The hubs is in the middle of corn harvest 2011.
New addition to our farm. 
I need a sticker for it that says "man magnet". The day I took these pictures there were five men standing off to the side watching it. :)
The buddies like to watch the top fold up. They say it looks like a transformer. What do you think? A new Bumblebee 2.0?
Some of our customers like their deer corn whole on the cob.
So for them them the hubs pulls out the old equipment and does it old school.
Very quiet and peaceful. And I had fun riding with him for a little while.
What is everyone looking at?
Yep, that is David on the tower. Landon has been wanting to light it up for years.
He drew quite the crowd of on-lookers.
Almost there.
It is hard to see, but at night it looks very pretty.
After weeks of decisions and waiting and researching, this arrived at the shop. I hadn't seen it in person, so when it drove into the driveway I actually exclaimed "O.M.G".
I wasn't mentally prepared for the size and shiny roundness of it! These are the corn and bean headers on a cart. They are way to big to take down the road on the combine. Lord have mercy on me driving these babies around from field to field. (stop laughing Leigh)
Old faithful. It looks pitiful doesn't it? All dirty and square and boxy. Peace out 9500, you have served us well. Man time flies. We bought it when Levi was a baby. I still remember who was in the field the first time Landon cut with it. Many a child has napped in that cab. S was upset when he was told about the new one.....until he SAW the new one, lol. Now everyone is fighting for a ride after school. And no, this is NOT my anniversary present. :)
Normally, our hired help drives the trucks back and forth, from the field to the grain bins to unload and come back to be reloaded. 
As you can see, we have two grain trucks, a semi and a grain cart that we are using this year. This helps so that the combine operator (aka Landon) does not catch up to the truck driver. 
Upon arrival at the grain bins, we check the moisture level of the corn. It can't be to damp or it will spoil in the bins and build up toxins that are harmful to animals, and thus be unusable. Levi is sitting in front of our dryer, where the corn goes for a certain amount of time, to get dry enough to be stored. It runs off of propane. Here he is watching as it unloads into the pit. 
A better shot of the grain bins. This thing behind the Gator is an auger. If you are married to a farmer you know that one can NEVER have too many augers. This moves grain around from place to place from the bottom where the truck is, to the top of a bin, or vice versa. 
This set of bins has what we call a pit. The trucks unload into a pit and then the grain is sent up to the top of this maze and to the bin that is being loaded. This system enables you to not have to move augers around like our other bins across the street. After the corn is stored, you play the market. You watch the market just like a stock broker and play the wait or sell game. Some of our corn, wheat, oats, milo, and soybeans we bag and sell to other people directly, and some we load into the semi and truck to a neighboring farm called Talley Farms. The first thing they do is check the moisture level at a random place in the load, while they are weighing the truck. If it is too high they dock your pay. The bins allow us to better play the market for the best price possible.
This machine is called a combine. Probably because with it's invention it combined a number of jobs previously done by several machines. The front fingers (aka corn header) pull the ears of corn off of the stalks. They walk up the header to the middle and go inside the machine.
The corn is then separated from the cobs and sent to a holding tank in the center top section of the machine. 
Various screens and displays show Landon how this field is doing. This is so he can decide which variety of corn is best suited for each field. Also so he can more accurately keep up with the records for the USDA and crop insurance. A buzzer goes off when the tank is full of corn.
The stalks and cobs come out of the rear of the combine. They are thrown out very fast and hard. Never stand back here, lol. As you can see a very short, sharp stalk is left. Thus the need to bush hog behind the combine.
When the tank is full, the combine pulls along side of a truck and unloads. In other states the combine driver does not even stop. The trucks match his speed and he unloads while he is cutting to save time. (they have no hills or rocks like we do)
Yeah..... it's still not finished. In the words of the hubs.... "Apparently we should have all gotten jobs with the D.O.T." No kidding.
Landon, Shaun, and Levi drove over to the lighthouse to look around one day. A group was going inside and the tour guide let them join in. 
The stairs are a ladder system all the way to the top. 
Caswell Beach from the top of the lighthouse. 
Whew, they made it. Hubs said he was doubtful that I could handle it after my freak out on the Bald Head Lighthouse. Which is allot shorter and no longer in use. I tell ya, you have ONE little moment......oh who am I kidding, I would have freaked out.
I know I haven't blogged in a while. Many of you already know that the day after we arrived home from Oak Island, my vertigo reared it's ugly head. This time around it was pretty rough. It hung on for 10 days. 10 days of nausea, headaches, no sleep, throwing up, not driving...you get the idea. I finally got well enough to get Landon to take me to the chiropractor and see if they could help. The moment we left, after the adjustment and acupuncture, my headache was gone. It has been gone ever since. I am on a schedule with them for now, to see what happens this time around treating it differently. Not just treating the symptoms like the doctor would. As I am typing this, I have a needle in my shoulder that will stay there until next Monday. I am intrigued to say the least, and quite impressed with acupuncture. The hubs and I got to spend allot of time together, since he was driving me everywhere for so long. He even got to go to David's Bridal and get my dress for my sister's wedding. When we walked in the store it was empty, except for the sales ladies. They practically pounced on us, especially Landon. 
The boy has been working for the hubs all week cleaning out the old chicken shed. He was messing around with something and cut two of his fingers on a piece a sheet metal.
He was white as a sheet and the hubs was cleaning it up asking me what they should do. I hobbled into the kitchen, between throwing up, to say "doctor's office now" and hobbled back out.
He received three stitches in each finger and got wrapped up like a mummy. I told him he resembles the nerd who gave the jock the finger, and then had his hand broken by said jock. 
Last night we had to change the bandage and apply Neosporin (aka Horsie Medicine, for my family) and I finally got a good look at the damage.
Yep, just when you sit on the sand and think "wow no one has gotten hurt in a long time".......yeah, you know the rest. :)
If your dearly beloved family members know you are terrified of the legless creatures, this is NOT cool. Not only were they on iPhoto, but set as the desktop background. 
Snake count is up to seven and it is only May. Not looking good.
Last Saturday, the old straw barn came down. It was barely hanging on. Every time we had a storm the hubs would joke that THIS would be the day it fell down. 
Turns out those old posts were doing quite well. He had to cut several with the chain saw before it could be pushed over. 
We drew quite the crowd. Seems the male species are interested to know why the dozers are getting out. 
Now the hard part. Getting all the tin off and the rest burned. Whose got a hammer? 
What has Landon been up too lately? Planting corn. Planting corn. Oh yeah, and planting more corn. I get calls for 7 more bags of.....corn. Oh and make sure it has an "H" on the label, or a "G" on the label. The ones he usually wants are under a pile of ones he doesn't want. Who needs to go to the gym? Lifting 7 bags from a pallet into the Suburban is quite the workout.
It doesn't help when your best bud says, "WOW, I never noticed your arm muscles". Thanks, I have lifting bags of.....yep, corn. Note to self, burn all tank tops ASAP.
The next picture is for the lady who said, "I wish I could sit in the air conditioning and listen to the radio all day." I don't know about y'all, but I could not run all these electronics in this tractor cab. This is NOT your grandfathers John Deere. 
I told Landon he had a few more bags of a certain letter of corn on the porch. I was promptly told those were not the same ones. They weren't RoundUp corn. "Thank goodness I didn't bring them," I replied. "Who loaded you," he asked. Me, myself and I. And yes, they were heavy.
Look for it, buy it, support your local growers! Many restaurants and large stores buy local meat and produce, including Walmart. If you want outstanding home cooked food, try The Commonhouse in Charlotte. I am not even kidding when I say the food is amazing! I had steak and Landon had pot roast and oh my word, delicious. Crystal told us she would have licked her plate if we weren't in a restaurant. :) The meat comes from a small local farm. Oh and the best part? My very own cousin owns it with some buddies. Congrats Michael, job well done!
