Well, we’re in a snow globe again this Friday morning. Temperatures are up this week (or maybe we’re just getting used to them) but we remain in the freezer. Snow from a month ago is still on the ground.
The shop sat empty this morning. We won’t start any projects until Monday. So, I figure today will be a cleaning day in the shop. It has to be done before we bring the planters in (so we can unfold them). I figure a day now and a day or two later would be better than doing it all at once. On Thursday I started organizing hydraulic fittings that wandered out of their storage bins over the last year. I took a quick inventory of the fittings, and it didn’t take long to create a $500 order.
Mulching tree lines
We also continue to chip away at tree lines. Mulching tree lines is a nice activity that we can turn to when there’s a lull or delay in the shop. It’s also a nice change of pace sometimes. We slipped the excavator in the shop and did a quick check before hauling it down the road to the next worksite. We also changed all the mulching teeth and reinforced a transition mount between the mulching head and excavator boom. New teeth have made a huge difference!
The biggest thing is we’re getting something productive and purposeful done. It has been many years since some of these areas have been addressed. Productivity is lower in these areas, equipment can be damaged, inputs are wasted and aerial applications are more difficult.
Ready to haul grain
The ethanol plant has been down most of this week, so we didn’t get much corn hauled. It took a day to reorganize and start hauling soybeans, so we didn’t get much done there either. The prospect of China exports this week made it a little more exciting to start hauling soybeans again. Hopefully, those exports become reality.