Signs of Spring

I was in Spokane most of the day today.  When I returned home, I noticed several signs of spring on the farm.  There are several pieces of equipment that have been moved from the equipment storage lot, closer to the shop so that Reynald and Alicia can do some maintenance work before spring work begins.

Here are a few signs of spring at the end of Rolinco Road!

First sign of spring is a major wind that blew tumble mustard for miles to get hung up in the pasture fence.

Spencer and Baxter!

Arthur and the fertilizer applicator.  We are planting about 750 acres of spring crop in a couple weeks.

Indy and the harrow.

Reynald and Alicia removed all the drag harrow and took them in to the shop to work on.

This winter we had all the packer wheels on Reynald's set of drills rebuilt.

The side walls were worn through in many places.  This rebuild will last at least 20 years .

New straw pickers, like the ones we put on the set of drills that I ran last fall.   We were so pleased with the job they did.  A definite improvement over the old style.

This is an empty drill, waiting for straw picker and packer wheel install!

Inside the shop, Reynald and Alicia are working on the drag harrow that pull behind the main harrow.  We have known that this needed to be done for the last two or three years, but have put it off because it is a pretty big project.  This is the year to do the fix, which involves new pull bars, new chain, and a different way to attach the drag harrow to the pull bars. 

Reynald is cutting off the old pull attachment point with the torch.

Alicia is attaching the new chain and clevis to the new pull bar.

As you can see, this has been quite a project!

Tulips and daffodils are coming through the soil.  It will be a little while before they bloom, but the promise is there!

This is our favorite daffodil.  It somehow survived construction of the new shop and was miraculously planted near the foundation.  I had daffodils near the door of the old shop, but how this fellow survived and managed to plant itself in just the right spot is a mystery.

Tulips coming up in the yard.

And daffodils coming up with such force that they are lifting the soil!!

And finally, the sunset this evening.  Oh my!  It's a treat every night, but some are more spectacular than others and tonight was one of the better.  A beautiful way to say good day.