It’s 9:00 a.m. and it’s already 90 degrees. If there’s any green wheat left out there in this area, it’ll be gone after today. Predicted high is 104 and the humidity is 14%. No wonder my eyes and nose begin to burn after stepping outside. I’m guessing the pool will be the likely place to find the girls – or lounging in the cool cottage. According to the Weather Channel, this is not the only place in the country it’s hot. So many areas are in desperate need of rain. The crops are going to suffer – which, in turn, means we suffer.
We made it back to Deerfield on Friday night – or should I say Saturday morning. It was 1:00 a.m. when the ‘0le Pete was shut down for the day. We pulled into the Deerfield Beach Campground for the few hours we were back. The truck was warm but not uncomfortably hot like it can be when travelling on the road. We slept a few hours and were back to the farm to load the combine and settle up with our farmer. The final number I heard for the wheat average was 65 bushels per acre. I’m not sure what time we finally left the yard, but it wasn’t before the heat set in. I’m afraid we’re in for an extremely hot week of working in wheat fields…thank goodness for air conditioning! Frank has had its air conditioning serviced again and should blow out cooler air than it had. I know if I avoid being in air conditioning and acclimate myself to the heat of the day, it’s not so bad. It’s when you jump in and out of the combine to dump the truck that it feels so miserable.
While Jim was settling up with our farmer, he found out that just the day before our favorite elevator, Wolf, had a minor mishap occur. I’m not sure what causes it – Jim says it just happens – but a portion of the elevator wall ruptured and caused the wheat to spill to the ground. I, of course, had to drive by and get a picture of it. I was expecting a whole lot worse but it still made me sad to see. According to the newspaper article, it had been full for only three days and there were no injuries. The Wolf Elevator history, (which I found on the internet) says this structure was built in 1949. It has served the area and its farmers well!
Jim had left the grain trailer in the lot of the Deerfield Elevator. We were just getting ready to leave the State of KS.
Our trip north was uneventful. The beginning started out slow due to the south wind that was slowing Jim and the combine down. As soon as we quit driving west and turned north, we had it made. A strong wind can help if it’s behind you but certainly hinders when it’s hitting the side of the load. We stopped in Sharon Springs to eat lunch and took off once again. Due to road construction, we couldn’t travel the roads we were used to because the combine is wider than the 12’ width restriction. We headed north of Cheyenne Wells to hit the interstate at Burlington. The wheat around Burlington looks beautiful. It must have gotten more moisture compared to what we’ll be cutting in Limon. We’re not expecting high yields and will be hoping for 20 bushel.
A good picture of what the dry land crops look like – receiving only water from the sky.
Began following another harvester going through Tribune, KS.
I took a picture of this old house because I found it interesting. It appears to be made from something other than a wooden structure . I almost wondered if the walls were sod and the outside was some sort of adobe. I would have liked to have gotten out of the truck and looked at it closer.
Just a few grain bins in this yard!
Same yard as the above picture.Grain augers of all sizes and ages, I’m sure.
Made it to the farm at 3:30, parked the trucks, gathered our stuff and headed back to the cottage. As soon as we hit the door, I said hello to the girls and headed upstairs. I was tired! I don’t usually take naps but this was one time that I was NOT going to fight it. I was so tired driving those last 50 miles I questioned whether or not I was going to make it. We did stop for 10 minutes just to get out of the truck and move around a little. Jim wasn’t running his air (I think it needs serviced) and was completely wore out due to the heat and lack of sleep.
Our 10 minute break to get out of the trucks and move around a little. Our attempt to wake up.
The cloud you are seeing is not a cloud but rather smoke from three more wild fires that began yesterday west of Colorado Springs.
Taylor ordered some Pizza Hut pizzas for supper. When the digital thermometer showed 85 degrees, we decided we could probably handle the heat. However, now we were up against losing our light as the sun was beginning to go down. We headed back to the farm to unload the combine and Frank. With the help of the girls, it didn’t take very long and as it worked out, having the sun going down felt a whole lot cooler than if we had waited til morning and the sun was beginning to bear down.
The smoke certainly creates some gorgeous sunsets!
I’m waiting for Jim to come back to the cottage to let me know what the plans for the day are. I’m sure we could cut but the farmers we’re working for aren’t going to get started until tomorrow. They have three older Massey combines – like the ones I remember running as a kid. It brings back memories of those days every time I sit in the cab of one of them. You know, they even smell the same. Just think, whatever you’re doing now will one day be looked back on as a memory. Hope it’ll be a good one!
