Category Archives: On the road again

And Then…It Rained

by nebraskawheatie

We made it to Burkburnett!

As we were driving through Snyder, Oklahoma and further south into Frederick, I started feeling like we were the last ones to the party. I couldn’t believe the amount of wheat that had already been cut since we had been down just a week earlier. When we were through this area a week ago, we saw four combines running and wheat that looked like it should be cut. The harvesters began their exodus from all points of the Midwest with one thing in mind – cut wheat. And that’s what they did while we were still trying to get a truck repaired and a trailer house packed. Oh well…we did the best we could.

So, after all that work we did to get here, guess what it did last night – it rained. (Hurry up and wait – the harvester’s motto) Our first day of harvest 2012 and it starts as a rain day. Frustrating? Yes but, on the other hand, it gives us a day or two to take a deep breath, get settled and then gear up to the working stage. Those who busted their butts to get here and then had to start right away needed a break, too.  It’s always nice to get to a place a day or two BEFORE having to start cutting – not the same day. So, if I’m responsible for their break – so be it. They needed one!

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Right now…I HATE harvest!

by nebraskawheatie

Wow – what a difference a couple of days can make!

The emotional roller coaster started kicking in last night. Maybe it’s just that I need a little more sleep than I’ve allowed myself since we got home on Saturday evening.  Yep, we made it home in the rental car and it was a  SAWEET ride! We drove home in a 2011 Chrysler 200. I sort of wonder why we don’t allow ourselves to rent something like that once in awhile just to enjoy some of lifes little treats. I usually drive a ’93 Dynasty (the Nasty) so having something that played a CD rather than a cassette was OUTSTANDING! The Pete was left in Ellinwood for exhaust manifold repairs.  Jim is headed south to make the exchange right now andshould be home late tonight.

Since we got home, we’ve attended Callie’s 8th grade graduation breakfast at church, the cottage on wheels has been decorated to feel like home (pictures, etc.), laundry caught up, yard mowed, bills paid, Callie’s ECNC honor band concert was last night, an early morning meeting today, and now working on packing the trailer house. I should be doing that rather than being on the computer but what I need is a little bit of normalcy! Writing this note is the closest thing to that (sorry state, I know).

Right now…I HATE HARVEST! It’s the transition between the two worlds that is the absolute HARDEST! Unless you’ve been where I am right now, you haven’t a clue how I feel. Leaving the harvest world in September and being sucked immediately back into the non-harvest world is even worse! I don’t like having to leave the kids for so long and missing out on so much. Taylor and Callie won’t catch up with us until the end of May. I won’t get to see Jamie, Curt and Jenna until who knows when – maybe mid September. The excitement and romance of the harvest lifestyle sounds like a great adventure (and it is) but there are great sacrifices, as well.

I must get busy! Thanks for letting me “vent” today. We should be back on the road tomorrow. Once the rest of the caravan is headed out the driveway and we’re focusing on the harvest world again, things will start to look better. Who knows…I may even LIKE harvest again.

What Day is Today? I THINK it’s…

by nebraskawheatie

The confusion of what day of the week it is has begun. Harvest has a tendency to make that happen. When you’re involved with this job, you don’t run by a clock or a calendar (much). It’s daylight, sundown – rainy day or sunny. So, today is sunny, hot and another day to try to figure out what is going on with this truck of ours.

We made it to our destination – a farm near Burkburnett, TX. This will be home now until the wheat is cut and it’s time to move north. We unloaded the combine and headed immediately north. The issue with the truck is still ongoing.  We stopped in Seiling, OK for a quick break and Jim noticed two of the new bolts were broken. A quick run to the auto parts store for more. Things still weren’t quite right so a call to our new favorite truck repair shop in Ellinwood was necessary. They told Jim to patch it up the best he could and get it to the shop on our way home.  Jim’s intention was to drive until he could get back to Ellinwood. He made it as far as Medicine Lodge (1:30) and had to quit for a few hours of sleep. The alarm went off at 5:45 a.m. and we were back on the road.  Right now, we’re sitting in RMACs shop in Ellinwood trying to figure out what to do next. It looks like we’ll be renting a car to get home and leaving the Pete in KS for a few days. More expense…more worries – that’s what it’s all about (I guess).

I’ll leave you with a few sights from yesterday:

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Russell, KS

by nebraskawheatie

Do you remember my final thought of last night’s post? ” I wonder what tomorrow will bring?” Well…let me tell ya about today:

Last night Jim was concerned the Pete wasn’t sounding quite right. He didn’t let me know his concern until we were walking to the restaurant for supper. He said he didn’t think it sounded like it was running up to par since we had stopped on the Kansas/Nebraska line for a short break.  This morning, before starting the truck up, he was looking things over and said, “I think I see what could be the problem and it ain’t good”. Four bolts were broken on the exhaust manifold. Several calls were made – a couple to fellow harvester friends – and then to a repair shop in Ellinwood.

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First Day “On The Road Again” – 2012

by nebraskawheatie

We got started just a little later than Jim thought we might today. Tieing up loose ends takes longer than you might think – especially when you know the two pieces going first won’t have a service truck full of tools following them. Jim does a good job of knowing what tools he “might” need on the road and usually, if we need something, he’s got it. It certainly would be nice to have the full inventory to choose from, should the need arise. But, that’s how we’ve done it most of our years of being on the road.

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Starting my day off with a tear

by nebraskawheatie

Yesterday, I mentioned that those of us who are doing the DC thing or anything to help with our organization sacrifice a lot for the time we give. Here’s one example – the Christmas concert I didn’t get to see Taylor and Callie perform last night:

As I sit here in my room with tears in my eyes, I am thankful for today’s technology! I love you Taylor & Cal and I’m sorry I missed your night. I can’t make it up to you but I do know you understand. Doesn’t help me feel any less sad though!

I. Am. Tired!

by nebraskawheatie

So, in my last posting I told you I would be heading to Hutchinson, KS and then to Washington, DC. For anyone who thinks the last few days have been a vacation…I’d like to say YOU ARE SO WRONG (yes, I AM yelling)! The meeting in KS went well and it was great seeing the rest of the team (USCHI Board of Directors). It’s always good to get together with people from our industry when it’s not in a working atmosphere. Building relationships is the best thing a person could do for themselves – my thought any way. From KS, we flew to DC. We’ve had two FULL days of constant walking and talking on “the hill”.

To be honest with you, I was definitely not looking forward to this trip. I had fallen into the negative trap of “this isn’t going anywhere”, “they say they listen but they really don’t”, “you’re not making a difference”, etc. etc. However, we started yesterday morning and things just started falling into place. It went from one good thing to the next. Each one of those “good things” fell into place just as they were meant to. Contacts have been made and when it appeared that it would be hard, it got easy again. Today, we learned more and even got to visit with two members of Congress – Ohio Senator Sherrod Brown and Ohio Congressman Bob Gibbs. I shook hands with Nebraska Senator Ben Nelson last night. He happened to be in the same restaurant as we were in. It’s a BIG deal when you actually get to shake the hand of one of our elected officials and give them the opportunity to have a conversation with real people. It’s fun to see them and their staffers actually loosen up and they themselves turn into real people. I can only hope the time I and the others have sacrificed will make a difference for our organization and for agriculture. It definitely has not been a vacation. One of these days, I’m coming to DC to see some of the wonderful historic sites and will be staying away from the “hill”!

Looks like a few tax dollars are being spent on some repairs.

The Christmas tree in front of the Capitol.

Heading for our first appointment-ready to change the world 🙂

Inside the Cannon Building.

Railing inside one of the House buildings.

I feel so left out with my “dumb” phone!

Inside the Senate Hart Building.

Waiting…waiting…waiting

Senate offices in the Hart building.

We were able to poke our head in the Library of Congress on our way back to the hotel when our day was over. Beautiful!

Kansas ornament on the Christmas Tree in the Library of Congress. I couldn’t find Nebraska’s.

Tim Hus the Canadian Cowboy Singer

by nebraskawheatie

Well, the next few days are going to be a little on the hectic side. I had to make a trip to Hutchinson, KS for a USCHI meeting for the next two days and then several of us will be going to DC to try to make a few of our Senators and Congressmen aware of a problem the custom harvesting industry is dealing with – only being able to haul up to 119 gallons of diesel fuel to our equipment. Oh, it’s a fight that’s been fought for the past 20 years but apparently the common sense we need in DC doesn’t exist because we can’t seem to make them understand why it needs to be changed. The only change we’ve seen in the past 20 years is the equipment is even larger than it was when we began the fight. One combine holds up to 250 gallons of diesel. A forage harvester holds more than that. So, while I’m out trying to change the world :), I’ll post a couple of fun songs we heard while we were in Calgary last weekend. I’ll keep you posted on how the DC trip goes…

The final days of 2011 wheat harvest

by nebraskawheatie

It seems so weird to be sitting at my kitchen table typing this note!

Everyone asks me if it’s good to be home and I have to just flat out tell them that’s it’s good but it’s very overwhelming. They have no idea just how much work is involved with coming home. Preparing in the spring is hard but just so different. You have the anticipation of being on the road and involved with the harvest and all that goes with it. The stress of preparing the house to be locked up and the packing of the trailer house is nothing compared to coming home.

I find myself sort of walking in circles, trying to figure out what to do first. If I don’t mentally set a goal, I most likely will not get it accomplished because everywhere I look, I see work. I did get my house vacuumed and the dead bugs are now in the belly of the vacuum cleaner. Jim and I took advantage of the 90 degree weather yesterday and were able to get the outside of the trailer house cleaned of the road dirt and grime that had collected all summer. That’s a big job and one that I’m glad I can mark off my list of to do’s!

Tomorrow, I’m escaping the mess that looks at me every morning and we’re going to Husker Harvest Days with Jim, Mark, Candi, Jamie, Curt, and Jenna. The chaos will have to wait another day! Not only do I have the deluge of work continuing to pull me down, I have to try to keep up with the outside activities. Yesterday, I substituted for the morning and afternoon bus route. This afternoon, I got to go watch Callie play volleyball. I love to watch the girls participate so it was a welcome break to have to walk away from everything at 4:00. The next goal I have set is to get the trailer house unpacked. I’ll begin that chore on Thursday. It looks like colder and wetter weather is headed for us beginning tomorrow. The numerous steps and times of going between the house and the trailer house will be a little less sweaty with the cooler weather.

So a brief recall of the final days of the 2011 wheat harvest goes a little like this: As you’ll recall, we spent the night in the Garfield Motel. I had to get up the next morning for a 5:00 a.m. conference call. While I was involved with the call, Jim got up and headed for Fellman’s for “story time” with the locals. When he returned, we decided that we really needed to take a couple of hours and go visit some very dear friends before we left the country. So we did! It was well after noon by the time we got back to Jordan. One final meal at Rose’s cafe and we were headed for Miles City.  Since we got such a late start, we ended up spending the night in the truck lot of the station in Alzada, MT.

Have you ever tried sleeping on a twin size bed with another person? Thank goodness I’m used to sleeping on the side of the bed that puts me up against the wall of the truck sleeper! I’m afraid if “my side” of the bed was on the other side of the bed, I’d be falling out all night long! This first night was fairly chilly and the heavy blanket felt pretty darn good by morning!

The second full day on the road was pretty darn full of driving! We had to go a little different route than normal because of so many bridges being worked on in South Dakota. As we started coming into the town of Faith, SD, another harvest crew got ahead of us. I was so excited. Silly, I know, but here we go…it’s a part of the harvest world I was about to leave. It just gave me a good feeling being behind the combines and their trailers. We made a stop at 1880 Town and ate lunch in the Dining Car Cafe. It’s a real live dining car from a passenger train and a different era. It was something I’d never seen and loved being inside something that once was an important aspect of past travel.  We ate lunch, walked around a little and left an hour later than when we stopped. The second night on the road was spent in the Valentine truck stop, again.

Before we parked for the night, Jim pulled quite a ways away from the bar that had just a week prior been the reason we didn’t get a very good nights sleep. I was glad that he’d remembered and pulled as far away from there as he could. What we didn’t expect was a bull hauler full of cattle pull up right next to us. We got to listen to a truck load of stomping cattle all night. I felt sorry for the cattle, as I laid there listening to them, because they couldn’t relax. I bet they were glad when their trip was done!

We made it back to the farmer’s yard almost exactly the same time we had the week prior. This time, though, they were home and wanted to visit about the summer and how it played out for us. We made it “home home” again about 7:00. Mark and Candi had just pulled in from Park River, ND. They had driven all day and made it home just about the same time as we did. They loaded up the girls and we went to Runza for supper together. We’re all back home! And…one of these days, everything will be back to normal and the 2011 wheat harvest will feel like it only happened in pictures. We’ll be anxiously counting down our yearly events until it’s time to head south once again!

The combine’s loaded and waiting for the window cover to be added.

 That job’s done!

 The top picture was taken in Ed’s yard just before we left. The tractor shows the farmer’s determination and hope in a crop for next summer!

Goodbye Square Butte and Montana wheat fields. Sure hope to see you next year!

Crossing the Mussellshell River into Garfield County.

Sand Springs, MT. In 1983, we stayed here while cutting for Charlie Murnion.

The last picture taken in Jordan just before heading for Miles City.

The lot we spent the first night on the road in Alazada, MT. The town of Alzada is on the right.

Following another harvester into the town of Faith, SD.

Lunch and a break near 1880 Town along the South Dakota interstate between Phillip and Murdo.

Lunch in the Dining Car Cafe.

I don’t know a lot about the sunflower crop except there’s quite a few more acres seen than there used to be. Something that I find interesting is the sunflower head will actually follow the sun from east to west. Every sunflower head I saw must have completed it’s life cycle with the head facing east. Every field I saw, they had completed their final sun worship at exactly the same time. Another interesting tidbit I’ve often thought about when seeing the corn fields is just how identical the height of the plants are and that the ears are located exactly the same spot of the plant throughout the entire field. And somebody wants to try to tell me there is no God?

The final night of being on the road was spent at the truck stop in Valentine, NE.

The new Nebraska windmills.

The Platte River just south of Schuyler, NE.

2011 Summer Wheat Harvest…COMPLETE!

by nebraskawheatie

Just a brief note tonight with more story coming tomorrow. We made it back “home, home” about 5:00 this evening. So much to do and I haven’t a clue where to start! While you’re waiting for the details of the final trip home, please sit back and watch Callie sing her version of Taylor Swift’s “Story of Us”:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tYc9HqzjUAI&feature=email&email=comment_received