Saturday, November 29, 2008

Thanksgiving

It’s fun to visit the zoo and see the bear cubs playfully climb around on the older, sleepy bears.

Youthful enthusiasm in contrast to me in the morning.
My nieces are fun, enthusiastic, and a kick to be around.  On Thanksgiving Day we enjoyed horseshoes and being outside in the warm weather.  That evening we played Wii games and laughed, particularly while taking turns with Wii music.  Quite the artsy kids, we spent hours on everything from Guitar Hero III to Perfect Pitch.  Fun was had by all…after I was completely awake.
Posted by Alan at 05:00:00 | Permalink | Comments (1) »

Thursday, November 13, 2008

New Tires

Today the combine got new tires.  This is a significant event because the single tires on the front have been replaced with duals. 

New rims and tires
Normally we keep the combine spotless, but the mud, rain and snow have caused priorities to shift a bit.  The old tires are pictured below:

A photo from October
I guess I never mentioned that I was employee of the month in October.  I was honored with a special meal, a t-shirt, a certificate, and was able to park in the executive parking spot.  My attention to detail was a major factor in the decision, and I also excelled in the talent competition.  Thankfully, I was able to opt out of the swimsuit competition.

Back to the combine:

A storm unfolds on the horizon as we unload
The addition of duals to the combine will to allow us to get an upper hand in the mud and rain.  Sure enough, just a few hours after we began working in the field, a storm began brewing on the western horizon.  As the sun set, we were treated to wind, rain, lightning and more rain.  The constant diet of precipitation has been a challenge, but tonight we kept going.  It’s like driving through pudding, and I love it.

Posted by Alan at 05:00:00 | Permalink | Comments (1) »

Sunday, November 9, 2008

Blizzard

South Dakota has been in the news lately.  A blizzard dumped heavy snow and six foot drifts on the western reaches of the state.  We were warned that we could be in the path of the storm, but Huron was spared the worst of it.  Thursday night brought high winds, colder temps and blowing snow.  Friday morning we were surprised to see only an inch of snow had accumulated.

You might be a redneck if…
In preparation for the storm, Chris brought his road grader to the house so he could help clear the city streets.  Thankfully, it was not needed. 

We have new neighbors moving in today.  I’m guessing they are thinking, “That thing wasn’t there when we bought this house.”  I’ve been contemplating some fun welcoming remarks when I meet them.  Something like, “We are thinking of bringing the rest of the fleet here for the off-season.” 

I can only imagine their surprise the first time they see Chris clearing the sidewalks.  We have a large, corner lot, and Chris is very talented at his trade.  The sidewalks are a snap when you can move large amounts of snow with a machine like this in less than two minutes.  I think we have the only diesel-powered snow removal device in the neighborhood.  I think it’s really cool…which probably puts me in the redneck category. 

Posted by Alan at 05:00:00 | Permalink | Comments (2)