We’ve been busy! The days have been long. It’s the time when you regret feeling bad for sitting due to rain. I know…this probably doesn’t make any sense to you. Maybe I can explain a bit better. When it’s raining and you know the wheat needs cut, you think about not being in the field. Now, we’ve been busy every day. The day starts at 7:00 a.m. and doesn’t stop until at least 12:30. BIG days! Good, right? Yes, but I’m starting to get tired. I think everyone is. But as soon as the combines fire up and the reels are pushing that wheat into the header, all signs of being tired are gone. It’s like the first day all over again. And…it helps working with good people. Great people! Until I have enough time to get all the pictures I want to share with you (and the stories), I’ll have to leave you with just this video from yesterday. I think we may be finished with this amazing wheat crop tomorrow or Saturday. (I think we’ve been able to get almost 350 acres cut per day.) Then, I’ll catch up. But until then…I’m feelin a bit behind!
Tag Archives: wheat harvest
back to work (video)
The diagonal markings in the wheat are chisel marks. At some point during this wheat’s growing season, the wind blew. It blew so hard it covered the brand new fence that was on the south side of the field. It blew right down the rows and left the wheat plant in place. How the wheat survived and why it didn’t blow out cannot be answered. And even more than that – how did it raise 60 bushel wheat? Apparently, as Jack said, “we don’t need topsoil to grow wheat”. They chiseled this field while the wind was blowing hoping the ridges created would help minimize the blowing.
Yes…we DID get back to work! The sun was shining yesterday (July 19) with all its glory and there was heat. And we cut wheat!
doesn’t that just figure!
This is the storm that began our four-day raincation. We left this field on Monday evening and haven’t been back since.
There was something foreign in the sky this morning when we got up.
It was the sun.
Monday evening was the last time we were in the field. And, if you remember, we left it just prior to the rain because the moisture went up and the storm moved in all at the same time.
let the games begin
There’s one thing I can say about wheat harvest 2014…it’s not typical.
I was given the morning off (July 14). The guys were going to be moving the equipment to the fields that used to bring us to Limon. I was told that I would have most of the morning to do what I needed to do and get lunches made. Jim would call when they needed me. No big deal…they’d be close to Limon and Taylor could take me to the field.
Sounded like a great plan. If only the wheat would have cooperated. It wasn’t quite ready.
So, I got a call telling me to go to the Pete and follow Scott to the field. Which is what I did. I didn’t look to see what time it was when we got to the field, so I’m going to guess about 1:00 or so. The combines met us there and Chad took his into the wheat to cut a sample. The moisture was a little on the high-end. Let’s give it an hour or so…HURRY UP AND WAIT!
Actually, this is one of my favorite things to do (if I don’t have anything else pressing me to get done) when we’re cutting with others. I enjoy spending time with them and learning more about the people we’re working with.
The first waiting-for-the-wheat-to-dry game was throwing rocks at the corner post and see who can hit something. It was funny how a simple rock being thrown began as a personal challenge for one and turned into a game for them all. Even Jim picked up a couple of rocks and started throwing them.
the beauty of a cloud
The pastures are so brown. This countryside is desperate for a drink.
Yesterday was nearly a full day for us. We waited for the sprinkle from the night before to dry off with the heat of the sun. I think we started just before noon and the moisture was still a little on the high-end. But, once we made a couple of rounds, it was back to a reasonable number which wasn’t necessary to be concerned about. By the time that perfect number rolled around, we were throwing dust and moving along quite nicely.
came as strangers – left as family
The days have been long.
Since my last post, we’ve moved to Limon, Colorado – higher elevation, cool nights and no biting flies (oh…and a view of Pikes Peak from the field). Since six days have already come and gone, I’ll take this one day at a time and get caught up.
distant fireworks
Yesterday we celebrated the anniversary of our Nation’s independence. I hope you did something fun and traditional.
I sent this picture to A Kansas Farm Mom after she challenged those of us in agriculture, “If you or your family is spending the holiday producing food for others, share a picture on this page. Happy Fourth of JULY!”
rambling thoughts
I began my day with sweat pants and a sweatshirt. (and sprinkles) It was July 2nd, for crying out loud!
I think it was well after noon when I finally decided the Cottage was warm enough I could put my shorts on. Who would have ever guessed? Just one more for the crazy weather of summer wheat harvest 2014!
Due to the early morning moisture and cool, cloudy conditions, there wasn’t any wheat cut. Jim did try it but it was over 15%. And that was later in the day.
So, how did we spend our day? Well, first off, Jenna showed up!! Woo hoo!! It’ll be so good to have her around for a few days. The time will go fast – it always does. I find myself thinking about different events that have happened within the past couple of years and I just can’t believe how crazy fast the times go. I hope there is something that comes from all these events and happenings because when I reflect, I think about the reasons and the purpose of being here at this exact time. I pray that what I’m doing is the reason I was placed right here, right now. Will I have done all that I was supposed to? Did I teach my kids all they should know to survive this crazy world? Will I be allowed to be a large part of my grandkids’ life? So many crazy things I find myself thinking about that I never even would have considered several years ago. Guess this comes with age, right?
what the rain prevented
It was sprinkling when we woke up this morning.
We had an additional .25 of an inch of rain last night. As I said in my last post, it came down at a nice slow pace. Not like the past several storms where the sky turned black and green and very angry with rain and hail pounding the ground. It was a relaxing rain. The day was so not like SW Kansas on July 1. We are typically faced with extreme heat and wind. So much wind you wish you could just cover your ears and make it go away (lalalalalala).
I remember one summer in particular staying in the farmer’s yard near Anthony, Kansas. The electricity wasn’t enough to pull the air conditioner in the trailer house so we had to endure the heat and the wind with the windows open. At that time, I had little kids and I wasn’t the “hired man”. I was the cook. Have you ever cooked in a trailer house that’s about 150 degrees already? And the wind just howled. I felt like I was going to go out of my mind. This one afternoon, I just closed up the windows and turned on that air conditioner just to get a break from the wind. I didn’t win the battle. The breaker clicked and I had to open the windows and endure. Until you’ve listened to wind howl like that, you can’t judge my decision. 🙂 Continue reading
we found some wheat (and mud) to cut
As I’m typing this, the pitter patter of rain is hitting the Cottage roof and I can hear thunder every once in awhile.
We were able to finally get started after lunch today. It had been over a week since the first storm rolled in. Today we cut on a piece that was under a pivot but wasn’t yielding as well as we had hoped. It certainly wasn’t the typical irrigated wheat yields for this area. I’m guessing the late season freezes probably had something to do with that. And…it didn’t help that it had hail pounding it a couple of nights ago. There were broken heads laying on the ground and wheat that had shattered. It looked like it was only going to make about 15 bushels per acre. The quality was still really good – over 60 pound test weight. Just not very much of it.