Of the 75,000 acres of crop we had to cut at the start of the season, we've got 80 acres left (an area about twice the size of Hyde Park). If we get some good weather, it should take us about half a day to finish up. This last little stretch has been a scramble. The equipment is tired, the crew is tired, the corn hasn't dried out properly, we're running out of storage and the snow is wanting to settle in.
We were on track to finish yesterday night but at three o'clock the fuel pump on the combine blew up and it started to snow. We've fixed the combine, but the weather has put us out of action for a couple of days.
The quality of the crop this year has put a lot of strain on the elevators. The yield is the best that it has been in a few years, so the sheer volume of corn to be processed is causing a backlog of trucks. I've heard of some trucks being in line for up to four hours. The boys in Dobbins' crew have been taking their trucks to the elevator at night and sleeping in line in order to get dumped first thing in the morning.
We've been lucky in that most of our grain is being stored in the farmer's bins, but we're running out of space, so we've been taking the odd load to the elevator. Yesterday, my longest wait was just over two hours. I was a bit frustrated when I finally got over the pits. The guy who dumped me was pretty philosophical about it, "you've just got to focus on one truck load at a time". He's right, and we're certainly in a much better position than most, and very close to the end.
Nerves are starting to fray amongst the guys. There's a good vibe between all of us, but we're all keen to finish. Ronny's keen to have a few days off visiting friends in Montana before heading home for Christmas, Pauly is keen to see his family and friends back home, Prydey's looking forward to getting back into his shorts and thongs and Dan's keen for more snow (he's heading up to work at the snow in Canada).
I'm really looking forward to New York. Pauly's giving me a lift via his hometown in Ohio. He and his mate Justin are going to hang out with me for a day or two in the city and then I'm on my own. I can't wait for the space as well as well as a routine that isn't dictated by plants.
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James, mate was talking to nathan and viru the other day, and we were wondering what on earth u were up to...so I thought I'd just pop back after a month or so to see where u;re up to...Lo and behold you're probably on a Contiki tour ;p
The last thing I'd expect from u james, but this whole trip has all about the extra ordinary!
So aveagoodone mate...Whats the plan after NY? back home or u off to the ski fields in Canada or US
Cheers
Uday
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