The month of July was not the typical harvest month for Zeorian Harvesting.
The first day of July was also the last day we cut wheat for our farmer north of Chase, Kansas. This left us with a HUGE hole in what was next.
Our next job should have been Garden City. However, the crops in Chase and Garden basically ripened at the same time. The farmer we help in Garden has his own combine and had less acres this year than in past years. Tim was cutting wheat while we were cutting wheat. By the time we finished in Chase, he was nearly done with his crop and wouldn’t need the help of a second combine.
We had no direction to head except home, home.
Frank (our Freightliner truck) needed some work done on it. This was realized after we left home, of course. So, Jim decided this was the time we would take it and the trailer house back home and hang out until it was time to head for Jordan (Montana).
It was 103 degrees on the 2nd of July. This, of course, was clean-up day. Always.
On July 4th, we left The Beast sitting in the farmer’s yard and we headed home, home with the trailer house and Frank. We wanted to surprise the kids as they were gathering together at Jamie and Curt’s house to celebrate the holiday. When we pulled into the driveway later that day, they were surprised. But, not really. They sort of had an idea that maybe this is what we were going to do.
We haven’t celebrated the 4thof July with ALL of the girls since the summer of 2004.
We hung out at home until July 14.
The night before we left, Jim decided tomorrow was the day to head back to Kansas and catch-up with the rest of harvest again.
The morning we were preparing to leave, we received a telephone call from a fellow harvester wondering if we would want to help his crew near Hardin, Montana.
Absolutely!
Yay! We had a plan. Having a plan feels way better than not having a plan.
We made it back to Lyons the evening of the 14th and on the morning of the 15th, we headed north with our first trip. We returned to Lyons on the 18th and left again on the 19th with load #2. It was exactly one week from the point we left home that we arrived at our destination with all of our equipment. A very long week, indeed.
I have never seen so much wheat in one place! The farm was well over 10,000 acres – but not all wheat. You really should check out the YouTube channel just to see the sites on this farm!
The heat of the day brewed up a few thunderheads. I don’t think it rained, though. Parking The Beast where it would hang out for the next 10 days. Celebrating the 4th of July with all of the kids and grandkids. Hanging out with the crew on July 5, too. Although we were home, home, we continued to live in the trailer house. The fairgrounds (where we parked) isn’t very far from our little town of Manley. Who would have known cherries could be so messy!The view from Jamie’s kitchen window. ManleyWondering what Layne would look like with hair. Our second goodbye’s. Pulling away from our temporary home and ready to head for Montana via Kansas. Back to Lyons, Kansas. Did you miss us? You’ll have to hang out a little bit longer. First trip involved the “job” trailer and Frank and the header trailer. Headed west in Western Nebraska. Nebraska sunset. Lunch break at the truck stop near Hot Springs, SD. Made it!Way too much of this!Spent the night in our favorite little motel in Julesburg, CO. Headed back to Kansas for load #2. Julesburg, COSt. Joseph’s Catholic Church – Liebenthal, KansasLiebenthal, KansasWe’re back (again)! Loading the combine. On the road again. Spent the second night on the road in Chadron. Needed to stock up on a few items. I very reluctantly put this over my mouth to get in the store. It went off almost as quickly as it went on. A break in Belle Fourche. Notice the name on the truck? Our forever friends’ truck – Krumbach Harvesting. No, we didn’t get to see them. They left their truck and grain cart parked here while they were moving equipment north to Montana. Accidentally getting to see a friend on the road is always the very BEST! I can’t believe I actually convinced Jim into stopping at the park in Broadus long enough to get to say hello to Laura (High Plains Harvesting). It’s just what my heart needed!Big Sky Country at its best!And…we made it!The work of preparing to cut wheat began the very next day. And here we go! This is a field of safflower. For the next 13 days, we helped L. Peterson Farms cut lots and lots of wheat! And had lots and lots of fun doing it!!! Being part of a crew is so much better than just being out there on your own. 🙂One of the greatest worries of being on the road. Luckily, the driver walked away. The noise Jim had been hearing all season was finally found. And Lee helped him fix. Yes, they were welding in the field. On dirt. With a fire extinguisher readily available. No worries…no fire and he fixed the issue!Can it really get any better than this?
