This day seems like it began an eternity ago.

It was agreed last night that we would give the field a little time to dry before we began “whacking” away at it today. I was able to finish my laundry before we left the trailer house. We met at the field about noonish. After the guys finished servicing the combines, we got started and never quit until about 8:30 this evening.

It was another warm day in the northern country! I believe it got close to 95 or so. There was basically no wind. So, another day of sweat + wheat dirt = itch because Terri and I hauled to bin all afternoon. Tomorrow is supposed to be as warm again and then a day of cooler weather on Tuesday and then right back up with the heat on Wednesday. That’s ok, though, because this spring crop definitely needs the heat! Someone asked me if they spray roundup here to kill the wheat. I don’t think they do, at least not our farmer. Only a couple of incidents that broke up the day – I couldn’t start the tractor at one point (which Terri came and saved the day by knowing how to make it start) and the truck Terri was driving had an air leak (at the very end of the day). Other than that, we had a pretty productive day.

After finishing the last field by the “bin on the creek”, we loaded the heads on the trailers and started travelling somewhere in the middle of Montana (any Merle Haggard fans out there?). We got closer to the mountains and up on a “bench” – flat wheat fields. The town we’re cutting near is actually called Benchland. Terri grew up around Benchland and filled us in on some of the history of the area and remembrances of being a kid on our way back down to

the pickup (near the “bin on the creek”). She got to grow up on a creek – something I always thought would be THE BEST as a kid! I always dreamed of having a home one day near a creek. As a kid, I thought it would really be neat to have an actual creek run through my house. Of course, I was too young to think about the possibility of flooding and what that would do to my home. If I could have a newer home (that looked like an old house) near a creek, that would be the ultimate dream home! And for those of you who know me – a new double oven would be a must!!

I enjoyed our trip back to the pickup because we all rode down the hill together. I enjoy hearing people’s stories and getting to know them. I feel like we’ve got more new friends to add to our book. It’s interesting to me how God puts people into our lives for reasons only He knows. Last year at this time, we were in this area. I never thought we’d be back again. He had a different plan. When we look back at our lives and the different events that have happened, we see only pieces of the complete puzzle. Someday, I expect I’ll see the completed puzzle and know why things happened the way they did! We got back to trailer house just before 10:00. First on my list was a shower! Jim threw a frozen pizza in the oven for supper. Hey, Callie, I finally baked the rest of that cookie dough you made before you headed home, too! They’ll be a good treat in our lunch tomorrow. I didn’t ask any questions, but I think Jim may be going on a plane ride with Ed  in the morning. I overheard Ed asking Jim if he’d want to ride along – to where I haven’t a clue. I know for a fact he was secretly wishing he could go for a ride when we first got here (Ed’s a pilot). So, maybe tomorrow I’ll have pictures from the air to share with you. 

              Taken from the seat of the “Frank”

This is what your bread and pasta is made from. We like to wonder if the shredded wheat we eat for breakfast has any of the wheat we cut in it.

Cole was right behind the combines working up the ground.

 An old schoolhouse. This was on our way to Benchland.

The grain elevator in Benchland. No longer in working order.

The Benchland school. Terri’s mom went to school here through the 8th grade.

The town of Benchland is in the background.

 A cut field is just as beautiful as an uncut one! I love the patterns of the straw.

A beautiful day in Montana!!

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!

View from the top of the grain bin

From the tip top of the grain bin

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.

The town of Denton is in the background.

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!

“What a God! His road stretches straight and smooth. Every God-direction is road-tested. Everyone who runs toward him makes it. Is there any god like God?” Psalm 18:30-31

What a crazy day! First of all, we woke up to 40 degrees and a trailer house that felt like a walk in cooler. Once the coffee was brewing and the rugs were once again moved away so the furnace could blow the welcomed heated air, the day could start. All I really wanted to do was stay toasty warm under the covers in bed – which I did until the trailer house warmed up.

We thought we might be able to get started cutting right away this a.m. We headed out to the field with lunch buckets and water jugs in hand. Jim crawled into the combine only to be told by the farmer it was too wet. The moisture tester still showed 14.5%. Farmer says, “let’s try it again about noon”. So we headed back to the trailer house to eat our lunch – which consisted of sandwich (lunchmeat & cheese), chips, cookies, grapes, granola bar, pudding, iced tea (with lemon), and pop (Jim likes 2 cans of pop). I don’t usually eat all my lunch in one sitting. I try to spread it out throughout the day. I’m not sure what Jim does 🙂 The iced tea in a jar idea came from my Grandma. She used to do that for the hired guys. It’s best to recycle an instant tea jar for your icy cold iced tea. Sit that jar in the lunch box, surrounded by lots of ice and you have a cold drink with your sandwich or cookies.

Ok, so we ate the lunch and tried mailing a certified letter but the post office was closed. So, back out to the field we went. Tried it again – still too wet. Back to town to mail the letter, check out the hardware store and back to the trailer house. About 3:30, we headed out there again. This time it looked like we’d be able to get started and keep going – which we did.

Jim’s captain of the combine and cutting with the farmer. The farmer’s wife and I are hauling the grain to the bin. Not a far drive, just outside the field about a mile. I tried getting a picture of the grain going from the truck to the auger to the grain bin but my camera started dealing me fits. I hope it doesn’t completely die on me! If it does, I’ll be without a good camera until I can either get to a large enough city to buy another one or order one online and wait for it to show up at the post office. Not easy when you’re like 1,000 miles from a city. Just teasin – Lewistown is only 40 miles away. Not sure how far Great Falls is. It’s not like being in Jordan and actually being 85 miles from the nearest Walmart.

We cut til it got cool and the air felt damp. When it gets cool and damp, the combine quits feeding the wheat in nicely and it sometimes wants to growl a little as it goes through the machine. It’s a whole lot easier to cut wheat during the heat of the day and 100 degree day work the best. When the weather is good for people, it’s usually not good for cutting wheat. The temperatures lately certainly feels good to us humans but not so nice to get the acres of wheat cut.

Tomorrow is Taylor and Callie’s first day back to school. I talked to them earlier this evening and they were excited to get back and see their friends. Not so sure how the idea of school work fits into the picture, though. I tried to reassure them that once they were back, everything would fall into place for them. They were telling me how it didn’t even feel like they’d actually left Manley and had been gone for 10 weeks. I understand that feeling. It’s hard to say goodbye to the summer schedule – or lack of – and the wheat fields for another year. I’m sort of denying that it’s going to happen but I’m only kidding myself. Anyways, the two of them are having a grand time hanging out with their older siblings and doing some fun things. I’m glad they’re able to be together for the next several weeks. Jamie will be going back to her job, too. She’s a para for her local school and LOVES it. She’s probably the one most excited about school starting.

This guy was on the wrong side of the fence but I sure wasn’t going to be the one to tell him that!

Is that snow? That was the question I asked Jim and he said he didn’t think so. I think it is.

Jim dumping in the farmer’s truck