Picking corn the easy way!

Skyler and I went out to my friend Wayne's farm yesterday to pick sweet corn.  Not by hand, but with a Pixall corn picker made by Oxbo International.  Skyler was a little scared when we first got in, but he settled down and really started to take in what was happening.  Wayne is looking to buy a machine like this and was demoing this machine in his field.  These machines can cost as much as $250,000!!  That's a lot of sweet corn to pay for one!  Note: This was the same field we rode along while Wayne planted this spring.

Ready to farm!

Looking at the disk.  I'm pretty stoked to use my disk on our sweet corn real soon.

Walking toward the picker.

Closer...

There it is!

This machine only had a 4 row.  He's looking to get a 6 row.

"These rocks are pretty cool!"

The obligatory tire shot.

He wouldn't stay out of the wheel.

"This is great, Dad!"

View from in the cab.

The chaff is blown out the right hand side of the machine.

Lots and lots of corn!

Dumping our spoils for the day.

I might not be able to update the blog for a week, I'll see what I can post from our trip...  Stay tuned.

The ROTOMILL!!!!

Our city has been blowing the budget trying to pave or seal the subdivision roads this year.  This explains the tax hike we received last month.  Skyler and I got to see the county's pavement profiler  in action yesterday morning and I'm sure we will again today.  All 800 horsepower of it!  That's 800 Caterpillar ponies produced from a 3412 V-12 Cat engine.  It's amazing to see in action!  The ground shakes, the exhaust plume is visible for a half mile, the smell is that of burnt carbide and hot asphalt!  They rotomill the existing roadway to remove approximately 4" so they can overlay new asphalt to make the 36 year old roads new again.  The machine is an engineering work of art.  It weighs 74,000 pounds!  It hold 1,500 gallons of water to minimize dust and cool the cutter.  It cuts asphalt like a rototiller in a vegetable garden! It fills a standard dump truck in a minute and a half!  I think every worker that runs it or is around it loves his or her job.  Even the street sweeper lady waved at Skyler.

The convoy of diesel powered machinery.

The ROTOMILL!!

Skyler was mesmerized.

The thing moves pretty fast!  About the same pace as the average person walking.  You can just make out the exhaust plume.

Return pass heading towards us.

Closer...

LOOK AT THE STEAM CREATED FROM ALL THE FRICTION!!!

The water keeps dust down and cools the cutterhead.

Retreating back for the final pass.

We got back from our first viewing and Skyler climbed up on the table to see if he could still see any machines.

Outing number 2.  We got much closer this time.

Still mesmerized.

The street sweeper.

ROTOMILL!!  All the workers smiled at Skyler.

LOOK AT THE SIZE OF THE EXHAUST PIPE!!!  I could see the exhaust plume from our house 2 streets away!

We got back and he was still looking for more machinery...

Just like Daddy.

Pretending to drive the lawn tractor.  Notice he has his hand on the key.  It was promptly removed after this picture.

Sheepdog trials.

We went up near Heber City yesterday to watch the sheepdog trials.  We've been going to the sheepdog trials pretty much since we've been married.  It's a fun time, and it's really entertaining to see the dogs work the sheep.  Some of the Border Collies are young, some have been doing this since we've been attending.  The mature dogs definitely have the advantage of listening and keeping the sheep in control.  The weather was near perfect, though we all got too much sun.  Skyler was super cranky after we got home as he didn't get any real nap yesterday.  It was early bedtime for him last night.

The scrub oak is already turning colors.

The farm fields around Heber are spectacular!

Altair chauffeured us around.

Not the best shot through the window, but the clouds above the Uinta mountains were awesome!

Downtown Midway on the way to the trials.

More great clouds and pastures.  For some reason everything was still green up there. 

The event gets bigger and bigger every year.  Lots of cars.

This was great, the lower sticker read " I ride inside" dogsagainstromney.com  Website here.

The hill where the dogs run the sheep.

Sheep in the pen.  They use 300 range sheep and rotate them in and out of the competition.

A Border Collie doing her thing right below the sign.

Still herding the sheep down.

The handler is left of the white tent.  The handlers use whistles to control the dogs.

This gal is an Australian Kelpie dog.  They are a breed that originated from Dingo's and Border Collies.  She was super sweet and I got to pet her for 10 minutes or so while her handler answered questions from the audience.

They have the Splash Dog competition going on during the trials too.  This dog jumped 23 feet!

Easton and Bethlyn joined us for the day.  Easton is watching the splash dogs.

Easton and Bethlyn looking at the ponys.  We fed them some alfalfa that was growing nearby.

Skyler playing in the bean bag toss.

We ended up taking Bethlyn and Easton home because Nick was still mountain biking.  Altair really needs a bigger car...

 

Time for a sandbox...

Yesterday we took Skyler over to the conservation gardens near our house.  They showcase all the different ways people can landscape with water savings in mind.  It's where we got a lot of ideas for our front yard which is partially xeriscaped. While we were walking, Skyler found the sandbox!  I've been contemplating building a sandbox this year or waiting until next Spring, but I think it's time to start on one.  He was so happy digging with two shovels!  One in each hand!  I was thinking of using a giant tractor tire for a sandbox, but maybe we'll just use some pressure treated or Trex instead.  We were thinking a giant tire will get too hot for him to sit or play on if it's in the sun.  Thoughts?

Lounging in the shade...

One shovel...

Digging!

Two shovels!

"I need a sandbox!"  Grandpa? :)

Helping in the garden.

We managed to dig a row of potatoes yesterday.  (We still have 4 more rows to dig!)  Skyler got in on the action by playing and digging in the fresh soil.  He even helped to load then unload the potatoes.

Carrying a cucumber.

Looking for a potato.

Picking up a potato!  So helpful!