The past few days have felt like they’ve been both a year long and just an hour long. I don’t know if you can understand what I mean…but I bet you can.
The first load to Kansas went about as well as it could have. Except for the heat. And except for the lack of air conditioning. Frank doesn’t have air. We’ve tried to make it work but it just can’t hold the gas. We didn’t expect the car and the Pete to give us issues. But they did. However, I’m pleased to tell you Jim got both of them fixed and they’re cooling down quite nicely now. Thank goodness!
First load getting ready to head south. Pete and the “job” trailer waiting patiently.Home, homeThe header needed some warranty work done on it so we just left it at the dealership. We stopped and picked it up as we were headed south with the first load. Northern Kansas wheat. Ahhhhhh….the sweet, sweet smell of wheat country!Left Frank and the Pete at our farmer’s yard near Chase. The mosquitoes were HORRIBLE! Once we got everything parked for the night, we jumped in the car and headed for Great Bend for the night. The next morning we headed for Medicine Lodge.A memory. Grandma insisted I go through this house with her in 1974. I will be going through it again – if we have a rain day. I’m SURE I’ll appreciate it much more the second go-round!Main Street of Sharon, Kansas. Anyone know who in the entertainment industry grew up near Sharon?Pratt, Kansas water towersBack to the farmer’s yard. We parked the car, jumped in the Pete and headed northward. He said he needed just a little nap. So, I took over and drove for about an hour. (Don’t worry, we weren’t moving when I took these pictures.)The best part of a very hot 100 degree day – dusk.
We made it back home, home Saturday evening about 10:00. The next morning began more packing and getting things ready to be gone for the next several months.
When I say “things ready”, I mean like the yard mowed, tree limbs trimmed, a few weeds pulled (a dumb action, really), Cottage on Wheels packed, house cleaned, combine loaded, last minute items thrown in wherever they can go, etc. etc. It always feels like such an overwhelming amount of work that needs to be done. But, somehow it all manages to get done. And things start falling together as they should. And then it’s time to take off.
That’s where we are right now. It’s time to do those last minute things that need to be done and then the dreadful goodbyes said and down the highway we will head, once again.
All the while we have been working at getting to the point we are, Mother Nature decided to crank up the heat a little on all of us. We thought we could make it through the few days we had here without putting the window air in the house. Bad decision. The days and nights of no relief from the heat seemed to wear on us way more than we imagined. Maybe it has something to do with being one year older, too. Maybe?
Yes, another nap. This time he told me, “I just need a little nap and it’s cool down here on the floor”. We really should have put the air conditioner in the window! Yep, that’s his shoe he’s using for a pillow. It was a beautiful morning to load the combine!Taylor and Layne came over to hang out with me this afternoon. After I emptied the refrigerator, I left the doors open so it could defrost and be cleaned. Taylor sat there to cool off because, yes, it was that hot in the house!
We had a storm roll through this evening which dropped the temperature 25 degrees in about ten minutes. The cooler air never felt so good. The wind blew like crazy and the rain came down in sheets. We’ll be sleeping in the trailer house tonight as the bed in the house has been stripped and washed. And we’ll be taking our last “real” shower for quite some time.
The worst part of all of this is having to say our goodbyes.
It never gets any easier!
Ever.
Layne’s sure going to change a lot over the next several months!
Our world got a little bit scarier. This time, it’s not due to a virus or concern for a vaccine. Protests, violence, hatred, evil…nothing new to this world. It’s been around since the days of Adam and Eve. I don’t foresee it getting any better or any easier in the near future. If you believe what the Bible says, it won’t.
Everyone is drained from the craziness of this world. Everyone is mentally fatigued. Everyone just wants things to be “normal”. It sort of seems funny to think about the issues we were dealing with prior to March 12 and they all seem so much easier to bear. At the time, however, they did not.
We must persevere and continue to move forward – one baby step at a time.
Not only so, but we also glory in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope. And hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured out into our hearts through the Holy Spirit, who has been given to us. Romans 5:3-5
As I mentioned in the last post, harvest stops for none of this craziness. We will continue to work towards the goal of getting our equipment to Kansas and set up camp by middle of next week. The first load is supposed to begin tomorrow (6/5).
Prior to right now, harvest has been something we talk about while our daily lives continue. Now, however, it’s about to get real.
Real, real.
I wish I could just take everyone with us again!
Jim’s dad served in the Pacific Theater (Philippines, New Guinea and the Occupation of Japan) during WWll. We have pictures and we have stories. But to have actually gotten him to talk about this time in his life…he was mostly mute. No fanfare or hoopla. That’s not the way he was. He did what he had to do because of his love for this country and his family. My favorite story is about him catching malaria while in the Philippines. He was so sick, the natives hauled him from the lines to wherever he could receive the care he needed. When the war ended, his rank was Army Tech Sergeant. We called him dad and grandpa. Today, Memorial Day, his great grandchildren went to say hello!Baby Wayne (aka Layne) is 6 months old! There’s a story behind this dress. It was purchased for my oldest niece, Jill. Jill is the daughter of Jim’s older sister, Maureen. Then, her sister, Holly, wore it when she was 6 months old. It was passed down to us and each of the girls wore it when they were 6 months old. The tradition continues with the next generation of girls. Both Nora and Layne have worn it. How fun is this? This is Taylor at 6 months. Do you see any similarities? Three generations of hands. Lots and lots of time spent at these iris gardens over the years! I was never lucky enough to have had a sister but found a friend who is the next best thing! Trish and I have A LOT of great memories together over the past 35 years!!I used to work with Trish in these iris gardens. We’d drag our kids along with us and they would just do whatever they could to get through the day. If you asked them now, they would tell you some of their favorite memories were created at those gardens! He was SO excited to share his four-leaf clover with me! First one ever found. The same view from a different standpoint. When I allow my brain to think way hard and deep, like it sometimes does, I think about all of life being like this. What we are used to viewing and observing takes on a whole different feel when it’s viewed from a different standpoint and a different perspective!The reason for the above pictures. I was on top of The Beast helping Jim replace that auger cover. There was a wear hole in it that had to be repaired. I’m sure glad there was no one around watching the two of us remove it and then put it back in place. 🙂The kids came over Tuesday afternoon. The summer heat has begun in Eastern Nebraska. We played and played in the pool, ate popsicles and did whatever we could to stay cool. We didn’t put the window air in because we will be leaving soon. Ben was a sticky, sticky mess but it didn’t matter when you could jump in the pool and it all disappeared!Roasted hotdogs and s’mores for supper! It was so sultry – the fire was just too hot. You can visibly see this on Nora’s face. Ben was holding down the picnic table while the others were cooking. Can’t you just hear the evening sounds and smell that wet, damp Eastern Nebraska air?I bought myself a new iphone 11 mostly for the updated camera. This is the moon, taken during the middle of the night outside the door of the tent. WOW! I can’t wait to take some evening harvest shots with this!After the other three left yesterday afternoon, Layne came over to play while her mama was taking senior pictures. She was so sweet and so good for me. This was also taken in the complete dark of our bedroom. The camera on this phone is AMAZING! What a sweet angel.
I’m certainly going to miss these days with the kids – all of them! The Cottage on Wheels is parked right outside my back door. The many trips back and forth are about to begin and I’m dreading it.
Our fourteen day quarantine is now going on 70+ days. Seventy some days ago, our lives changed. Although I don’t want to add the word “forever”, I’m afraid that’s what has happened.
I’m certain I’m not the only one who just gets ANGRY when you allow your brain to think about what we had and what we have to look forward to. I just don’t understand how we’ve allowed this virus to change every aspect of our lives. I just don’t.
Not much has changed in our world. We don’t spend much time in the city anyways – except church, groceries and other needed items. I’ve always been one to purchase enough groceries to get us through a week or two so I didn’t have to try to invent the wheel.
We, as a family, have been back and forth with the social distancing. When this “thing” was brand new, we attempted to keep our distance. And then we decided this was just stupid.
Here’s my thoughts as far as this “deadly” virus goes and how it pertains to me. I really don’t care if I get it or not. If I get it, I get it. If I get it and die…so be it. I’m going to die one day anyways. However, I don’t want to live my life in such a way that I seclude myself from my kids and grandkids. They wanted to “protect” us at the beginning and Jim and I put the kabosh on that! I cannot live my life to the fullest and be scared of dying. Period.
So do not fear, for I am with you, do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand. Isaiah 41:10
Fear. One of the enemy’s most popular weapons that he uses against us. Worry, anxiety, fear…can overwhelm us with a thick shadow of darkness, controlling our every move and decision.
I’m not going to let this virus change the way I live.
We’re currently getting ready to head south for the 2020 wheat harvest. Jim said his goal is to be ready to leave on June 1. However, I’ve been married to him long enough to know that when he sets a date, it will change (about four times). So, I’m going to guess we’ll be heading south with the final load about June 8th.
We have an opportunity to start a little farther south this year than we have in the past – thanks to some great harvest friends! If all goes as planned, our first job of the season will be around Medicine Lodge, Kansas. Funny…this is the same area my grandparents would have gone to so many years ago. It’ll be fun to be back in the same area which I would have been in the very first time I went on harvest in 1974.
I have a feeling things could look/be a whole lot more interesting on the road due to the guidelines set in place. I am so thankful I don’t have a crew of about 15 men to try to figure out how I’m going to feed when the stores have so many limitations in place. The job NEEDS to be done – harvest waits for no one.
While we’re still hanging out here at home, I’ll keep doing what life at home looks like. That would be hanging out with the kids and grandkids as much as I can. Watching my flowers grow. And sew.
Until next time…
Baby Wayne at 3 months (February)Four months old (March)Five months (April)April 5 – eating out takes on a whole new dynamic with Jimbo. Time for the quarantine haircuts!The kids came and spent the night with us. The next day was nearly hot but we had fun on a hike along the railroad tracks and climbing the “hills”. Eli wanted a mohawk for his birthday.While the weather was so great the first part of April, we decided to take the kids on a hike at the Platte River State Park. It was such a beautiful day to be out and about and letting the kids run!Happy 63rd birthday, Jim (aka Papa)!And the very next day, we celebrated Eli’s 7th birthday. He designed his own birthday shirt – and did a pretty darn good job at it!The afternoon was filled with a Zoom gathering with his classmates and then constant drive-by birthday wishes from friends. Nora said to me, “this is me”. I made this dress for Layne’s first Easter dress. Too bad we couldn’t celebrate the day.April 16One of the days Layne and Taylor came over to hang out with me.It happens. The fine line of playing and getting hurt was crossed. Ben hit his head on the frame of the couch and popped it open. A quick trip to the emergicare and some glue fixed him right up. And, it’s healed nicely!!Happy birthday, Jenna!! Later this day, we all gathered at Jamie’s house and surprised her with a birthday supper of pizza and gifts. It was the first time we were ALL together!Picture credit goes to Taylor (Taylor Josoff Photography)Callie and her roommates had their own college graduation ceremony in front of their house. May 8. We celebrated Callie’s college graduation with a quickly planned gathering in Mark and Candi’s shed. Watched the TV for Callie’s name and had a nice evening together. So proud of her!!! She worked so hard and did so well – 4.0 student. Sucks she couldn’t have enjoyed ending the past 4 years by walking across the stage and receiving her diploma. Happy College Graduation, Callie!Mother’s Day – from a distance.It was so good having them all around the table together – like old times. Happy Mother’s Day to me!!The day ended with supper at Imperial Palace – DINING IN!The colors of summer. Like this bow? Check out more of these at my “store” on Etsy. Maureen stopped by to dig up a few baby buckeye trees. She dug up the tree I have and brought it to me on Mother’s Day 1998. Now, she’s coming back to dig up babies to transplant in her new yard. The sunshine was so bright. While Taylor got her hair cut, Baby Wayne and I hung out in the van together. The rose-o-meter got a drastic cut back last fall. It may not have a single bloom on it this year. In the past, this had been the indicator of when we should be heading south. This would bloom just as we were usually pulling out of the driveway – back when the summer harvest used to be the same year after year. It hasn’t been that way for about the last 10 years. Helping Jim change out the concaves. My job was to run the winch while he manhandled the concaves in and out of the belly of the beast. Our “shed”. My traveling garden. The plants were given to me by the girls on Mother’s Day. Three generations of hands.
It was beautiful…sunny and 60 degrees. The wind was out of the northwest and a bit nippy but not so bad that we couldn’t just push our way through it.
It’s been ten days since I posted. The coronavirus continues to wreak havoc on anything that was normal prior to March 12. Prior to the first positive result in our area.
I believe we have all stepped away from the initial shock of what we couldn’t do and are beginning to settle into what we can. We can’t go to school, but we can have online classes. We can’t go to a restaurant and sit down, but we can order take out. We can’t go to a movie theater, but we can order movies via apps. We can’t attend any conferences or meetings in person (unless it’s less than 10 people) but we can have a meeting via Zoom. Changes…they’re all over the place and happening more and more every day.
I couldn’t sleep this morning after Jim left the house.
He’s still working (unlike so many others right now). I’m guessing his job has always been considered self-isolation and social distancing. He hauls propane in the winter months. Besides maybe running into a homeowner once in awhile, I’m guessing he spends his days pretty much on his own.
While laying there in the dark, I heard what I thought was thunder. This foreign sound I thought I was hearing was interrupting the other sound I was soaking up. The birds were so happy this morning.
I can’t believe the last time I really wrote anything about what the heck was going on was in October. So much has happened since then.
Some not so big things…and some quite large.
And I struggle with the whole catch-up scenario. But, I must. I need to finish out 2019 so I can pull the entire year together and get printed.
So…let’s just get started. See where it goes and how it goes.
We got through the fall harvest. Jim and The Beast went one way and I went another. A local farmer/friend of ours hired me (again) to run their combine. So we were still in the world of harvest, just not together. Jim finished mid-November and I was only a few days behind him.
Nora was supposed to spend the day with me in the field. But we didn’t work, so she spent the day making me look beautiful instead. …and we went to the park to play. Colten and Taylor’s “diaper keg”. What a great evening!!When the sun went down, it got pretty chilly so we kept the fire good and hot!Putting the Cottage on Wheels in its winter home. Jim and The Beast in action. Thanks for the pictures, Joe!One of the final sunsets from the cab of the combine (for me).After the corn was finished, it was time to clean everything up and put away for another year. Backing the corn head into its winter home.
We had been invited by MacDon to attend their 70th anniversary dealer and staff meeting in Phoenix. We both wanted to go but knew there was no way if we were still in full harvest mode. The meeting was a week off and we were both done. So, we decided to rent a car and drive to Phoenix.
We saw beautiful sights and had a wonderful time. It was an awesome way to end the 2019 harvest season!
Making our way into The Arches National Park – Moab, UT.After this picture was taken, we got back in our car and headed for Monument Valley. I got online and rented a cabin for the night. It was pitch dark when we arrived. The next morning, I opened the blinds to this AMAZING sight! 👇The view from inside our cabin. “Our” cabin. Jim was thoroughly soaking up the beauty of the morning. From Monument Valley, we made our way to The Grand Canyon. 👇The Desert View Watchtower is a 70-foot-high stone building located on the South Rim of the Grand Canyon. The view from the top of the tower. I told him to smile….Arrived in Phoenix after dark.The first day of the MacDon event included a tour of a gold mine. Of course he went around to the back of the buildings. What took him back there in the first place? Was it the propane tank or the dirt bike? 🤷♀️Making our way to the Dolly Steamboat for a lunch cruise. Sharing our table with friends – Jim and DeAnn Deibert. The MacDon equipment show. That’s a whole slug of Jims (and one that probably wishes he was). The evening meal took us to the Corona Ranch and included Mexican food and a rodeo. Waiting for the rodeo to start with Mark and Candi Rathe. Gene Fraser of MacDon. The second day began with a tour of T & K Red River Dairy in Stanfield, AZ.The day ended with our final meal together at Chase Field. And, of course, it included the infamous MacDon bagpipe players. Checked out of the hotel the next morning and began our trip back home again. Just one of many sights on Highway 66.
Taylor was due November 30 but knew she wasn’t going to be allowed to wait that long to deliver. Her doctor told her he felt she needed to be induced (due to her pregnancy being labeled high risk because of her blood pressure) on November 25th. We got back home from our Arizona adventure on the 23rd.
Layne Parker was born at 9:31 on November 27th. She weighed 6 lbs 15 oz and was 19.5″ long. When Colten let me know the baby had been born, he didn’t tell me if it was a girl or a boy. He said to find out, we had to go to the hospital to see them (this was after a very long labor and c-section). I told him Taylor needed to rest. So, we went up that evening. This was not a very nice thing to have done to an excited Grandma!
When we entered the room, we were greeted with a baby and a bow…it’s a girl!
Taken on Thanksgiving (in the hospital).Our little Gloworm. They’ve come a LONG ways since my babies were under lights for jaundice. Nora turned five on December 5 – her “golden” birthday. I got to go have lunch with her at school on her birthday. We inked her up for a Christmas ornament and for a page in her baby book. She was NOT happy with us!Nora’s 5th birthday party. Round two of many more elementary Christmas concerts. I helped at Eli’s kindergarten Christmas party. So much fun! ❤And later that day, we watched Nora’s preschool Christmas concert. One day while Taylor came over to hang out, I talked her into helping me wrap presents. Jamie’s 34th birthday. Still Jamie’s birthday but we made Christmas cookies to be decorated the next day at Gramma’s house. The traditional cookie decorating on the afternoon of Christmas Eve at Gramma’s house. It was so nice outside on Christmas, we walked to the park to get out of the house and enjoy the sunshine. Christmas with the Rathe’s.Baby Wayne (as the kids call her because they can’t say their “L’s” very well) – one month old.
And, finally, this concludes the last few months of 2019. Thank you for following our journey. 2019 was one very long year filled with challenges, adventures and lots of love! See ya in 2020!!!
The girls are tired of me saying, “we need a family picture”. But they are usually so good about just giving in…most of the time.
One more pic before we’re all going in separate directions.
Memorial Day was spent working outside. Jim on the combine and me doing whatever I could. The days without rain have been few and far between. It seems the moisture in our part of the country has been way more than needed since about January. It just changed from snow to rain.
Christmas music is on the radio, there’s snow on the ground and it’s probably here to stay. Winter has arrived in Eastern Nebraska.
It’s been two weeks that I made the final lap in the corn field – November 19, to be exact. Seems much longer than that, honestly. Fall harvest felt like it was about a year long. We had so much weather to deal with…just like so many others.
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 →
