Tag Archives: new holland combines

One more night in Jordan :)

by nebraskawheatie

We got started this morning in good time, after having McDonald’s coffee and a bite to eat. The truck lot we stayed in was right in their backyard so we just walked over.

The entire 1,000 miles back to Denton, I am a passenger. I did drive for a couple of hours yesterday but, all in all, Jim is the driver. I borrowed Jenna’s book, “Heaven is for Real” and finished it today. AWESOME book! For those of you who are believers, it’ll reinforce what you believe and give you an idea of what we have to look forward to. For those of you who are a little more of the “Doubting Thomas”, it’ll give you something to think about. One part of the book that most excited me was the part where Colton tells his mom and dad that he met his sister. He had no idea that his mom had miscarried the child she was pregnant with before he was born. This gives me the reassurance that one day I’ll meet the three babies I miscarried. I had two between Jenna and Taylor and one between Taylor and Callie. One thing is certain, there must be a good reason T and C are with us! I can’t imagine what our family would look like without them. I can guarantee one thing, had I carried the two babies to full term between Taylor and Jenna, there would be no Taylor and Callie.

The town of Jordan holds a pretty special place in my heart for another reason. I had the last miscarriage in 1996 while we were up here. Some of the townspeople brought food for my family and Dr. Dan made trailer house visits until I was back on my feet. Being 85 miles away from the nearest large hospital, I’m sure people have learned to take care of each other up here on a whole different level than back at home. I also learned one thing more, when someone is going through something like this, they don’t want to be told over and over that it probably happened for a good reason. I had fallen in love with that baby and all I really wanted to hear was, “I love you and I care about you”. Sometimes, even no words at all and just a hug will suffice.

Ok, enough of that. Back to the harvest story. We got to Denton about 2:30 mountain time. We each did the jobs we’re accustomed to doing and we were back on the road at 3:45. We arrived in Jordan at 7:15 p.m. Supper was next on the list since Mr. Slave Driver didn’t even stop for lunch. Thank you Rose (Edward’s Family Hilltop Cafe) for a lovely supper! Back to the Garfield Motel for the night.

Back in Ed’s yard

One of my jobs is to guide Jim on the trailer. He can do this himself, it just helps to watch that he stops where he needs to be. I also put on the window covering, the flags, the banners and help with whatever Jim needs help with. I guide him with hitching up but sometimes not so very good. 🙂

The “train” is ready to go one last time for the summer.

 Looks like Ed’s ready to start the 2012 seeding process!

Goodbye Square Butte and Central Montana. I hope to see you again one day!

 I’m driving the dually, pulling the car trailer with the service pickup on that.

Mission complete

by nebraskawheatie

Nebraska Countryside – green, green and more green!

We made it home about 5:00 this evening! The first load back was a success.

After a not so peaceful night of sleep, Jim woke me up at 7:30 to tell me we should probably get going.  The restaurant/bar next to the truck stop was blasting some sort of noise until after 2:00 a.m.. I honestly think I could become a rock star if that’s all the better I had to be. I wondered how anyone could make “music” like that and people listen to it – guess I’m just getting old!

At 4:30 a.m., it started to rain and the north wind began to blow. I reached for one of the blankets that I had folded up earlier in the evening. It went from hot and muggy to cool and rainy. The cold front just continued to follow us south.  So, when Jim woke me up by calling me (he sleeps in the cab of the Pete when we’re on the road – I in my bed in the trailer) to tell me he thought we should probably get going, I wasn’t a happy camper. “You look grouchy”, he says. “I AM grouchy!”, I say back.  On top of all the happenings during the night, my body’s used to it being 6:30 NOT 7:30 and all I wanted to do was stay in bed where it was warm. McDonald’s coffee sure tasted good this morning 🙂

We had one minor event during the day and that was all. When we stopped in Schuyler for fuel, Jim noticed one of the tires on the header trailer had very little tread left on it. So, he changed it before it could create more problems when it blew.

When we get home, it’s so overwhelming! The yard is in good shape – thanks Matt! The weeds did have a heyday, though. I may start pulling a few of the larger ones tomorrow…maybe. There’s more dead bugs in the house than ever before and the spiders and their webs are everywhere. Makes me wonder why I think it’s important to clean the house before we leave in the spring.

I guess we’ll spend the day tomorrow doing whatever we can.  On Monday, we’re going to take the family and go to the Nebraska State Fair for the day.  We haven’t been there in a lot of years because we’re usually still in Montana. On Tuesday, we’ll be headed back to Denton to get the combine and the two pickup trucks we left up there.

Now that we’re home, harvest and being away just doesn’t even feel like it happened. I was trying to remember all the events of the summer as I was driving home. One year, when Jamie was fairly little, she hated having to leave the trailer so bad, she decided she was just going to stay in it. She did for a couple of days but then moved back to the house. What’s wrong with us? I love summer, I love seeing friends along the route, I love being with my family, I love being on the road, I love my cottage on wheels – I just love harvest! Only 9 more months to go and we can do it all over again.

“Tracy, you got your camera handy?” “No, why?” “Here’s something you don’t see everyday – a mobile haystack.”

This is a park just south of O’Neill. We’ve tried stopping here nearly every year when we can. We used to try to make it specifically to this park while on the road because it has a decent shower house. It’s a very nice place to take a break!

Pete and my cottage on wheels.

Some happy Nebraska cows!

A Nebraska highway.

Nebraska crops - soybeans on top of the hill, corn at the bottom.

Looks like paint on his head, it’s blood. He hit his head on something while changing the tire on the header trailer.

Changing the tire.

Back in Husker land!

by nebraskawheatie

The above picture is of main street Valentine, Nebraska.

Just a brief note tonight. We left Broadus about 7:30 this a.m. and headed south. Stopped in Belle Fourche, SD for breakfast and then never stopped again til Valentine, NE. Another night of sleeping in a parking lot. This time in the truck lot at the station on the south edge of town. Walked to a restaurant for supper. Sitting in the McDonalds using their wifi. Should be home tomorrow. FYI – last night I had several extra blankets on the bed. Tonight … the extra blankets are being put away. What a difference in weather! Nice to still feel the warmth of summer but I have a feeling I’m NOT going to like being back to the humidity that home has to offer!

Bear Butte – Near Sturgis, SD

Me and my love of old buildings. This is an abandoned home along the highway somewhere in South Dakota.

The vast South Dakota scenery…NOTHINGNESS!

We go through several of these deep river basins. All of them had been flooded this spring.

I really debated on whether or not I should share this photo with the world. This is what being on the road, without a shower or even brushing your teeth for a couple of days will do to you 🙂

He was a magnificent looking cat – HUGE! I wanted to take him home with me.

And, by the way, remember me saying something about watching for loaded combines? There’s one in the lot tonight!! Makes me feel like we’re still on harvest.

Mark’s story

by nebraskawheatie

God puts people into your paths at the most unusual and unsuspecting times!

When we began this harvesting adventure, Jim’s Dad went with us as the hired man for the first two years that we headed down the road. We loved having Grandpa with us and it was the BEST times and memories for Jamie and Jenna (all of us, really). Grandpa was there every day, watching the girls’ teeth being pulled, the first time riding a bike with no training wheels and there at the end of the day for a hug and a lap to sit in.

It was the third year of this adventure that we decided we’d make it a longer summer and maybe we should find someone to go with us rather than Grandpa. I remember Jim telling me, “I don’t know this kid personally but I know of him and I think he’d be good to take along-he likes equipment”. Mark was 16 when that conversation took place. I remember going to the store his mom owned to suggest the idea of Mark going along with us for the summer. Linda wasn’t real excited about the idea at first but after coming to our home and talking over the situation and what was to be expected, I think she was a little less concerned. Mark is the youngest of three boys so I can understand her hesitation of letting him take off at that age. Mark’s dad had passed away when he was 8 years old from a virus that attacked his heart. Before he could get a heart transplant, he passed away. Mark was the kind of kid that wasn’t afraid to try something and really wanted to go along with us. That probably helped with his mom’s decision.

268794_1891469731153_1373792497_31836574_7916650_nThe first summer he went with us, Grandpa also went. So, I had two men, a 16 year old boy and two young daughters to take care of. I didn’t mind the job, it was the rain that confined us for 30 days in Norton, KS that nearly drove me crazy. Seriously! I needed some adult female conversation and companionship in a bad way! Every day, there three men (almost) and two little girls sitting in my trailer just waiting for something to eat – nearly as soon as they had been fed one meal. I can laugh about it now but it wasn’t so funny at the time.

Mark became one of the family. He fought with Jamie and Jenna, just like an older brother. He was involved in our daily lives and fit in pretty well. There were times I think he and Jim probably felt like would like to kill each other but all in all, it worked out well. So, it wasn’t a surprise to us when he voiced his wanting to go on harvest with us the next summer. Grandpa didn’t go with us after the summer of ’92. Mark had finished his junior year of high school prior to that summer harvest. He had his own trailer house and probably felt like a big shot harvester by then. 🙂

080Mark had made the decision of going along with us again for the third summer in 1994. He was a senior in high school when on the morning of April 1, he got word from his school administration that he needed to go home. His mom had complained of a headache that morning before he left for school. He told her goodbye before she decided that she needed to go lay back down for a while. She never woke up. It was determined that she had had a brain aneurism. My heart broke for him and his brothers! I can remember telling Jim that Mark needed to come live with us. When Mark’s dad passed away, Linda had appointed some friends of the family as guardians of any minor children in the event something happened to her. So, Mark had a family to live with and call home.

That summer was a tough one on Mark. We sat on the tailgate of the pickup many nights just talking and crying. Someone else claimed guardianship but Mark had become a part of our family two summers prior to that horrible event. God knew the plan that was being laid out for Mark and the Zeorian’s that very first summer!

Mark bought his own combine in 1995 and went on harvest as a partner with one of our friends for several summers. Until he met Candi and they were married. After they got married, Mark and Candi bought the local convenient store and made that work for quite some time. Three years ago, however, he sold the store and went to work for the local New Holland dealer. His heart really desired to remain involved with agriculture. As with Jim, Mark is a farmer at heart with no farm to farm. He also suffers from the same harvesting addiction that so many of us do.

img_01181As soon as he started selling the yellow combines, Mark tried convincing Jim to change colors and give the yellow one a try. Well, you can see he eventually won out because of the color change we made this spring. Mark and his family just spent their second year working for the New Holland Harvest Support team. Now, he and his family follow the harvest trail from TX to ND with the ripening wheat offering help to those of us New Holland combine owners. He’s following his own harvest adventure and I’m so very proud of him and all that he’s accomplished! Mark is still one to make things happen. He doesn’t know the word “no” or “impossible”. His level of persistence can sometimes get aggravating but it’s what has made him who he is and I wouldn’t want him any other way! I love ya, Mark!

Mark and Candi have two little girls, Brooklyn and Jillian, who call me Grandma and that’s just ok with me! They are the cutest darn girls in the whole world and loved whole heartedly by all of the Zeorian family. They were even flower girls in Jamie and Curt’s wedding in April.

img_6239 (2)Harvest can sometimes be more than just the adventure of heading down the highways from state to state – it can be a life changing event. I honestly believe people are put into our lives for a reason. What could be a better way to be involved in someone’s life than with harvest? Harvest is working together every day, working towards the same goal, and promoting team work. One job is not more important than the other. Harvest has put a variety of people in our lives and we’re blessed because of the experiences. I’m so thankful God put Mark and his family into our lives!

img_3487 (1)All the girls – left to right – Brook, Taylor, Jamie, Jillian, Jenna & Callie

img_01052 (1)Breakfast in Deerfield, KS with the NH Harvest Support guys.

198Disney World – Orlando, FL

The Happiest Place on Earth!

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  • img_01001Taylor, Brook & Jillian horsing around inside the trailer house.
  • 263429_1891460050911_1373792497_31836525_504397_nMark and his girls!

Gettin ‘er ready for the road leading home.

by nebraskawheatie

We got started on the big job of cleaning the combine today. We waited for the latter part of the day simply because it was fairly warm here today and there was no breeze. When we decided to start, the air was cooler and there were a few clouds in the sky. That certainly helps when you’re subjected to the elements and the tiny, little wheat chaff and dirt clings to anything it can. Jim said he was glad that big job was done – cleaning the header. I told him I didn’t think it was that bad. He said I would if I had to do it all myself. Yeah, I suppose you’re right! I tried picking and pulling as much of the straw out of the areas that I could while he used the air hose and blew out as much as he could.

Today, I felt like I was a caretaker of the lawn. Because we’re parked right in the middle of what feels like a park, I felt like I should water the patches of the grass that were beginning to need a drink. I moved the sprinkler around most of the day. When I finally moved it for the last time and came in the trailer, I told Jim I felt like a homeowner with a real yard to water. I haven’t moved a sprinkler around like that probably since I was a kid. My dad took great pains in taking care of our yard when we were growing up. We had a beautiful lawn! We learned that the spot of dirt under the tree was NOT there for Barbie or GI Joe to be having a campout in…or for the toy dirt haulers!! So, I just expected that everyone had a nice yard like that. I was wrong! Jim is not one to keep a perfect lawn. I also learned 20+ years ago, that you better just like the dandelions that are growing. I finally convinced him one spring to spray the dandelions – the flowers died too. So, I’ve learned to endure the dandelions because that means I still have my flowers to admire.

When I leave in May, my yard is beautiful! The flowers are all in bloom, the yard is green (including the dandelions) and there are no weeds. Now, when I get home, it will be a different story. The weeds will  have won the battle over the summer months. If having dandelions isn’t bad enough for our neighbors! I do have to give a huge thank you to Jamie, Jenna and my brother, Matt, for mowing the acre of yard that we have. If it weren’t for them, the neighbors would REALLY hate us. Thanks, guys!!!

Even though Jim’s got the feederhouse safety block down (the red thing under the feederhouse), I still get a little concerned while we’re working under the header. I personally knew someone 30 years ago that had only been married 6 months. Her husband was a farmer and used the shade of the header for eating his lunch. The header fell on top of him and killed him. I think of that every time we’re working under the head.

The time of day when the long shadows begin to take place. Can you make out what the shadow is?

Tracy, “Jim, why didn’t you tell me to wear my boots tonight?” Jim, “You hate it when I tell you to do something!” Geez, I really dislike having the wheat beards and cheat grass get between my socks and my feet! Seems like I’m picking that stuff out of my socks several times a day because it starts working into my skin and it hurts!

And the hunt begins…

by nebraskawheatie

On the hunt…for more acres to cut, that is. It always sounds like such an easy plan – make some phone calls, talk to the locals, drive from town to town, etc. Sometimes, though, it’s easier said than done. When the wheat’s cut, it’s cut! The Denton area is looking pretty bleak for finding more acres. So, the decision would be now to move to a different area or get your mind geared towards the fact that the summer wheat harvest may be over. We still have plenty of time to be out here cutting more wheat before fall harvest is ready but would we have enough time after moving equipment to another destination? I know all these things are swirling around the inside of Captain Combine’s (Jim) head. It will take us two trips to get everything home and we’re already close to 1,000 miles away. Yesterday afternoon, we created some flyers to hang up in stores, elevators and gas stations. We took a drive to surrounding communities and placed them where we hoped the right person might see it. So far, we haven’t received any calls.  Unfortunately, the weather’s too good. Maybe if there was rain in the forecast things would be different. I took just a few pictures of the elevators we stopped at: Denton, MT elevator

Moccasin, MT elevator

Oh, geez, Jim…did you REALLY need another cap??

 Moore, MT elevator

We were invited for supper at Terry and Coke’s house – if we made it back in time. We weren’t gone that long so we headed north of Denton for supper. On the way to their house, I convinced Jim to stop and let me get out to look at the old school house that was near our destination. I love looking at these old buildings but it gives me a sense of sadness to think how alive they used to be at one time. These buildings once meant so much to someone. When I visited with Coke about the school, she said one of the teacher’s that taught there was planning to come visit the building one day very soon – she’s 93. Oh…the stories she would tell. I wish I was there when she walked into that building again after so many years have passed! Supper was really yummy but the visit with friends was outstanding!

And the heat begins…again

by nebraskawheatie

Today was a reminder that it is still summer – even in Montana! I’m not sure how hot it got today and it certainly wasn’t anything we experienced in OK or KS this summer BUT it was hot in the sun. There was no wind so the dirt just swirled around the back of the truck while I unloaded it. Needless to say, the mixture of the wheat dirt and sweat really makes for an itchy day. A shower is next in order!

Today was a little different simply because we were visited by a familiar face! Mark Rathe with the New Holland Harvest Support was able to fly to Lewistown from Bismarck and deliver some  parts that were needed for us and for another NH customer. He visited us first, we had lunch with him and his pilot and they were on their way to the next stop. I got a call from him late afternoon and he was already back to Bismarck. Thank you, New Holland and Mark for the outstanding support you provide!!!

We’re just shy a few acres from being done with the winter wheat. The spring wheat is still just a little green and could certainly use the heat the next few days intend on delivering. My only hope is that if we have to deal with the heat, a little wind would be helpful. The Canadian geese are flying over the camper this evening. I think they probably know the heat we’re going to experience is temporary and they’re headed for their winter home. Already? Why must summer go so dog gone fast?

The girls started school on Thursday. I really miss them and it will be good to be all together again when we’re finished.  It’s the school schedule and the time being set by someone else that I don’t like about the end of summer. I love how our days are determined by something other than the clock on the wall and a schedule. If it’s sunny, we cut wheat. If it’s raining or green, we have time off to do what we can’t do when the sun is shining. Most days, I don’t even know what day of the week it is – let alone what time it is. I bet the girls are missing this schedule, as well. But, once we get home and back into the routine of “home, home”,  summer wheat harvest will feel like a dream. Unfortunately!

I got a new camera so the pictures can continue. I used it a little bit today but the battery didn’t last long so not many pictures to share with you today. The battery is on the charger getting ready for another day.

Ed, our farmer, servicing his combine and getting ready for the day.

Jim had to back down into the field today because of the gate and the field entrance.

img_0008This is the grain bin that I climbed yesterday and told you about.

Crossing a brand new bridge. The old one was washed away this spring from the flooding they experienced. The bridge didn’t give us problems, it was the marking posts. They were exactly lined up with the guide wheels on the header. I had to help Jim maneuver through the maze.