Blah - Days 3-6

Oh you wanted a harvest update...

Well there ain't been much of anything going on to speak about. It rained Wednesday afternoon and it's been cloudy, muggy, humid, dewey and any other wet phenomenon you can think of since. The guys cut a couple truckloads tonight...but it was really too wet to be cutting.

We keep hoping the sun will shine and summer will return and we can finish our harvest and move on. This state of limbo is driving us all bonkers.

Day 2 - slow start again

Today was a bit frustrating at first. Jarrod and I took off at noon from work and made it out to the field in half an hour. BUT no one else was in a hurry. Part of it was the weather and part of it is lack of communication. It was overcast all morning, humid, no wind. I don't imagine that the wheat, nor the straw was super dry. But some individuals were cutting before noon. So Jarrod and I thought we could too. After all, there is chances of rain the next few days - why not cut as much as you can while you can? Wrong.
Jarrod ended up planting some milo, so his vacation time away from work was not wasted. I ended up catching a ride back to town and going back to the office for the rest of the afternoon. Which was good I suppose but not really where I was hoping to be this afternoon. A simple phone call could have made the middle of the day go smoother with less wasted time. Gotta make the most of the time you have!
Now it's 6:10 pm and I'm waiting on Jarrod to pick me up at the house. I guess the guys decided to fire up the combines after all and had a truckload cut by the time Jarrod finished the patch of planting he was on. So he's going to pick me up after dumping that load. I hope we get to work late tonight and cut more wheat before the rain moves in - but it's already visible on the radar so I'm not getting my hopes up.
I don't imagine I'll get any good photos tonight - although - time permitting - the opportunity for a challenge could present itself - night harvest pictures could be cool if I can get the technicalities figured out! Speaking of technicalities - I just have to add that I'm a computer whiz! Becca got Internet installed at her house today and the installer could not get her computer working. So she called me! I was able to narrow down the problem and fix it remotely! I rock! Don't expect that to happen so good the next time! :)
Yep there's my ride...

con't...
So we did get to finally bring a few truckloads of wheat to town. Jarrod was totally pumped for some reason to drive the trucks...and the grain cart was not needed on that patch...so I was riding shotgun most of the night. That was alright though because my friend Amy hooked us up with a handful of candy at the elevator!

Day 1

I got our first load of wheat to the elevator today around 4...last one around 10. Minimal amount of problems today. Jarrod was leaving a wheat trail underneath the grain cart for awhile. John couldn't get his combine started at first (and then later broke some chain in it). I got a truck stuck in some mud and Jarrod had to pull me out. But all small and fixable. Knock on wood.

The 40 acre patch we cut of Jarrod and I's wheat made 33 bu/acre I think Jarrod said. Not bad. Not great. Won't complain. I think John's little 15-acre patch made close to the same just judging by the truckloads we hauled off it.

Random remembrances:

• It seems most all of our neighbors are full-speed ahead in their cutting as well. The roads and the elevator were fairly busy today.
• One of our neighbors jack-knifed their semi in a curve. They must have got it out fairly quickly, because by the next time I came through, they were gone and all I could see were the ruts.
• It was nice that the elevator had so many workers keeping things moving along and with a minimal amount of grumbling.
• I only had to pee in the field once today!
• Gotta remember the sunscreen tomorrow - I think I got my burn today - can't have anymore burn tomorrow.

Notable Photos:

Harvest Journal

Harvest starts today. I'm going to try a write a little bit each day about what happens day to day during the Heinze harvest. Matthew had his baby over the weekend, so I'll be the main truck driver this year. I am looking forward to the change of pace - getting out of the office in the afternoons and into the sunshine each day. I hope the weather cooperates and we can get the wheat cut smoothly and quickly. I woke up energized this morning, did my workout, and in an hour I can head to the field. I'll take some harvest pictures and post them on here for you!