The corn is in the crib

Well we finally got the corn in the crib and out of the wagon. Great weather today, warm and in the 50's with rain and snow on the way. The corn elevator is a handy thing to have on the farm if ya have to store ear corn. It works better than it ever did. With my best estimate we put about 50 bushel of corn in the crib. Now we just need to get some picked out and shelled for cornmeal and hominy. I was very concerned that the corn would mold and start to rot in the metal wagon. But an accident worked out in our favor. When picking corn with an old fashioned corn picker it is best to pick in early morning while the shucks are still only slightly damp from the overnight dew or frost. The picker will shuck the corn so much better at that time and you have far less shucks in the crib. But as circumstances would have it, we picked late in the day and the shucks were extremely brittle and dry. This fact I think is probably why the corn kept well in the metal wagon. A slight bit of moisture would have caused a lot of condensation and all would have been lost. We live and learn here. Now once again I see why my dad alas picked early in day.

The elevator does beat all to heck using a shovel. This crib will hold 100 bushels and it is about half full.

We aimed the end of the elevator toward one end and filled it then moved the wagon and aimed the other way. We used boards to kinda partition off an area in front of the door so ya can stand in there and shuck corn to be shelled. This crib is designed for optimal air circulation. Although it is in a bad location. It is at the end of our yard off the drive way a bit. Hard to get wagons in there because you cant back the wagons up. Backing those things is kinda like pushin a chain. Any who we had a piece of plywood under the end of the elevator as we unloaded corn and the corn banging around does shell some of it. I scooped the shelled corn off the plywood and tossed a feed sack full of shucks and corn in for the laying hens. They will have plenty to eat and the shucks for bedding.  Last evening we had shelled some corn into the box that has the corn sheller attached to it. This is Petunias feed.

The box this sheller is mounted on is older than me. But it still works well, unlike me.  So we bagged this corn up and took it to feed the hog for next week.

 

  Loaded up the elevator to transport to the barn for storage and to keep it in the dry. Cost too much to have parts made when something breaks after being left out in the weather. Rodger had to have some parts fabricated to remount the gears on both ends of that thing and those were not cheap. So back in the dry it goes.  Got the elevator unloaded and went and fed Petunia. She is a happy camper with her pile of hay for a bed and plenty of corn and water.

She has put on a good deal of weight since we got her home. She kept herself lean and trim when she lived at Rosie's place. She ran around with the sheep and cows. Now she has her own space here and all the food she can eat. She is a very good natured animal. Always calm and gentle. No trouble to take care of at all.
Now I am in for the night and it is starting to rain. The guys had to make a trip out o town to stock up on warm long johns and a few supplies this evening after the chores were all done. They had planned on going hunting this weekend but the weather forecast was for lots of rain and snow tomorrow, so they postponed that trip. But I am so thankful the rain held off till we got our corn in the crib.
So till next time, blessings from the McGuire homestead.

Stella