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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IT’S TIME!

by nebraskawheatie

HAPPY MAY DAY!

We were supposed to have left yesterday for Texas with the first load. It decided to rain on Sunday (which was a surprise to all of us) and it set Jim behind a day. We  loaded the combine  (Jim’s truck) and  the header (my truck) late this afternoon. If things go accordingly, we will be on the road again tomorrow.

I’m having mixed emotions about this, though. We’ll be leaving without Taylor and Callie (and Jamie, Curt & Jenna). I’ve sort of come to the conclusion that when all the kids are no longer going with us, this could be a tough time of year – worse than it is already. Harvest just isn’t quite the same without the girls! I’ve never had an issue with leaving before because ALL of what’s important with home has been with us. Now, it’s getting weird 🙂 At least I have the end of May to look forward to – that’s when T & C will be joining us.

The wheat’s changing fast. I’m hoping that once we get home again we won’t have to turn right around and head back.  My feelings are that it will be CHAOS when we get back!

Image

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It’s ALMOST time!!

by nebraskawheatie

I was searching for something else this morning and came across the following video. This was put together by someone who apparently worked for Frederick Harvesting (Kansas) – members of U.S. Custom Harvesters, Inc.  A perfect example of what we do! After watching…I’m ready to head south!

OH HAPPY DAY!

by nebraskawheatie

The title of this post will only mean something to Jenna and the rest of my family. 🙂 However, we certainly HAVE celebrated a couple very happy days recently. I will attempt to keep the number of words to a minimum because I’m sure I could get long-winded. The number of pictures I’d l ike to share will make this posting long enough.

On Saturday, April 21, Taylor went to her very first prom.

img_2866She had ordered her dress online – in plenty of time –  on Thanksgiving. When she received it, it was way too big. I couldn’t send it back to the “store” as it was created in China. So, the next thing we had to do was take it in. It was a job that seemed rather overwhelming to me but I was willing to accept the challenge. I had questions, though, how to make it happen and called upon a neighbor who had done dresses like this in the past for advice. Taylor and I went to Judeen’s house for help. Judeen, bless her heart, just took over the job. I think she knew it was going to be something I really didn’t want to tackle! And, I’m so thankful for her and what she did. You would never have known that dress was taken apart and re-sewn. THANK YOU, JUDEEN – you are a miracle worker!

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The times…they are a changing!

by nebraskawheatie

The other morning, the Nesquik container was left sitting on the counter. This was a familiar sight every other week at one time in this household. Now, not so much. As a matter of fact, I had almost forgotten that it ever got refilled…that’s how long its been. This family is full of Quik fans. Nesquik used to come out of the cupboard every single day for someone’s daily drink of choice. Unfortunately, those days have disappeared. Funny how something that once was so familiar and constant just quietly disappeared. A sign of the times – the family unit, as we know it, is changing. I miss those old days!

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by nebraskawheatie

Unfortunately, the number of people who have no idea where their food comes from is growing. If we don’t begin realizing the importance of teaching the next generation about the farm and agriculture, we could be in for a “whole heap of trouble”. After being to the East Coast and talking custom harvesting and combines (DC), I realize there are a lot of people who just assume their bread comes from a grocery store. In 10 more years, the average age of the American farmer will be nearly 70. Have we done too good of a job of pushing our younger generation away from the farm or will they step up and take over the job? It’s time we start preparing for the future!

The Storm of the Century

by nebraskawheatie

Yes, that was the way they were describing the storms that were moving into Eastern Nebraska on Saturday night…”The Storm of the Century”.

This particular tornado watch was being referred to as a PDS watch. Meteorologists define a PDS watch as follows:

“When the threat for damage caused by severe convection is unusually high, the Storm Prediction Center (SPC) enhances the wording of its convective watch product with the following statement: THIS IS A PARTICULARLY DANGEROUS SITUATION  Such watches are known as “PDS” watches. PDS tornado (TOR) watches are issued when the forecaster has high confidence that multiple strong (F2-F3 on the Fujita Scale) or violent tornadoes (F4-F5 on the Fujita Scale) will occur in the watch area. PDS TOR watches are rare; of 3058 TOR watches issued during the period 1996-2005, only 7% (216) were PDS watches, When compared with regular TOR watches, PDS TOR watches should ideally be associated with a greater risk of strong or violent tornadoes.”

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