the end of wheat harvest 2015

Yep! You read that right. Just about as quickly as it began, it was over. Jim doesn’t agree with me when I said we’d only actually cut wheat for 3.5 weeks this summer. I didn’t write the dates down but I know it went awfully fast. It wasn’t supposed to be over this quickly. It happens, though, when the timing of jobs and weather come into play.

Normally, after we finish with our acres in Limon, we clean up, pack up, load up and head for Jordan, MT. (my most favorite place to be during the summer) Not this year. The weather dealt a rough hand for the Z Crew this year. The wheat in Limon was set back due to the late season freeze on Mother’s Day weekend. The wheat in Jordan was moved ahead of schedule because of heat and lack of rain. These two circumstances clashed and made our schedule unworkable.

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all of z crew present…for a week

IMG_6734-1Thanks for sharing your picture, Taylor! This little guy loves the equipment!!!

Sitting here waiting for my fingers to move and my mind to shift gears to writing is the reason I fail at keeping a journal. It’s not the writing that I fail at – it’s the getting behind and trying to catch up. When this happens, I become overwhelmed with the amount of time that has passed and then I just don’t even want to do it. Once I’m caught up again, I tell myself I’m not going to let that happen again. Guess what…I generally do let it happen again.  I’ll start catching you up and if need be, I’ll just have to make it a continuing story. Otherwise, I’m certain you’ll lose interest.

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welcome to our dining room

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Eleven days ago…

That’s how long it’s been since I actually took the time to sit in front of this screen and share what the heck is going on with the Z Crew.

The girls made it back. They showed up on the 6th and was put to work immediately. It was awfully good to have them back home with us – even though I’m certain they had a great time with friends while they were away. Callie and her group placed 4th in the nation for their Local Chapter Annual Business Report. 4th in the NATION. I’m so proud of her! So, her trip to Chicago was a success.

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condensing the journey

img_13812As the water swirled down the kitchen sink, I became aware that it was probably the last sink of dishes I will do in the Cottage in 2014. Suddenly everything I do tonight takes on a whole different feel.

Yep, the 2014 harvest journey is officially over. Tomorrow morning will be the first trip headed in the direction of home. The Beast will be waiting for our return in a few days.

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the northward trek – day 1 (video)

Well, the Colorado harvest is now in the history book. The activity that comes along with harvest each and every day is over for our farmer and his wonderful family. Unless you’ve been through this flurry of activity, you just can’t understand the let down that is experienced once it’s over. The daily push to cut as many acres as possible in the time frame of a day is over. The thrill of finishing a field and moving on to the next is done. The time that is spent putting that crop in the ground and watching it grow to maturity and harvest is complete for another year.

IMG_4401Taylor was resting a bit from her clean-up duties.

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the goodbye will be hard

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It’s too quiet in here!

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feelin a bit behind (video)

IMG_4392 We’ve been busy! The days have been long. It’s the time when you regret feeling bad for sitting due to rain. I know…this probably doesn’t make any sense to you. Maybe I can explain a bit better. When it’s raining and you know the wheat needs cut, you think about not being in the field. Now, we’ve been busy every day. The day starts at 7:00 a.m. and doesn’t stop until at least 12:30. BIG days! Good, right? Yes, but I’m starting to get tired. I think everyone is. But as soon as the combines fire up and the reels are pushing that wheat into the header, all signs of being tired are gone. It’s like the first day all over again. And…it helps working with good people. Great people! Until I have enough time to get all the pictures I want to share with you (and the stories), I’ll have to leave you with just this video from yesterday. I think we may be finished with this amazing wheat crop tomorrow or Saturday. (I think we’ve been able to get almost 350 acres cut per day.) Then, I’ll catch up. But until then…I’m feelin a bit behind!

back to work (video)

photo 2 (11) - CopyThe diagonal markings in the wheat are chisel marks. At some point during this wheat’s growing season, the wind blew. It blew so hard it covered the brand new fence that was on the south side of the field. It blew right down the rows and left the wheat plant in place. How the wheat survived and why it didn’t blow out cannot be answered. And even more than that – how did it raise 60 bushel wheat? Apparently, as Jack said, “we don’t need topsoil to grow wheat”.  They chiseled this field while the wind was blowing hoping the ridges created would help minimize the blowing.

Yes…we DID get back to work! The sun was shining yesterday (July 19) with all its glory and there was heat. And we cut wheat!

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doesn’t that just figure!

 IMG_4339This is the storm that began our four-day raincation. We left this field on Monday evening and haven’t been back since.

There was something foreign in the sky this morning when we got up.

It was the sun.

Monday evening was the last time we were in the field. And, if you remember, we left it just prior to the rain because the moisture went up and the storm moved in all at the same time.

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let the games begin

There’s one thing I can say about wheat harvest 2014…it’s not typical.

I was given the morning off (July 14). The guys were going to be moving the equipment to the fields that used to bring us to Limon. I was told that I would have most of the morning to do what I needed to do and get lunches made. Jim would call when they needed me. No big deal…they’d be close to Limon and Taylor could take me to the field.

Sounded like a great plan. If only the wheat would have cooperated. It wasn’t quite ready.

So, I got a call telling me to go to the Pete and follow Scott to the field. Which is what I did.  I didn’t look to see what time it was when we got to the field, so I’m going to guess about 1:00 or so. The combines met us there and Chad took his into the wheat to cut a sample. The moisture was a little on the high-end. Let’s give it an hour or so…HURRY UP AND WAIT!

Actually, this is one of my favorite things to do (if I don’t have anything else pressing me to get done) when we’re cutting with others. I enjoy spending time with them and learning more about the people we’re working with.

The first waiting-for-the-wheat-to-dry game was throwing rocks at the corner post and see who can hit something. It was funny how a simple rock being thrown began as a personal challenge for one and turned into a game for them all. Even Jim picked up a couple of rocks and started throwing them.

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