Potatoes and sugar beets

A couple days of nice weather and they went back to potatoes. We thought they would be frozen, but evidently not. They were harvesting yellow potatoes, which there aren't that many of, so he wanted to try to get as many as he could.

When it got cold again, they switched back to sugar beets.  One day they harvested soybeans and Curt and Jim hauled wheat to town, trying to empty the grain bin so there'd be room for the soybeans.

Tractor pulling tractor

Pulling another truck

Pull tractor follows along

Loading the truck with wheat

Combining soybeans

A mobile dog grooming business!

Starting sugar beets

Finally, they're in the sugar beet fields. It's still wet and they're spending a lot of time pulling out the trucks, but it's working.

Sometimes the approach is slippery and you don't quite make it. 

Getting pulled out of the field, on to the road

 

Stuck

Completely stuck!

Grand Forks flooding

The snow only lasted a day or two; it was warm enough to melt. The problem is, the ground is so saturated already that there is no room to soak in more.

At least we can stay where we're at. People working for American Crystal Sugar for the sugar beet harvest that were camped in the Red River State Recreation Area in East Grand Forks, MN had to evacuate because the river was flooding into the campground. They are now parked in the empty K-Mart parking lot for the duration.

 Visitor Alert

Campground Closed Due to Flooding

Effective today, October 14, 2019, the campground is closed due to flooding.

Adam Berry, of Interstate Towing, wades through floodwater to bring a cable to a stranded RV owned by Giannozzo Galluzzi at the Red River State Recreation Area campground in East Grand Fork on Monday, Oct. 14. The park is under a mandatory evacuation order due to the flooding Red River. Photo by Eric Hylden/Grand Forks Herald

 You can click on the pictures to enlarge them. 

Since there was no field work this weekend, we got to see another UND hockey game. This time they won 8 to 1.

Other than that, the guys usually keep busy working on equipment. It seems there's always something. I've been in town for appointments, ie. doctor, eyes, etc. Also I'm keeping busy baking for the guys, trying to keep something sweet in their break room.

For more pictures, please click here.

A Winter Wonderland - and potato harvest is done.

The potato harvest is officially ended due to a snowstorm. Lots of potatoes are going to be left in the ground this year, along with wheat and other crops. It started with rain Wednesday afternoon and Thursday, turning to snow Friday and Saturday.  Once the potatoes freeze, they will rot and cannot be harvested. As far as sugar beets goes, we're still hoping.

This is on top of our motorhome. Curt cleaned it off, and said it was really heavy, wet snow.

We went to a UND hockey game last weekend. They won 5 to 1. 

The guys did get three days of work this week. The sun was shining and it was still wet, but they drove. They had to get pulled out of the field a few times. 

One of the trucks got too deep and they had to unload some of the potatoes before they could pull him out. 

We've got maybe 6-7 inches of snow as I'm writing this Saturday.  

Some parts of the state got over 24 inches!

For more pictures of the potato harvest and our lovely snow, please click here.

Rain, rain, go away - - -

Rain, rain, go away. Go find another area of the country that needs you! We've been in the 40s this week, still trying to dry out. Parts of North Dakota even got snow. The south and east have been in the 90s and desperately need rain.  If we could only share...

You can click on the pictures to enlarge them.