Tag Archives: writing

Templeton at the fair

by nebraskawheatie

Before I explain the mention of Templeton, I’d like to go back to Sunday. As you know, we pulled into our driveway about 5:30 on Saturday evening. The next morning, I got a text from Jamie, “I made coffee and going after donuts”. Well, she knew she’d get both of us with that one! So, once again, we headed north to Louisville and got there just in time to see Curt heading to work. Sorry Curt! It was good to just sit around the table in their kitchen. We were all together again and it felt so good.

As the morning turned to noon, Jim decided he and I needed to make a trip to the shed to get his Toyota pickup. So, we left the girls to the job Jamie had planned for them – painting her bedroom. Once we got to the shed and drove the pickup out, we realized he’d had a critter claim the glove box and left a well designed nest made from materials such as the registration and insurance cards, string, and whatever else it could find in the pickup. Didn’t smell real good, though. Hope those critters don’t figure out how to get in the “cottage on wheels” this winter! They’d really have a grand time making the place their own.

On our way home, we stopped for a little more visiting. Had to see what was going on with Trish and Larry. Larry had minor back surgery just a couple of weeks ago so needed to get caught up on the doings at their house. We probably sat there at least 2 1/2 hours – just like we didn’t have anything else to do. I think both of us were putting off the work that needed to get done at home.

Once we made it back to the home place, Jim unloaded some of Frank and then decided the Pete needed a washing before we headed north again. We were rained on just enough on the way home to make EVERYTHING a grimy mess! While he did that, I got a few loads of laundry started and began the process of pulling weeds from the gardens. I was able to get the entire East side of the house back in order. At least when we go in the house from that door, I won’t have them staring at me. However, I certainly paid for my “strenuous” workout the next day! Sucks getting old!!! Back to Louisville for supper – pizza from Pizza Hut.

This brings us to yesterday – Monday – Happy Labor Day! Jim and I got up early and loaded what necessities we’d need for our trip in the Pete and headed for Grand Island. We hadn’t been to the State Fair in quite a few years and wanted to see how different it was being in Grand Island rather than Lincoln. The girls and Curt met us there. My brother, Matt, had been working the RFDtv booth all weekend and once he was done telling everyone, “yes, that really is Trigger and Bullet”, he met up with us and walked around. And, as the video portrays, we all turned into Templeton’s yesterday. Between all of us, we had prime rib sandwiches, bbq beef sandwiches, hand squeezed lemonade, cotton candy, funnel cakes, kettle corn, turkey leg, Ginny grinder, more cotton candy and more funnel cakes…almost forgot the corn dogs. THEN, the kids decided they wanted to go on one ride before we parted ways. Jamie, Callie and I opted for the wimpy ride – the ferris wheel – while the daring ones (Curt, Matt, Jenna and Taylor) opted for the “ring of fire”. I wish you could have seen the faces of the ones that rode the ring. A little white, a little nauseous. I don’t think the combination of funnel cakes, turkey legs and “ring of fire” set too well. The wimpy ones survived easily.  We parted ways. Jim and I headed north and the rest of them headed home.

The first night spent in our travelling Hilton was in O’Neill – at the park I told you about a couple days ago. Today was spent driving the same road north that we just finished driving south.  We met quite a few trucks loaded with hay and several loaded combines. Every time I’d see a combine I’d get a little excited cuz they had been in my world – the harvest world.  However, once we got to the South Dakota interstate, we headed west and went through Rapid City before venturing north to Belle Fourche. Remember the restaurant I told you Jim really likes to make a stop at? We ate an early supper at the Belle Inn Restaurant. Drove into the Broadus weigh station for the 5th time this summer and are now spending the night in the truck parking lot in Miles City. This place is full of trucks tonight and we picked the empty slot between two “reefers”. On…off…on…off and so on. Thank goodness for ear plugs!

I will share a few of our fair highlights but if you want to see all the pictures, I will have them posted on the Zeorian Harvesting & Trucking Facebook page.

The first purchase of the morning. A corn dog.

 Miniature replica of the NH harvest support truck.

I think Callie’s the only one that saw us waiting for them.

The girls are showing off their new “tats”.

This is how harvest equipment used to look.

Can you believe they paid $6 a bag for that?

Taking a much needed break! The fair was starting to wear on us at this point.

Left to right: Jamie, Taylor, Callie & Jenna

Jamie and Callie pretty excited for our ride on the Ferris Wheel.

Maybe now they’re not so excited. Both of them don’t really like heights very well. By the time it was over, though, they’d conquered their fear and were enjoying themselves.

The gang – after the “ring of fire” and the ferris wheel.  I even made it in the pic – see the shadow?

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!

Facing the inevitable

by nebraskawheatie

I took the above picture because the thunderhead was so large and so beautiful. It missed the town of Denton and I think it probably kept moving east and north. It made me think of the large thunderheads we see in the southern states which usually means severe storms and/or tornadoes and hail. I don’t think this cloud had any of that. And, a cloud like that usually puts on a tremenous light show – this one did not. It was good to see a reminder of the summer storms, though.

Now, the pictures I’m showing you next are the trees that I mentioned in an earlier posting. These are the 100 year old trees that the town of Denton is tearing down for progress…new sidewalks, curbs and highway.  When they’re gone, it will give the town a whole different look!


Along main street, there is an old bank. Jim’s been inside and told me I should go back in when they’re open and take a good picture of what it looks like. For now, I took a picture through the window:

Our trailer sits on the west edge of town. We walked to the farthest east edge of town to the football field. I’m guessing that’s a little more than a mile. The geese are flying-heading south. I think they must be stopping in the fields around here for something to eat. When we got to the football field, an older gentleman was outside of his home with his dog. We stood there for quite some time visiting with him and listening to his life story. Very interesting! We figured he was probably about 80 after thinking about dates he talked about. This town is full of the nicest people! Jim just says it over and over again how nice everyone is. By the time we got back to the trailer it was getting pretty dark.

This morning, we decided that we’d better take a trip to Geraldine. A friend of ours had suggested we go there and talk to a person about whether or not it looked like we could find more acres there to cut before heading home. So, we loaded up in the dually and set out. Geraldine is near Square Butte and the scenery was gorgeous. The next two pictures reminded me of the badlands of South Dakota (you can click on the pictures if you’d like to look at a larger photo):

When we arrived in Geraldine, it took all of five minutes to scope out the town. I happened to see the Geraldine Train Depot but didn’t say anything. We found the place we needed to go ask about wheat acres. Jim found out there wasn’t much going on and what little spring wheat there was, was still a ways off from being ripe. Didn’t sound like the news we were hoping for. I asked Jim if he’d take me by the depot so I could get a couple of pictures:

After leaving Geraldine, we got back on the highway and headed south again. When we got to the “town” of Square Butte, I wanted to read the historical sign that was along the highway. After reading it, we decided to see if we could get closer to this jail the sign was talking about – which we did:

After looking at the jailhouse, we opted to take a tour of Square Butte, population of less than 100. We drove by the school house and I could just hear the chaos of the kids and the fun they would have had in that yard. The date above the door is 1918. It looks like it has been turned into a place you could stay. Possibly for hunters? I tried the door but it was locked.

The white building looked like it could have been a business at one time. The town of Square Butte sits at the base of the landform also named Square Butte. Square Butte (the landform) juts 2,400 feet above the surrounding plains and can be seen 70-80 miles away.

After our tour of the big town of Square Butte, we got back on the highway and headed south again. Now, these next couple of pictures were the source of a little spat between me and Jim – which NEVER happens…yeah, right 🙂 I wanted to take a picture of the railroad bridge with Square Butte  in the background. Ok, so he didn’t stop when I said for him to stop. Since there was absolutely no one on the highway, I figured he’d back up and let me get the picture I wanted. Instead, he went forward. Ok…forget it, I said, just go on. Nope, he was going to make sure I got the picture I wanted so he turned around. This is the result of the spat: Now, off to the right of the above picture, you can see a rock that sort of looks like it’s sticking up off the track. Jim was intrigued with this rock formation so we got off the highway and took a few pictures of it:

“Now what?”, I ask. Jim says, “Now I’m going to take you to Lewistown”. Well, I’ve been married long enough to him to know if he does something, it’s usually because HE wants to do it. So, I said, “Ok, but what are we going to do in Lewistown?” If you know Jim well enough, food is something that’s on his mind quite often…AND…it was nearly lunch time. So, he says, “we’ll have lunch and whatever else we want to do”. Well, I figured if he wanted to go to Lewistown, that was ok with me cuz we’d been in the trailer house for the past two days hoping someone would call wanting us to cut more wheat. Guess what else we got to do while in Lewistown – we went to Don’s Sporting Goods and checked out their line of guns and then to the pawn shop across the street. Went to Pamida, got gas and ice and headed north towards Denton. I figured that was the end of our excursion, but I was wrong. Since we were here last year, I had heard that driving to the top of Judith Peak was something we should do. So, he decided today was the day he was going to take me there. I knew it was something he probably really didn’t want to do because he doesn’t like to drive on gravel roads any more than he has to, but he did it. It WAS worth the trip:

There were several places where the road had washed away from the flooding they experienced this spring. In one spot the road was completely gone – nothing but a hole where there must have been a bridge or culvert.

The view from the top of the peak which has an elevation of 6,400 ft.

In the 1950’s and 1960’s the U.S. Air Force operated a radar station on top of Judith Peak. We also went by the buildings that would have once been a military area. Seems a shame they’re all sitting there empty now.

A fun fact…the Judith River was named by William Clark of the Lewis and Clark Expedition. He named it after his distant cousin, Julia (Judith) Hancock, whom he had met years before the expedition. He married her 16 months after they returned. I am related to Julia on my dad’s side of the family. I’m assuming the Judith Mountains were named after the river which flows near here.

The final picture I have is the red dog house that sits at the corner of the intersection of the highway south of Hilger, MT (which goes into Lewistown) and the road that goes east to the Judith Peak. I don’t know if I’m going to tell the story exactly right but I’ll try. According to the story, someone dumped a dog off at this intersection. It stayed there waiting for its owner to come back and get it. There is a home near this intersection. The people who live in this home fed and watered the dog and eventually built the dog house so he would have a place to go. After the dog died – probably of a broken heart – the landowners left the dog house on the corner. I think Paul Harvey did a story about this but I couldn’t find it on the internet.

Now, to explain the title of this post. We will not be cutting any more wheat this summer and I must face the inevitable – going home. Jim said he had some minor repairs to do on trucks, some servicing and he wants to clean everything up at a leisurely pace. So, the feelings I explained in my previous posting will begin and will continue until we’ve got everything “home home” and the new “normal” begins.

My silly dream

by nebraskawheatie

I remembered a dream I had last night – a silly dream to most of you, I’m sure.

I dreamed that winter was already over and the girls and I were starting to pack our trailer house – preparing for the summer wheat harvest. That time of year is such an anticipated time in our lives. We live by events rather than months. First, it’s the end of summer harvest, Thanksgiving, Christmas, USCHI convention and then harvest is just around the corner. There’s birthdays and anniversaries to celebrate too, but above all it’s the summer harvest that motivates us to get through that winter mode.

So, last night when I dreamed that we were getting ready for harvest, I remember being happy that winter was already over and  it was time to get ready to go again. I wish I could explain to you what it means to be home in the fall – out of our little home on wheels and back in “real” life. Harvest is stressful and does tend to wear on a person’s nerves at times but overall it’s us, it’s our life, it’s what we enjoy, it’s an addiction!

I sit here in the trailer house beginning to realize that the end of being on the road is coming much faster than I want it to. The girls are already home and that gives me a reason to want to go home. But, the end of what we look forward to all year long is about to become a reality. I know the girls can relate to what it is I’m TRYING to explain to you and can’t. Words just  can’t effectively explain what it is that I go through every year when it’s time to think about heading for home. Maybe it’s the time we, as a family, spend together that I’ll miss. Maybe it’s working together towards that final end result (a job well done and it took all of us to do). Maybe it’s not knowing what day it is or what’s happening in the news. Maybe it’s the simpler way of life. Maybe…hmmm…I just can’t pinpoint what it is that I’m trying to say. I’m saddened by the fact that the past 100 days has already come and gone.

No more of the excitement of being on road and reaching our destination with a job to do. The last time I “take down” the stuff in the trailer house and the last time we load that combine and the last time I see a wheat field will break my heart. It’s the let down I experience every summer when wheat harvest is over that I don’t look forward to. Going home means being involved in a different world. When I think about the world we are about to immerse ourselves back into, it makes me appreciate the time I’ve had with my family these past 100 days. We are truly blessed because we live in a trailer house for 100 days following the ripening wheat north. We are fortunate to have been a part of so many different people’s lives, places and events. But most of all, we’re blessed to have been a part of the segment of agriculture that has become the cornerstone in the foundation of our family. Only those of you who live our life understand what it is I’m trying to explain.