Happy New Year!

We started seeding yesterday.  It's the start of our new year.  The conditions for seeding are wonderful, which will make this operation much less stressful than we were expecting.   Planting seeds in the ground, then watching them germinate and grow, is just about the coolest thing in the world!

Our planting (seeding) equipment.

The tractor is Arthur.  This is the cart that holds the wheat seed and dry fertilizer.  The seed and fertilizer are delivered to the drill with a fan powered by air.  

The large hoses are the pathway for the seed and fertilizer to be delivered to the individual drill.

You can see that the large hose goes to a distributor with smaller hoses.  Each hose is connected to a "boot" which "drills" in to the soil.  

Here you can see the hose attached to the top of the boot, which is positioned between the packer wheels.

This is a closer look at the boot.  The depth that this goes in to the soil is controlled by a hydraulic cylinder.

This shows the full with of our outfit.  It's 56 feet wide!

Ron is adjusting the depth of the boots in this photo.

This is kind of a funny shot at first glance.  It shows the seed and fertilizer between the packer wheels  Before we put the boots in to the ground, we test to see if each hose is delivering product.  The packer wheels tamp the soil  on each side of the boot to make a furrow.

Here you can see where Ron has driven the drill with the boots out of the ground, and then in the ground.  The groove is deeper when the boot is in the ground.

This is checking the depth of the seed in the ground.

Look closely and you can see the tiny pink seed in the ground!  

First attempt at a "selfie".  Reynald says we look old!!!

Ready to get this crop in the ground!

I love it when the field around our house is in crop.  Here comes Reynald just around the chicken house and orchard.

I don't know how he manages to get so close to the edge, but he does.  It takes good depth perception, hand/eye coordination and concentration.  None of which I have!!!

Here he goes around the drive way.

And down the drive.

In ten days the wheat seeds will be popping through the soil.  There will be a slight tinge of green, which is so beautiful.  I love this look too though!   And so we're off and running.......