11/02/15

Escaped from my usual deliveries today, seed dressing again.  Four customers on three farms, two above Sutton Bank and one below.  Hence my route involved a drive down Sutton bank then a drive back up.  Coming back up was slow but we got up, eventually.  The first tow jobs went very well with no hitch, so well that I diverted about a mile down the A19 and had an excellent sausage sandwich from a a van parked in a lay by south of Thirsk.  All in all it was a good call, the quality was just as good as last time.  A sausage sandwich from a roadside van is usually risky, the quality of the sausages can very suspect but not in this case.  I was back on the road again within a half hour and at the customers farm within a half hour after that.  I know this customer well and find them very likeable people.  I was working out of half tonne bags rather than from the back of a trailer.  This is always slower but I had gained time earlier so that didn't matter.  All went well until the last bag but then it all went wrong.  The bag was in poor condition and the customer had bunged up some of the holes with some sort of small garment that he referred to as a clout.  In other words he didn't have any idea what he had stuffed in the hole.  Whatever it was came out and went straight up the auger.  The auger threw a hissy fit and stopped.  Because the bag was damaged it was impossible to tie off, great!  We finally ended up with the farmer blocking the hole with his hand while I emptied the auger intake then turned the auger backwards with a pair of mole grips before unwinding assorted detritus from the top.  The thing stuttered a little but finally burst into life before throwing out whatever had blocked it into the second auger.  The second auger let out a pained scream and stopped, oh well that's progress.  I opened the slide at the bottom of the auger and ran the grain out before hesitantly trying the switch.  It started and ran, it complained a bit but it ran.  I started the intake again, very slowly, and was able to continue.  All the while it was spitting out bits of whatever it was that it had chewed up.  I never did discover what it had eaten but I got the job finished and back to base by five.  One thing about seed dressing, I'm always ready for a shower at the end of the day.

Snow still lying where the shadows protect it from the sun, holding the memory of ice ages and the threat of its return.  See you tomorrow.