Autumn For Bees

     Not long ago these houses were very active little hubs. But today, You won't find many bees at all.

     An old bee warms herself in the sun. She's a few months old, which is pretty old for a leafcutter bee. Her wings are tattered and worn. She stretches them slowly. Perhaps they can carry her to one more day of work.

     Most of the others of her generation have died. Other than herself and a few others that hang on, the entire species is now growing in their cells. Eggs for now.

     The flowers are mostly gone, their purpose fulfilled. Soon the bee will join them. All the labor, all the industriousness so that the next generation might thrive. Being thankful is most likely beyond a bee's cognition. Perhaps then, we can do it for them.

Alfalfa Seed Harvest

     It's time to harvest the alfalfa seed. (Actually it's already close to being finished. That'll teach me to go on vacation.)

     Alfalfa harvest goes fairly similar to wheat harvest, though there are some differences. The seed goes into boxes and you have to dodge bee houses.

     Pulling them out of the fields would damage the dry alfalfa and knock a lot of seeds to the ground. After all the see is cut around them, they can then be pulled forward and the seed that was under them can then be cut.

     This is what it's all about. Alfalfa seeds (as I'm sure you can see) are very small, but there are lots of them. Being so small it's quite difficult to get all the gunk out of them.

     So off they go to the seed company, who will remove everything that isn't an alfalfa seed.
     After they're cleaned, these seeds will be shipped all over the place to grow alfalfa hay and more alfalfa seed. The most tangible way a consumer will be affected by the alfalfa harvest (and market) is through milk and meat from cattle that were fed with alfalfa hay. It's all part of the same process of feeding the world. So enjoy your food, somebody worked hard to get it to you!

Mountain Summer

     High in the mountains of Owyhee County, the summer is coming to an end. While some flowers still bloom and the grass grows, Autumn comes fast. These are the last days for grazing the slopes and meadows.

     The cattle, such as these five, (yes five, one is hiding) have been enjoying themselves eating whatever they like. This bare patch used to be some leafy plants. Apparently, once they dry out, they become the most delicious thing ever. They grow back a little thicker every year, so the vicious eating they get can't hurt them too badly.

     The locals will eat many of the same things as the cattle, but there's plenty of plants for everyone. Besides, this elk was far more interested in his harem than anything else.

     The ranchers of the high meadows have gotten almost all the hay they're going to get and have already started to bring some cattle back in to graze. Pretty soon they'll all be back in the meadows getting ready for winter.
     The greater majority of the area of Owyhee County is the home and workplace of our ranchers. And while there aren't many of them, I wish to once again stress how important they are. May their lands and lives continue to be fruitful.

Danger!

     If popular culture thinks of combines at all, it generally thinks of them as swirling vortexes of doom. This is not quite the case, though anything with moving parts is potentially dangerous. Nevertheless, I must admit that I have a fascination with danger signs. Specifically the ones where terrible things happen to little stick folk. So, here is a picture gallery of them. All but one is from the combine.

     Have a safe weekend!

Switching Over

     The alfalfa seed harvest is beginning. Now most farmers will be using the same combine that they used for their wheat, but this requires a bit of change.

     First of all, the screens need changed. Remember those? They sift through the chaff in the rear of the combine. And the black spout in the top left corner...

     Has to be replaced with this spout. Alfalfa seed is much lighter and the bins that it's poured into much smaller than a truck bed, so the long spout keeps it from being blown off target.

     Along with the changes, the combine will need a bit of regular maintenance. As you can see, there's lots going on beneath the panels. The chains will get a bit of lubrication, and the belts are checked for damage.

      That's a grease zerk. The threaded side screws into a place that needs grease and the roundy end plugs into a grease gun. The gun is a pump that pushes grease into places where moving parts are prone to wear. Like bearings and such. A combine has many zerks. This one has about 14 that need greased daily, and a couple dozen more at least.

     A combine is a very complex machine. (I believe I've mentioned that before.) So there's always a lot going on. Just recently this one needed a new reel (the rotating bars in the front) because the old one wore out. And pretty much every day, a person will have to climb up this ladder and fill the fuel. (The red cap you can just barely see in the dark there is the fuel cap.)
     Soon this combine will be rumbling through the alfalfa. I'll keep you posted. (So to speak.)