Shed Happenings

The shed is a place where all sorts of work happens. Generally speaking, I don't understand much about that work - it involves a large vocabulary of words that are foreign to me. So yesterday afternoon, Levi and I headed out to the shed to learn what the Farmers were doing with the combine.

We got to look at the intestines of the combine, stick our heads inside the guts of that huge machine. I felt nervous doing that even with the thing turned off! Goodness it's a powerful machine. Ben explained that in the photo below (yes that's a piece of cardboard which was placed there while they worked, it's not typically there) the plant starts to get separated - stalks from grain,

Then those teeth like things work together with air to further separate the stalks/leaves/husks from the grain. The grain falls down, while the air blows the other stuff out the back of the combine.  There are augers below that take the grain up to the combine's grain bin.

Levi spent some time rocking and eating Skittles on a concave - which was the part getting worked on yesterday. Concaves are an essential part of the machine, the Farmers adjust them for harvesting different crops so the concave will let grain of different sizes through. Or something like that....I think I'm close on that explanation.

They added the somewhat rusty looking piece to make the gaps in the concave smaller - the difference between harvesting corn and soybeans. Clear as mud, huh?

Then this happened - Levi's life flashed before my eyes when this tool chest fell on top of him. He had pulled every drawer open while playing and then it fell on him.

Thank the good Lord that we were right there, got it lifted off him, and that he was OK. There were lots of heavy things on top of and inside that tool chest but besides a sore stomach (which took the brunt of the heavy tool chest) he was fine.

Safety lesson for the day: only open one drawer at a time. Just another reminder of how tricky and finicky life is.