checking things off my list

Yes, we have started fall harvest. Up to today, though, Jim guessed only about 5% of the crop has been harvested in our area.

It was two weeks ago today that I crawled off the combine (I’ve been hired to drive a New Holland combine for a neighbor). I haven’t been back since. I was just sort of feeling like I was getting it. I’ve never picked corn or cut soybeans. Ever! I may have crawled in the seat for a little while way back when to help Jim while he got a truck moved or something. But to say I’ve had experience with corn or soybeans? Nope!

Picking corn is a whole different animal than cutting wheat. You have to line the combine up with rows, know how the field was planted with terraces and watch to make sure you’re on the right row. It’s not mindless cutting like wheat is. There’s not much forgiveness. If you’re off a row, the entire plan is off. And…I’m TRYING to do a good job for the farmer that hired me. The expectations I have on myself are great.

We had an amazing amount of time off due to rain (3+”) and SNOW ( 4″). Jim got back in the field today. I will be back tomorrow afternoon. The entire central part of the United States has been unable to harvest due to the amount of wet stuff we’ve had. With the cooler temps, it takes a whole lot more time to dry the grain and the ground than when we have rain delays in the summer.

So…what have I been up to the last two weeks, you ask? Even if you really don’t care, I’m about to fill you in. Continue reading

more than one way to skin a cat

Oh my goodness! Why oh why do I put something off until it becomes a chore? I have no idea why it’s been so difficult for me to sit down and write. Maybe it’s some sort of writer’s block? I went through my pictures yesterday and decided today was the day to make it happen. Have you ever put something off so long you just wished it would go away – only it doesn’t? Today I have decided there was more than one way to skin a cat. What in the world am I talking about? I hope you know I would never really try to skin a cat. I know a couple of people (who are world-famous trappers) who DO KNOW what it’s like to skin a cat. Okay…now, I’m getting off subject.

Another reason I’ve sort of backed away from writing (I think) is the overwhelming amount of information that comes through social media about how I SHOULD be writing a blog. And how it’s SUPPOSED to be done. And how I’m doing it all WRONG. I admit, I began reading some of the information, hoping to learn more, only to end up even more overwhelmed. After feeling like a complete loser, I decided I was doing it just as it was INTENDED it when started. I wasn’t out to win the #1 spot on the Google search engine. I’m not making bazillions of dollars – not even one – so I shouldn’t feel the need to compete in any way with anyone. I don’t need to have a post go viral (although it would be fun to think I wrote well enough others liked it that much). I just want to write. To share my story and my journey through this crazy thing called life. If it helps someone somewhere along the way, perfect! No more worries about doing it wrong!

So, the last update I wrote about (a harvester’s widow), I was spending my days doing whatever I could while getting used to being home…by myself. How long ago was that? I just looked – it was October 28. A lot of things have occurred since that day. And because of recent events that have made me more aware of how important pictures and memories are, I have decided I have just got to do this. Staring at the closed computer every day wasn’t going to make anything just go away.

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a few days ago

It feels like just a few days ago. But, in fact, it’s been over two weeks already that we left our Colorado “home” and traveled back to our Eastern Nebraska “home, home”.  The days just go too fast (and faster the older I get).

The last post I wrote for All Aboard will better explain what our last days in Colorado looked like. Head on over there by clicking here.

After the first trip home, home. Frank didn’t cause me a lick of problems. Besides the issue we had at the very start of the season, we got along just fine. 

Rollin on the floor with Papa. After we got home, we spent the night at Curt and Jamie’s house. We left the Cottage in Colorado for the second trip home. 

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since returning “home, home”

img_5701Fall harvest near the Henry Doorly Zoo Safari Park – Mahoney/Ashland exit. (Picture credit goes to Wayne Skoda)

Sometimes, the hardest part about writing is just sitting down and making the fingers start moving!

The time since we got “home, home” has been a bit of a blur. Between emptying and cleaning the “Cottage on Wheels” and getting ready for Taylor’s wedding, not much time has been given to anything else. I’m not going to go into Taylor’s wedding with this post – it deserves its own spot in our book. So, what I will do is try to relive the last eight weeks, or so, without boring you (hopefully).

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We weren’t on the road nearly as long as other harvesters this year. We arrived home with the last load on the 119th day of our journey…the 29th of September. Jim was in the combine cutting soybeans the very next day. Fall harvest for me doesn’t exist. I didn’t even go out and ride in the combine once this fall. I like to make it out there at least one afternoon while the corn is being picked because I love to watch the corn dance in the header. Somehow, it just wasn’t something that was thought about. Both the beans and corn had amazing yields due to the 40+ inches of rain this part of the country received over the summer. Jim was worried about finding mud holes but the weather cooperated and his worries were needless. We just talked about rain and whether or not it occurred during harvest last night and he said there really was none to speak of. There was one afternoon that it showered on them while picking corn but they pushed through it (and made a mess of the Beast).

img_5702Picture credit goes to Wayne Skoda

img_5703Picture credit goes to Wayne Skoda

While Jim was in the combine, I was here at home. My first concern was getting the trailer house emptied and cleaned out. It’s always a pain to me and made even more challenging because it signifies the end of the harvest. Even though I was really ready to get home this year to see the kids and grandkids, it’s still difficult to accept the finality of it all. This year…even a bit more of a challenge for me because I kept waiting for Callie to come home (just as she had been doing prior to our leaving in the spring) and it didn’t happen. The house was quiet. It hasn’t been this quiet since we moved here (October 1985). Jamie was born two months after we moved and it never had much of a break from the noise (except over the summer months) since.

img_5142The joys of getting to babysit Eli – everything else stops and you go play!

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img_5159A Nebraska sunset from the top bleacher at the EM football game.

img_5163Callie passing the tiara to the newest EM Homecoming Queen.  

There was some bus driving but the majority of my time was spent focusing on things to sew or make for the wedding. I was thankful for the amount of time I had because I didn’t feel the stress of being pushed to get it all done. There were fur shawls to create, dresses to hem, mints to make and shopping (and more shopping) to do. I didn’t even have a dress bought for myself. The wedding was already over a week ago. And it was beautiful! As I said, more on that later.

img_5189Family campfire in honor of Callie’s 19th birthday.

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img_5218Besides the wedding preps, we celebrated Callie’s 19th birthday (October 8), made a Halloween costume for Nora (Indian Princess), had a bridal shower, attended Laramie Farris’ funeral in Goodland, Kansas and celebrated Taylor’s 22nd birthday (same day as Laramie’s funeral).

img_5171Walking through Hobby Lobby to find wedding goods. Taylor so willingly modeled what she wanted her fur shawls to look like. Had to have something to use as my pattern. 

img_5322Callie and I carved 50 of these to be used as a “vase” for mums…decorations for Taylor’s bridal shower.

img_5314The bridal shower was a success! Held in the comforts of Mark and Candi’s new machine shed. The only negative? It was hot!

unnamedThe Indian Princess.

img_5524And…the cowboy!

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img_5265I ventured to Sidney, NE for a couple of days to help Matt and Tina pack. They headed for a new adventure in Olympia, WA and I hope it’s the best thing that’s happened to both of them! (although I will certainly miss them)

Laramie…she was supposed to be at the wedding. Being in Goodland and sitting in a packed school gymnasium was not on our calendar! Jim and I had just spent time with her in September. We weren’t supposed to be standing around a gravesite trying to figure out the why’s and how come’s and now what’s. We weren’t prepared to let her go. Not yet.  But something I’ve realized through all these school gym funerals is that we’re never prepared to say goodbye. Especially to the young people in our lives. Laramie touched so many lives for only being 19 years old – probably more than a lot of us touch in a lifetime. The news article said it was a single car rollover crash caused by a “distraction” in the car. The next time you think you need to text and drive…think of Laramie and a beautiful life that was cut short. Something that stuck with me from the funeral was the comment by the Pastor about how we tend to remember all the first times. It’s the last times that are so easily forgotten. The last time your child sat in your lap, the last time they needed your help, the last time you tucked them in bed, etc. The last times…

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img_5570I love this picture of Taylor & Laramie! They were certainly two of a kind!!

img_5569I remember the last time I spoke with Laramie. She never knew a stranger and she always made you feel like you were the most important person in her life.  Her zest for life was refreshing and her smile made everything feel okay. The other thing I took away from her funeral was, “until next time”. We’ll get on with our lives because that’s what we’re supposed to do. There will be reminders of Laramie in so many ways and occurrences. And that will have to do – until next time. Until the next time we see her again. And I will hold onto that truth!

img_5545Those of us who understand harvest and what it’s like to love people from all over will understand this. This was something Laramie posted this summer to help people better understand how she felt about the people in her life.

img_5614Taylor’s 22nd birthday – and also the day of Laramie’s funeral. The girls wore their boots in her honor.

img_5621The Kansas sunset as we were leaving Goodland and heading back home again.

Jim finished fall harvest Friday before the wedding – November 11. Perfect timing! For the past two days, I have been helping him get the equipment tucked back into the shed for the winter. The years seriously go faster and faster. To the point, I just can’t wrap my mind around how fast the days slip by. We’re looking at Thanksgiving and soon, Christmas…again. Maybe this year, I will actually get Christmas cards mailed again.

unnamed-2I got to tag along to the kids’ dentist appointments. 🙂

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unnamed-4Jim is so darn good at backing things up and especially into tight quarters. This is the first of many necessary steps taken to get everything in “our” shed. This is also a test of trust. I stand behind the item being backed in giving him directions via the telephone until it’s placed right where he wants it. Sometimes…he jumps out of the vehicle to make sure I’m giving him the right directions. Usually, I have. 🙂

img_5893The Pete is unhooked from the grain trailer and driven out to make room for the trailer house. Once the trailer is in place and the combine trailer has found its winter home, the Pete returns and sits on the other side of the Cottage.

img_5894The space to the right of the Cottage has been reserved for the Pete.

unnamed-5Rest up Frank, Pete & The Beast…see ya next spring!!

And now…it’s time to go drive bus!

 

 

the past six weeks in a nutshell – part 2

The next days of being home meant unloading the Cottage. You have to remember that when we left in June, I had basically loaded everything I would need from our house into the Cottage. The house was closed up to everyone and everything EXCEPT the spiders. They apparently went to work overtime this summer in making our home their home. The first thing I needed to do was recapture my home and send those nasty little devils on a hike (thanks to the vacuum cleaner)! Cleaning the Cottage is so much easier!

On Saturday morning, we were up early with a destination of Boone, IA – we being Curt, Jamie, Eli, Jim and me. Earlier in the summer, Jamie and I had purchased tickets to ride the train knowing how obsessed Eli is with trains. It was going to be Eli’s day of “go go’s”. I couldn’t wait to see his reaction once we got to the depot and he would see the trains. The day was gorgeous! A bit of a summery heat but it was better than too chilly!

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frank, pete and the yellow beast are now settled in for a long winter’s nap

IMG_4873The beauty of a Nebraska road as the sun starts to set.

The autumn color has been beautiful this year. And the sunsets…extraordinary! I don’t know if it’s the harvest dirt and dust to blame for creating these beautiful sunsets or if it’s because I’ve been outside at the exact time to witness them. Whatever it is, I have thoroughly enjoyed them.

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nebraska, corn and eli

IMG_4748 Today was Eli’s 6 month birthday. And how did he celebrate? He went to the soybean field with his mama to ride in the Yellow Beast with his grandpa.

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3rd Annual “FYNO” Camping Trip

Packed and ready to go!

The third annual “Freeze Your Nads Off” camping trip has come and gone – three weeks ago already. The day we packed up and headed out was also Taylor’s 18th birthday. A long time ago, I started a tradition of decorating the kitchen for each of the girls when it was their birthday. It seems I always do it the same way – simply because how differently can you decorate a room with streamers and balloons? I decided to try something a little different this year.

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Wordless Wednesday: Adventure

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How is it That a Week has Disappeared?

CAUTION!    This is a lengthy – but fun – post!

It’s actually been 10 days ago that I shared with you the happenings of the Zeorian household.  When I left off on the 21st, we were about to begin an adventure at a local State Park. Plans changed. Instead, we packed a lunch and headed to the “Eagle’s Nest”. The Eagle’s Nest was built quite a few years ago – when Jamie and Jenna were much smaller. Then came along Taylor and Callie. Now… it’s Brooklyn and Jillian’s turn to play and imagine and have fun.

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