A few minor glitches

Today’s harvest day began with a couple of minor problems with the combine. It’s a good thing Jim knew what to do and how to fix them. I suppose all in all, we were down a couple of hours. The first problem was with a couple of wires and the second one was a bearing that needed replaced. Just west of Denton is a small town by the name of Coffee Creek. This little town is home of Nemec’s Repair Shop. When Jim and I walked in there this morning, we couldn’t help but notice how clean and tidy the place was. The cement floor was so clean you could probably eat off of it. Everything had a place and it was very organized. I was wishing that I would have had my camera so I could share this sight with you. The guys in the shop were helpful and had what we needed to get the combine back in motion.

The rest of the day was spent in the field or at the bin. It’s very interesting how messed up your brain can get when moving from field to field. I guess because there’s two combines in the field and they get cut so much faster than what I’m used to with only one. We’ve only been in the fields for three days but it feels like three weeks. This afternoon when Ed, the farmer, asked me if I knew where the bin on the creek was, I had to search in the deepest corners of my brain to remember where the bin on the creek was. It’s the worst feeling!! Once I remembered, sure – I knew where that was and, yeah,  could get there. Nope…I didn’t need anyone to lead me over there. 🙂

When I got to the bin on the creek, Terri, the farmer’s wife, was just getting the tractor backed up to the bin and placing the auger in the hole at the top of the bin. Although I really didn’t want to, I offered to climb that new bin of theirs and help her with placing the spout in the correct spot. Ok…I can do this, I can do this. I kept telling myself, don’t look down and you won’t get scared. Then another voice would say, I wonder how bad it would hurt if I fell. And yet another one putting a new fear in my head of how slick the new metal ladder was with my tennis shoes. I made it all the way to the top – the very tip top – and helped Terri get the spout where it needed to be. While I was up there, I thought I should take a couple of pictures, which I did. I reached in my pocket and grabbed the camera all the while my brain was reminding me that I was really high up and I should hang on to the ladder with both hands. Well, how can I do that when I’m trying to take a picture with one hand? I might have to climb it again tomorrow just for the heck of it!

After I got my truck unloaded, I headed back to the field. There sat both combines completely full and no one was around. Ed’s son, Cole, rode back with me from the bin to the field. So, he jumped in the green machine and I in the yellow beast. It felt good to be back in the seat of the combine. Dang I miss that machine! It took me a second or so, though, to reteach myself where the buttons were and what they were for. Jim and Ed had left together to get a loaded truck out of the field – it was stuck. Thank goodness, it wasn’t me who was stuck! I noticed that when I drove through the field with the empty truck the summer follow felt a little mushy. I wondered how in the world we were going to get loaded trucks through there without getting them stuck. Luckily for Terri, Ed drove the loaded truck and got it stuck – she didn’t. There was no mud but the summer follow is very soft. I guess because of all the moisture this area has had, it’s created mushy areas in the fields. The fields that grew wheat are solid and fine to drive anywhere but the summer follow (right next to the wheat field) is not so good. Ed explained to us that because the growing wheat plants needed moisture to grow, the plants sucked the moisture from the soil. The summer follow has nothing growing on it so the soil is very soft and still holds moisture – thus causing the reason for the stuck truck.

Speaking of trucks, I saw an old gas burner grain truck today and thought about “Henry”. Henry was one of my grandpa’s red and white Ford grain trucks which we bought from him when we got started in this business. We needed two trucks and Henry volunteered to do the job. It didn’t matter how long it’d been whenever I sat in Henry, the smell of that truck would remind me of  being a kid. I know you’ll think I’m weird when I say this but that smell almost made my mouth water. I guess I just can’t explain it as well as I wish I could.  I LOVED that silly truck! Henry was the truck I was driving the day before Callie was born. It was fall harvest and I was helping Jim in the corn field.  And, Henry is the truck I was driving when Callie celebrated her one week birthday. ‘Ole Henry shook Callie’s poor little head so much, I worried about shaking baby syndrome. Henry ended up in Jordan. A good friend of ours always loved Henry and when Jim was ready to sell it, Tom bought it. So, once in a while, I still get to see Henry on the roads and when I climb in the cab of that truck it STILL smells like it did when I was a kid!

We treated ourselves to a meal out tonight. We went to the “Shade Tree Cafe” in Denton. Denton is full of so many nice, hospitable people! The young couple that own the cafe were also the waitress and cook. Jim and I were the only ones in there so we visited with them for a little while. I couldn’t help but notice just how in order the dishes were and everything was organized so nicely! I mentioned to Jim about how neatly stacked everything was in the cafe, the grocery store and the repair shop. I bet Jamie and Callie could understand how it made me feel. The meal was outstanding! If you’re ever in Denton, MT at mealtime, make sure to visit them. I guarantee you won’t be sorry! So, I had beer battered walleye and Jim had a hamburger steak. We both walked out of there feeling full and happy – it sure beat the bowl of cereal I was probably going to have!