sounds like they might try to combine some wheat later this afternoon – at least check the moisture and see if we can go.

Picture
Yesterday, they were spraying fungicide on the potato field here by our house.  Poor old Joe doesn’t like spray planes buzzing overhead anymore that he likes thunder, gunshots or firecrackers!  They all hurt his doggy ears.  He prefers to hang out on the porch with the fan and radio drowning out the sounds.  Guess he likes the oldies as he listens to KCOW. 
Picture
The guys just finished dinner and went back out to work.  I fixed cubed steak, potatoes, carrots and a pepper in my electric pressure cooker.  And we had strawberry-rhubarb pie with ice cream for dessert.  And there was enough left over that we can have steak and fried potatoes for supper tonight.
 
I am going to bake some chocolate chip cookies this afternoon and do some laundry.
 
Love,
Mom
 ​
0 Comments

    Kathy Dye

    ​Hi!  I’m Kathy and I’m the mama! 
     
    Alyssa talked me into sharing the view from home here while she is wandering about.  I do love to string words together so I am looking forward to the challenge.
     
    This eastern Nebraska farm girl met and married a western Nebraska farm boy 28 years ago.  So Alliance is my home now,in the very heart of the Nebraska Panhandle where Bart and I have raised corn, cows and kids.  You might find me in the kitchen, in the tractor baling hay or on the piano bench at church. 

    Picture

    Archives

    July 2016

    Categories

    All
    Farm

    RSS Feed

Picture
HOME   •   ABOUT ALYSSA    •    MY STORY    •    CONTACT ALYSSA
Picture