Today, we were able to pick up more work.
It felt real odd being in the field without the Reimer crew!! I enjoyed the activity the larger crew brought to the day and feeling like part of a team. However, today was what I was used to and it felt nice, too. One machine means a slower pace! For most of the week, me and Frank were on the road constantly. Today meant a little more breathing time.
It also meant some time in the cab of the combine – my true love. I worried while climbing the ladder that I wouldn’t know what to do once I sat down. I did have to call Jim on the two-way for help in remembering where everything was. If it had been a red combine, I wouldn’t have had any trouble. I sort of lost the combine driver title when the red was traded for yellow. When that happened, it became a new toy and I have been spending more time with Frank. The wheat was yielding really well which meant the combine was full before I could get back to the field. The Pete was in the field for just that reason. If I wasn’t back in time, Jim would dump the full bin in the Pete. Eventually, Pete was full and would need to go to town to “that big building”. So, I was substitute combine driver 🙂 while Jim drove the semi to town.
I mentioned the wheat yielding really well. The variety we were cutting today was Fannin (Syngenta) and it was yielding 50-55 bushels per acre. The top test weight today was 64 lbs. How often do you see 64 lb wheat?
If it doesn’t rain on us, we’re going to cut one more day and then the cleanup will begin for the move to the Arnett, OK area. The harvest is moving northward fairly fast and yet there’s still so much wheat to cut. There will be wheat cut as far north as Kiowa, KS this upcoming week. That means the whole state of OK will still have wheat standing and needing cut.
This was one of many semi’s I waited for today. A larger crew must be in the neighborhood. The wheat is emptied from their trailer by cranking open the trap doors that are under the belly of the trailer. This allows the wheat to fall through the open hole into the pit.
The town of Burkburnett had flags flying in different places today. I’m sure it was to honor the men & women of the Armed Forces as today was Armed Forces Day. Thank you to all who have served or are currently serving this Country. Me and my family are free tonight because of your great sacrifices and willingness to do the job!
Jim and I pack a lunch every day when we’re in the field. It’s my job to make lunches, while he’s getting a tank of diesel fuel (one of at least two per day) for the combine. What’s in the lunch box, you ask? Well, usually a sandwich, chips, a couple of cookies, some grapes or other fruit, pudding or jello, a can of pop and a large jar of lemon tea. The jar of tea is something that was passed down from harvest days of long ago when I helped Grandma pack lunches. Anybody else remember doing this?
There was another fire on the horizon today. This one was much closer. As a matter of fact, I knew it was still quite a ways in the distance but from where I took this picture, I could see the flames. I found out tonight when Jim came home, the fire had a little more meaning to me. A fellow harvester friend was cutting the field this fire was started in. The cause of the fire was a pickup driving through the wheat stubble. That was one thing my Grandpa stressed more than anything when we pulled into a field. Get out of your vehicle and make sure the exhaust pipe is NOT touching straw or any other dry grasses. Apparently conditions were right this afternoon and the fire began. The field was a 400 acre field and the cutter was working on the last 60 acres when it started. Jim said Tom told him it got a little “dicey” at times but they were able to get all the machinery out of the way before the whole field was consumed. I’m very thankful it was only the field that burned! As you can tell by the smoke – it was another windy day in wheat country!
