What did you do today?

I tried to burn up our corn crop..........................................................................

Dallas came rapping at my bedroom window about 7:30 this morning while I was having a dream...................but that dream is another story.  I got up, let him in, and he looked at me,  "What do you want to do?" he smiled.   I turned on the cartoons for him and made my coffee.  After about an hour of coffee I thought it was time to get going on something.   Dallas wanted to ride in the combine with Jason, so off we go in my SUV to the corn field.  I could see he was working in the back coal mine field and the tractor and wagon were across the fence on a neighboring farm that we rent.  I made my way there, deposited Dallas in the combine and took Bradley (who had been riding with Jason) to his Dad who was in the tractor and wagon.  While we were making the little human transfer, Greg looked up and saw smoke.  The corn stubble was on fire.  Where were the fire extinguishers?  I know I paid for many over the years.  Jason had told just a few days ago that he had a little grease fire on the combine and his fire extinguisher wouldn't work..............................so he poured some coffee on it from his thermos and got it out.  When we talked about it I made the comment,  "Maybe you should pick up some new fire extinguishers." He agreed.

When I took Dallas to the combine I noticed Jason had a plastic jug strapped to the combine where he used to keep the  fire extinguisher.  I thought it was funny until I caught the field on fire.

Anyway,  the catalytic converter on my SUV apparently got hot and caught the stubble on fire.  It is so dry here.  We haven't had any rain to speak of in the past 2 months.  Marvin told me one time that a vehicle driving across a stubbled field could catch on fire, but I have been doing that for years and nothing happened..............until today.

Thank God the wind was blowing away from the standing corn and toward the gravel road.  I raced Jason back to the shop so he could get the bulldozer.  Brian brought the loader tractor and they both started pushing dirt onto the perimeter of the fire.  After about an hour, the fire was finally out.  It was really kind of scary.  It burned about 7 acres and all the way to the road.  Across the road was a field of soybeans.  When  it was over, I asked Jason if I was fired.  He looked at me and grinned,  "You're fired!"  He was so nice not to fuss at me.  He is so much like his Dad.  It makes life a lot easier.

After the crisis, I took the boys and we went to Sydenstricker and bought 5 new fire extinguishers.................not that we needed them now........................but you never know.