We had a pretty good couple days away to remember our anniversary. After 42 years, it sometimes seems like we have always been married! Tuesday evening I drove to the hotel, since Garry was exhausted, they had put 32 trusses up in total and he went up on the roof in the heat for several hours. He says he's not as young as he used to be.
Victor had arranged to meet us around nine am to renew our Ukrainian resident cards, so we had an exciting morning getting photos and waiting outside offices. We walked around downtown Dnepro a bit and had a nice lunch out on the first (yes, Canada Day, we got married in New Jersey) at a Georgian restaurant, then returned to the airconditioned hotel.
A couple hours later, we regretted our choice as we had upset digestive issues. Maybe restaurants running below capacity are not always the best thing. We had a lovely river view from our hotel room, the last night we went to KFC in the interest of food safety as we were just recovering.
Friday morning we had breakfast at the hotel and then it was back to work. The guys had added more boards to brace the big shed, but Garry had them add a few more. Which was a good thing, because around four o'clock we had a big thunderstorm develop right over us and the wind blew like crazy and we had a huge downpour for twenty minutes! A couple hours later, they shored it up some more with the help of the neighbor with the big loader. The wind even had the corn plants in our garden and some of the ones in the cornfield leaning the next morning.
The combine had started on Thursday harvesting wheat, the big trucks were waiting in the village when we drove in waiting to fill up. So most of the wheat is being sold right out of the field this year. Crop is good, but not great. They fill the trucks, then pile wheat in the Quonset shed, and refill the trucks when they get back around midnight. The bridge in Zaporosia is closed to trucks during rush hour times, so they can't go over until seven pm, if they aren't there between ten and two I think.
Since the grain was coming off, they had already baled some straw, we ran out of straw for bedding the cows weeks ago, so there were bales to unload. Garry also decided that the corn now desperately needed the irrigation water, so they have been challenged to try to keep it going 24 hours. So he was just getting into bed when Victor brought Scott and Shannon from the airport around eleven pm.
We talked to them in the morning and got Garry's parts for the forage harvester, and lovely gift spicy Doritos and and yarn from Canada. Saturday evening we picked up groceries for them while making the student run to the grocery store in Zaporosia because they have to quarantine for two weeks.
Sunday it was quasi-former student Vlad's birthday and he brought Coke and little cakes from the store over, Garry rounded up some students I found a present and cut up some fresh from the garden cucumbers. We tried out the relighting candles. Everyone thought it was fun.
Garry says the corn is starting not to curl up in the heat, the irrigation water was off for five or six days so it was behind when the 100 degree days came. They have to clean out the filters by the pump every couple hours, one night it blew apart and we sent water into the pond. There is more pressure than last year so they have to adjust how they use the water.
Wednesday it's supposed to cool off, Thursday's predicted high is 24 C, so the guys are looking forward to that, because there's lots of straw to bale yet.
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