The rains continue, David Letterman has left the building and other bits and pieces!

We continue to be blessed with rain.  Monday night we had another 1.2 inches.  We had been able to get in the field for a few hours, finishing the curved rows at the section.  Tuesday morning these beds were standing water.


The forecast is for  more rain through the weekend.  Some weather men say accumulations of 4 to 6 inches.  Personally I believe this forecast is more for the eastern portion of the Big Country.


I've always tried to be thankful for the rain in any situation (even after having my house flood twice).  I just can't imagine anyone complaining about rain in Texas.  I can remember jokes about a farmer trying to enter into heaven's pearly gates and GOD telling him, "I could never please you.  It was always too hot or too cold, it was too dry or too wet, it was too windy or you wanted a breeze."  To a large degree this is true, and lately I have heard television interviews with farmers who are predicting gloom and doom.  "With all this rain we can't get our wheat out", or "with all this rain the wheat is going to sprout in the heads" and finally "with all this rain our wheat will probably get rust".


Of course some cotton farmers are heard saying "it is too wet to plant".


I am thankful that we are wet enough that we are now seeing runoff which is much needed in area lakes. 


Hey.  I think GOD is doing just fine!


We had the 4850 tractor in the shop the end of last week.  We had broken a remote hydraulic box linkage.  While we were moving the tractor around I noticed an issue with the right front wheel.  Turns out we needed to install kingpins and kingpin bearings.  We finished this tractor Monday, did some adjustments Tuesday and it is now backed to the big sandfighter.


You know, we are almost through with all of our heavy tractor work.  We will use the 8310 to finish bedding (we lack about 200 acres), then we will plant with this tractor because it has guidance.


The 4850 probably won't see any work other than sandfighters until the winter.  The 4440 is hooked to the shredder and will mow around the barn and the ditches on the farms.  The 4430 is hooked to the box blade and will reside at the house where I will smooth the driveway every now and again.  The 4430 will probably drag the small tandem across the 3 acres in the horse paddocks.


Hopefully they are all ready, or as ready as we can make them.


Currently we have the planter in the middle of the barn.  We are checking bearings, chains, sprockets, cleaning seed chutes, When the planter comes out of the barn it will go directly onto the tractor.


On a quick note, several farmers who have irrigation have planted some cotton.  Monday a week ago Don Martin planted the half circle on the Vernon Smith farm.  The cotton is up and coming, although I am sure it wasn't prepared for the 50 degrees we have this morning.


Sure gives a guy the itch!


I watched David Letterman's final show last night.  It was fun.  Lots of flashbacks over the 33 years.  I've really enjoyed the shows leading up to it.  Without a doubt Bill Murray is certifiable.


And now another piece of my youth is gone.  Next thing you know I am going to be old.


On Monday we had an appointment for Memama at FSA in Abilene.  On our way we stopped by Dr. Eaker's and had blood drawn for her INR.  We drove to Chili's and I ordered one of her favorites, the Honey Chipotle chicken crispers, fries and corn on the cobb.  We talked about the meeting we were going to, so I was trying to keep her focused.  I kept asking her, "How did we come up with the numbers on your farm budget?"  Her reply initially was, "Lordy, I don't know!"


We had an in depth conversation about things and I asked her again, "How did you come up with the numbers on your farm budget?"  Her reply became, "We discussed it and Pat wrote it down."


Everything went well in the meeting and on Tuesday I met with the FSA rep and did a chattel lien inspection.  He said we should be hearing from him in a couple of days.  Fingers are crossed.


Some serious issues;  Linda Cardwell (Ronnie's wife) has begun chemo therapy which will be followed by radiation.  She was diagnosed with breast cancer last month.  Courtney (Asebedo) Freeman (Colby's wife)'s Dad was visiting and they realized he was having some coordination and speech issues.  They carried him to the ER where they discovered a blood clot in the right front portion of his brain.  Surgery was done, he is now out of ICU and doing well.


Keep these individuals and their families on your prayer list


I guess with that I had better get started.  Have a day!


FATHER, YOU are good.  Thank YOU for all the blessing YOU pour down on us!  FATHER , we lift Linda for YOUR gifts of healing, we lift Linda and Ron and Amy for YOUR gifts of strength and comfort to weather this storm.  FATHER, we lift Courtney's Dad for YOUR continued gifts of healing, we lift his family for YOUR gifts of strength and comfort.  FATHER thank YOU for blessing Memama, we ask that you continue to do so.  Thank YOU for JESUS and the hope and promise we have in him.

May the fourth be with you!

That was my Google cover page on May 4th.  May the fourth be with you!  Very cute.  I also received an email informing me that this entire week the date is the same frontwards or backwards.


And now you know!


Once again we have been blessed with timely rains.  Last week 1.1 to 1.5 inches and already this week we have received 2 inches.


When it rained Monday night a week ago, I had moved the big tractor back to the barn.  I figured if it weathered we would drop the bedding bar and put the tractor inside the barn.  On Thursday I decided we were going to pull the fuel injection pump off and take it to the shop. 


It had been about 18 years since I had done something this tedious on a farm tractor, especially one of the newer ones with all the computer telemetry.  Thank goodness John Deere stays with some things.  They have two holes cast in the right rear of the engine block.  You take out a plastic cover and you insert a starter gear into the larger one (This allows you to turn the engine with a wrench to determine positioning of the engine.  To remove and install the injection pump you want it top dead center of the compression stroke on number 1 cylinder).  In the smaller hole you position a pin or bolt and when it comes up TDC #1 or #6, the pin or bolt will slip into a hole drilled in the flywheel.  Then it us up to you to determine which stroke the engine is on.


We had the special tools from when we were doing so much of our on engine work.


Once we had it positioned, Slats and I began to remove injector lines, fuel lines, electrical plugs and such.  We finally were down to the gear that attaches to the front of the pump and the four bolts that secure the pump to the engine.  This is where it got a little dicey, John Deere changed from a regular cap screw on the gear bolts and went to a torx screw.  We decided it was a size 40 torx wrench because a 45 wouldn't go into the screw head.  We loosened two of them, but the remaining two rounded inside.  I got on my phone and determined the right size wrench was a 45 and you might have to drive it into the head of the screw with a hammer.  I bought a 45 and hammered it into the remaining screws.  One came out, the other stripped even more.  Feeling lucky I drove back to town and bought a 47 and returned to the barn and drove it into the one remaining bolt.  Luckily it held and I removed the final screw.  We removed the last bolts mounting the pump and removed it from the tractor.  It was 4:27 and too late to make it to the diesel injection shop by 5, so we bagged it and put it in my pickup.


The following morning I woke early and was in Abilene by 8 and dropped the pump off.  Mike, the man I had been talking with remembered our conversations and took the pump back.


The tractor repair shop that had checked the tractor out gave me two quotes for having the pump rebuilt, $3200 and $3300 for a John Deere remanufactured pump.  Of course these included the removal and installation.


The diesel injection man told me he would check it out and if he rebuilt it I would be looking at $1200 to $1500.  So I felt some relief as to the pricing and taking the middle man out.  I left the pump and they told me probably by the following Wednesday it would be ready, but they would call.


On the drive home I was on the home and a strange number kept coming up, but I didn't switch over to see who it was.  As I pulled into the driveway at the house they called again.  It was the receptionist from the diesel injection shop.  "Mike thinks he has your pump fixed.  In fact fifteen minutes after you left I began trying to call you!"


Luckily as I drove west, Pat was traveling east.  I made arrangements for her to go by and pick up the pump.  In the mean time, Mike called me and told me the rack adjustment in the pump was dragging and he adjusted it and believed it was good to go.


Pat picked it up and paid the bill, $48 dollars.  WONDERFUL!


By the end of the day we had the pump back on the tractor and all the lines on and tightened as well as all the electrical connected.  However we needed two gaskets and two screws that John Deere had to order.


It was almost torture to spend the weekend knowing how close we were to finding out if we had dodged the high dollar repair.


I was very glad I spent the weekend in Abilene with Georgiana, far from the farm.


On Monday morning I drove to John Deere shortly after 7 and retrieved our parts.  We installed the last two torx screws and put the gear cover on as well as the filter block.  The engine was ready to start but I had also taken one remote outlet apart.  I quickly made the repair and reassembled it.


We pump primed the big tractor and I hit the key.  It didn't even try to start.  Slats removed the water separator and filled it with transmission fluid and re-installed it.  Once again he primed it with the hand pump and I hit the key again.  It rolled over easily but no smoke and the engine didn't try to fire.  I stopped and Slats began pumping the hand pump again.  I could tell this time it has some pressure and was moving some fuel.  When Slats quit and nodded his head I hit the key again and the big engine spun over but this time you could tell it was trying to fire and smoke began coming out the exhaust.  We stopped again and Slats primed the pump again.  This time the big engine roared to life and ran smoothly.


The $48 repair worked!


I called the injection shop and as luck had it Mike answered the phone.  I identified myself and told him his fix had worked, the big engine was no longer surging but running smoothly.  He told me he was pretty sure of the problem when he took the pump back to his bench.  I told him he could have gone ahead an rebuilt it and I would never have known it was simply the rack adjustment, or he could have adjusted the rack and cleaned it up and painted it and charged me for a complete rebuild and I would not have known.  I told him as long as I needed an injection repairman he was my man and that I would recommend him to anyone who needed injection work.  He seemed genuinely tickled I would call to thank him and he told me this is the way he does business.  I thanked him again.


So here it is, for you fuel injection pump repairs go to Abilene Diesel Injection Service 725 Walnut in Abilene, 325-673-7031.  Talk to Mike or Aaron Patton.  They will do you right!


Well, let's see.  What else is going on. 


Merrit was picked up on a motion to revoke in San Angelo.  I believe she will serve another two weeks before they release her to Nolan County.  Nolan County Grand Jury meets tomorrow and is expected to indict her for the forgery charges stemming from Thanksgiving when she came to Roscoe.


I think it would be much better if she is transferred directly instead of being released and then trying to find her to pick her up again.  I am sure in her brain she can put off Nolan county for a couple of years.


I had a call from her mother yesterday with the same concerns.   She has also reached the same conclusions I have, that until Merrit decides to change her ways she is on her own.


Other news.


Scott is having back surgery next week.


Memama had a good Mother's day, and is doing pretty well right now.


Alton, my former father-in-law raised the national champion iris, this year!  Many of you know he breeds iris' and day lilies.  He is finally getting some national recognition!  The prize winning flower is available at Home Depot I know.  Congratulations Alton!  (It will be a bulb and won't bloom until late spring 2016).


My plan is to start planting cotton the week of May 25th.  It sure is nice to have all this rain around planting time.


FATHER, I praise YOU and lift up YOUR name.  We are blessed.  Thank YOU for the rains and the good prospects for this year.  Thank you for Memama's health and we ask you continue to bless her.  We pray for Scott and his surgery.  We pray for Ellen, Makai's friend, and lift her up for your gifts of healing.  Thank YOU for JESUS and the hope and promise we have in him.