Race Day #2

Well, I have a bit more energy, despite the fact that it's like 100 degrees outside!  SERIOUSLY!  Where the heck was spring????

Yes, I have my AC on.  Allergies and old age are my two trump cards!

It will go off before Tall Guy comes home! ;-)

Here are the pictures I promised:

We still physically fill the planter, but Tall Guy and his dad found this handy gadget that helps eliminate most of the actually handling of bags of seed.   It's like a mini auger that will carry the seeds from the wagon to each bin on the planter.

This crank lowers the auger so we can swing it around to feed seeds into the bins.

 There is a little switch at the top of this picture on the black part.  See it?  This is how TG controls the seed out-put.  That and his hands so they don't go bouncing all over the place!

The black "stuff" in the corn seed is graphite!  We put some in the bottom of each seed bin then on top so it will work down and keep the seeds sliding smoothly out into the ground.

 These last four containers have a smaller one in front of them.  They hold insecticide.

This is insecticide!  Bugs beware!

 Now our absolutely wonderful friend (and manager at our local John Deere store) is on Tall Guy's speed dial.  They are taking measurements to plug into the computer inside to help TG's planting data to be exact and precise!

This green and gold dome on top of the cab is our life line to GPS.  I will tell you more about this later.  I need Tall Guy here to help with all the technical lingo, and he's a bit busy right now, so I will save it all for a rainy day!

 This old friend is in need of some help with its hydrolics.  We will get back with him soon!

Mike and Tall Guy are plugging away and punching in numbers!

Hey Miss Lauren, of Four Ransoms!  Like the wonderful advertisement?  Miss Lauren's husband is another of our very good friends at our John Deere store!  We HEART JOHN DEERE!

Ok, now after a word from our sponsor, just kidding, we are back to business.  This is the business end of a planter.

The two disks on either side work the ground between the rows.

The seed comes in the ground right infront of the middle wheel, then the two side wheels help cover it up.*

*Tall Guy is NOT here, so if I don't call a few parts by their right name, please be patient!  I read my explanation the first time and realized I had the process backwards!  I'm learning as fast as I can!

Now, Once you get going, you have to stop and check the rows for a number of things including
1.  Is it planting seeds?
2.  Are the seeds spaced the way you want them?
3.  Are the seeds being planted deep enough?  I heard the guys talking, and I believe we are planting ours about 1 1/2 inches deep or a bit deeper.

HEY!  Check out my Real Farmwives of America pal Jent, over at From My Front Porch! We just had one of those farm girl mind swaps and posted almost about the same thing!  She has better names for parts than I do!  Thanks Jent!

 I was driving the seed truck and wagon this day, and while I waited for Tall Guy to empty the planter, I went asparagus picking again.  Wasn't quite as romantic, or as good a view as the other day, but I still picked about 30 pounds of the green stuff!

That was fun to lug up and down a grassy ditch bank!  For about two miles!  They were a bit trickier to find with the grass growing taller!

Today, we dodged another rain, and everyone seems to be working without too much stopping.  Gonna be a another long night for the farmer!  Please keep an eye out for all the farmers working late and pulling equipment home in the dark.  We love them and want to see them home safe and sound.