Eventful Harvest Day

Kelly took this photo with the sun behind the combine at sunset.

Joey checked on the corn.
It is the first year they planted corn and so far it is has had adequate rain.

One lonely tassle

Take a good look Joey.

Joey and Mick fixed the flat tire on the header trailer.

Joey hooked up the header to the combine

We had to take the headers off the combines to move to another field because the roads and gates are too narrow for the header to fit through. Joey is setting the header on the trailer.

It seems Kelly and Mick are telling jokes while Joey does all the work!

More of Joey working.

I was riding in the tractor with Joey when I held the camera in front of me and pointed it back at Joey. It turned out well and you can see the combine in the background.

Joey was smiling because he knew he was going to be teased about the fact that his wife Kelly was saving Joey by driving the combine. Joey is driving the tractor that pulls the grain cart.
I do believe Kelly is the BEST combine driver west of the Mississippi.

Joey and Matt put the tarp on the truck. Matt drove the red truck on this day.

Matt stood on the top of the truck to monitor the amount of grain in the trailer.

Another view of dumping grain from the grain cart to the truck. You can see the three trucks lined up and ready for grain.

The day started with a gathering of the minds. Unfortunately, Nancy, Mick and Susan were not part of that meeting. They had their own meeting of the mindless.

Mom made Kolaches and they were delicious!

Management

Harvest and swimming

Hello everybody, the Thielen Farms gang and I have been very, very busy the last few weeks. Harvest started on Tuesday, June 23. In addition to harvesting the wheat crop, we have also been planting milo, drilling soybeans, fixing fence and searching for heifers who walked through the fence, swathing oats, baling oats, and making lots and lots of repairs to machinery.

Kelly has made the 9600 combine her home for the last several days. If you have to have a home away from home in the heat, the 9600 is the piece of machinery to drive. It is comfortable, relatively quiet and clean, and the air conditioner works.

Nancy is Susan's personal assistant. That means she does everything. I love that hat - it is a retro Thielen Beef hat from the 80's.

I took this photo from the truck. I just learned forward from the driver's seat and snapped the photo. Kevin was giving me directions about our next move.

Garrett rode with me in the tractor that pulled the grain cart. Unfortunately, the air conditioner was not working on this day so Garrett and I wrapped ourselves in wet towels to endure the 100+ temperatures.

We also drank lots and lots of water.

What happens when the rest of us are in the field? The kids swim at the play park at the farm. We have a couple of different water features for the kids. I wanted to take a photo of Kelly and Anna, but Sam stepped in the frame when I took the photo. He is a happy child.

Kelly and Anna

Anna being Anna

Sam

Garrett sliding down the whale pool

Happy Birthday Julie

New Poll - please vote

Friends, I posted a new poll to the right of this entry. We have been moving a lot of cattle lately and have had many conversations about what each of us say when we are trying to get cattle to move. So, I am asking for your help. What do you say to get them to move?

If you have a favorite saying that is not on my list, please post it in the comment section and I will add it to the list. It is a long summer and it is getting hot, so please humor me with this poll.

Thinking of my Dad on Father's Day

Dad loved fishing for catfish on the river. He cleaned them on the picnic table in our backyard. He always wore a cap and usually had his shirt unbuttoned. I am sure Dad was having a great day when this photo was taken.

Siefers family photo: Dad, Mom, Susan, Bill, Debbie and me. I think this photo was taken about 1974 or 1975.

Dad holding Bill with Susan and Debbie in the back. Taken in 1955.

This is a classic pose for my Dad. He smiled most of the time and was always making others feel good with his humor and compliments.

Working in the rain

Joey and Kevin gathered cows and calves at a place called the Holland pasture.

Joey and Kevin used four-wheelers to do the job. Joey wore his rain poncho because it had rained earlier in the day. It did not rain during this gathering, but it did pour on Kevin and me later in the day when we gathered cows and calves in a big, big pasture. We probably rode in the rain for an hour or so. Needless to say, we were soaked when we arrived home, but the job was completed.

Kevin

More Kevin

And yet, more Kevin

Joey

Kevin's dog Champ follows him everywhere.

Once the cattle are gathered in the corral, Joey, Matt, and Kevin sorted the calves from the cows so that we could treat the cows. You can click on the photo to see it in a larger window.

A day at the farm

He's flying high. Garrett swings high and then jumps out.

Like father, like son. We stopped to check the wheat at the Walz ground to monitor maturity. It is surprisingly close to being ready to cut. I am guessing another week and combines will be rolling around here. Enjoy the next few photos of Joey teaching Garrett how to check the wheat.

Joey, Garrett and I took a portable cattle chute to a pasture and set it up. The chute will be used to AI cows next weekend. Joey made a few repairs with the welder that was in the back of his pickup.

Again, like father, like son. Garrett in the welding hat.

Garrett sat on the corral fence and watched every move his dad made.

Garrett and Joey hooked up the hydraulic lines to a portable pump that ran off the pickup battery.

Hallie ate dinner on the PORCH. We spend lots of time on the porch.

Isn't Hallie adorable?

Garrett in his helmet

In addition to getting ready to harvest wheat, it is also time to plant milo. Matt worked on the planter so they could get in the field as soon as the weather improves. Everything seems to happen at once on a farm - cattle to move to pasture, milo to plant, heifers and cows to AI, wheat to cut, thistles to spray, cattle to feed, trips to the ethanol plant to get wet distillers, fence to fix, and children to love!

Matt and the planter