Corn in the backyard, 2016 -- weeks 2 & 3

May 8

Although we had a generous amount of rain leading up to May 8, we accumulated about 20% fewer growing degree days than normal for this time of year.  Nonetheless, the corn plants grew to 2.5 inches, maintaining a reasonable pace, albeit slower than most years.

 May 15

For the week prior to May 15, our rainfall was adequate, and growing degree days were very close to average, resulting in growth that put the tallest plants at about 5 inches. Historically, that's below average for the third week's measurement, but about average for the middle of May. No reason for concern yet, especially considering the temperatures have been so cool.

The May 15 photos also prove that our days have not all been cloudy this spring.

Introduction to Modern Planting Technology

Planting season is in full swing in Central Illinois as most of the corn is planted and growing, while soybeans and other crops are not far behind. I was fortunate to witness the planting in the field behind our house, and experienced my first ride in the tractor while planting so I could witness some of the fascinating technology that has made farming more efficient than ever.

Farmer Wagenbach chose this 16-row planter that appears to be the same unit we've seen in this field before. The basic concept of the planter hasn't changed much in the last few decades, but there are several ways planters are controlled today that wouldn't be possible without computers and global positioning systems (GPS).

Here's a closer view of one of the planting units for those that are curious about the hardware at the ground.  While there are some features visible here that improve the seed bed in several ways, the technology that really caught my eye was in the tractor cab.

The bottom screen in this stack of three is a Precision Planting SeedSense monitor that tracks the performance of each planting unit and warns of detected problems.

The middle screen is a display connected to the auto-steer feature of the tractor. Most of the time I rode in the cab with Farmer Wagenbach he wasn't touching the steering wheel as the tractor was steering itself. After one picks a point at each end of the field on the first pass along one side, the computer draws a straight line between those points and establishes additional parallel lines all the way across the field spaced as wide as the planter being used. When the tractor is steered close to following one of those lines, the automatic steering feature takes over and keeps the tractor on that imaginary line until the driver takes control to turn the tractor around at the end of the field. In the end, all the rows are straight and evenly spaced.

The monitor on the top shows what portions of the field have already been planted and records all kinds of performance data for the planter that can indicate problems while planting, or can be compared to harvest data months later to study the effects of planting performance on yields. It's also an easy way to recognize slivers of land that aren't planted yet, so those areas won't be missed. Incorporated in the planter monitors is the ability to control planting units independently. This minimizes overlaps that result in reduction of yield.

Here's a spot in our field where the curved edge of the field on the right produced a small area between that pass and the straight rows on the left. This sliver was visible on the monitor so Farmer Wagenbach was able to pass over the area with the planter allowing the GPS-controlled planting units to drop seeds where the computer suspected none had been dropped before. The result is the five partial rows in the middle that, while not perfect, still drastically reduced the amount of overlap that would have occurred without this technology.

This caused me to be observant of planting patterns in other fields in our area, and it appears that several area farmers use similar technology. In this image, you'll notice the inside rows end nicely next to the outer rows that curve around them.

This is another part of the same field that shows the lack of overlap as the rows in the middle of the field on the right intersect with the rows that follow the edge of the field on the left.

For contrast, here's a neighboring field that was planted the old fashioned way with overlap in these tricky areas along the field edges.

Finally, another example that I found impressive. This one had the inner rows running diagonal to this edge of the field, which would have resulted in lots of overlap in the past, but looks almost effortless as planted this year.

Corn in the backyard, 2016 -- week 1

May 1

The ground had warmed enough by the middle of April this year that many of the farmers in our area took advantage of the dry weather and planted their corn.  Farmer Wagenbach was included in that wave, and I not only witnessed his planting in the field behind our house, but I had a chance to chat with him a bit and ride along in the tractor on April 19 (more details on that in a future post).

I first noticed the plants emerging on April 29, so our first Sunday corn photo of the year was taken two days later. The plants were easier to see with the naked eye than they appear in the top photo, and the bottom photo illustrates why: they're only an inch tall so far!

After the seed went into the ground, we received a little less than twice as many growing degree days compared to an average year, so even though it has been cool since the plants have emerged, they had a warm bed in which to germinate. We'll try to keep a close eye on the crop again this year, and I''m sure we'll be amazed again at the wonder of plant growth.

Enbridge Flanagan South Pipeline Project, Part 2

A while back, I promised more photos and video of the pipeline project that visited our area in the fall of 2013. The Enbridge Flanagan South Project included about 600 miles of 36-inch diameter pipe intended to carry about 600,000 barrels of crude oil per day. After realizing what the project involved, I watched carefully each day so that I might witness the process of laying the pipe in the ground. Even though I've worked for Caterpillar for over 20 years, I had never witnessed the pipelaying process, and since it was available for viewing only a few miles from our house, I jumped at the chance.

This first video shows three of the four Caterpillar pipelayers on the job, and a couple of support machines that performed interesting, and very specialized jobs. The first hydraulic excavator visible, sandwiched between a couple of pipelayers, seems to be primarily occupied with moving the wooden piles that support the sections of pipe before they are lowered into the trench. As the pipelayers lift the pipe, the supporting piles of skids become unnecessary and are moved closer to the trench so the following pipelayers can more easily work around them. At the end of the video you can see another machine designed to gather the wood used in the piles and organize it for future use. That machine is featured more prominently in the fifth video.

This second video shows all four pipelayers working a little further down that same line with the support machines accompanying them as before.

In this third video, the pipelayers have moved on to a new section of pipe, so one can see how they slide their slings under the free end of the pipe and slowly move it horizontally closer to the trench where it will ultimately rest following the fourth pipelayer. Notice the excavator "cut in line" to situate itself between the second and third pipelayer.

The fourth video features the first two pipelayers most prominently as they lift this section of pipe off the skid piles and gradually swing it toward the trench. The excavator behind the second pipelayer can be witnessed clearing the path for the last two pipelayers, which are successfully bringing the pipe to rest in the trench.

The fifth video picks up where the last one left off affording us a better view of the last two pipelayers and the utility machine that follows them. Even though it's not manufactured by Caterpillar (nor do we make anything like this machine), it intrigued me for the many actions it performed in carrying out the single task of picking up the wood skids and organizing them. The Pisony SkidPro picks the skids off the ground, arranges them in neat stacks, and wraps steel bands around the whole bundle. The machine can carry several bundles before they must be unloaded, and although I didn't witness it, the grapple is then used to lift the bundles from the SkidPro and load them on a truck for transport to the next section of pipeline.

Since the pipeline has been operational well over a year now, it's amazing to think literally millions of barrels of oil have traveled through this pipeline in our neighborhood. Most of the clues of the pipeline's presence have vanished, while the benefits of improved oil movement from Illinois to Oklahoma continue to be felt in the oil industry around the world.

Images from Europe: Gimmelwald, Switzerland

We've read the story "Heidi" frequently enough to think the Swiss Alps sound like the most delightful place in the world.  Since our European vacation brought us within a few hours of the Alps, we planned to spend a few days in the mountains experiencing for ourselves what we've only experienced vicariously before.

Our short stay was centered around Gimmelwald, a town of about a hundred people over 1400 feet above the Lauterbrunnen Valley.  That elevation is significant in that it's impractical (impossible?) to reach Gimmelwald by car. The aerial tramway from Stechelberg to Gimmelwald is the easiest way to get there, and the picture below shows the Stechelberg Station in the valley a few minutes before we reached Gimmelwald.

As you can tell, the weather was wonderful on our arrival day, and we were quite impressed by the cliffs, peaks, waterfalls, and even the cable car!

We stayed at the Hotel Mittaghorn which is small and spartan, but oozing with charm and fantastic views.  Our room on the second floor had a little balcony from which we could look out over the Lauterbrunnen Valley to the Jungfrau, Monch, and Eiger peaks to the east.  I've been in the Colorado Rockies plenty of times, but the view from the hotel was bigger than anything I'd ever seen before. The mountains across the valley were too big to be observed in one view, and felt like they were just at the end of your fingers while in another world at the same time!

This picture was taken during one of our afternoon hikes around the mountain. This is not exactly what I envision when I read "Heidi," but it's pretty close.

This area came recommended by a cousin who has vacationed here, and by Rick Steves who wrote this flattering description of the area, which only strengthened our desire to experience the area for ourselves.

This image is probably my favorite.  Karen and Lily are in the foreground descending from a vantage point three hundred feet above the village of Murren (in the middle distance). This shot partially illustrates what impressed me most about these mountains: they're big, and they're right in front of your face! The Rockies and Tetons are impressive in a "majestically off there in the distance" sort of way, but the Alps are right there leaning over your shoulder! I'd be remiss if I didn't draw your attention to the abundance of vegetation in the Alps. We like green, growing things, especially when we're on vacation. We aren't big fans of any desert, and placing a mountain in the middle of one does little to attract us to either feature.

Murren was a comfortable walk from our hotel, and attracts more tourists than Gimmelwald. Even so, we still found it to be a pleasant village with wonderful views, delicious food, and enough souvenirs to satisfy our need. From Murren one can ride the cable car several thousand feet higher to the Piz Gloria restaurant at the peak of the Schilthorn. We didn't make that trip as the lower elevations proved more than satisfactory in whetting our appetites for the Alps.

We've only seen a small part of Switzerland, but we love what we've seen.