Where am I supposed to park the truck again?

Day 2 of Heinze Harvest ended with a bang. A good kind of bang - the lid being closed on the first bin of seed wheat saved and another truck of seed wheat parked safely in the shed so it can be binned this morning. I am cooking dinner today, so I won't get to be in on putting that seed wheat in the new bins for the first time. But it sure feels good to sit down for a few minutes and eat something other than a sandwich during harvest, so it's tater tot casserole and some brownies for dessert for dinner today. I am not as good as Jarrod's MeMaw at making a big dinner for a harvest crew, but I get a little better every year. I had the privilege of stopping at MeMaw's yesterday afternoon in the big red truck to pick up the lunch she made for us yesterday! Those cookies tasted pretty darn good!

We finished up the creek early in the afternoon yesterday and moved to John's place. We cut on it 6 or 7 hours yesterday and I think maybe we're half done. Matthew and I had a hard time keeping straight which elevator each load was supposed to go to to make the split come out right. I got to spend some time at Walkers Elevator yesterday and the girls in the office there are always so sweet. I just don't really care for backing my truck what feels like 500 million feet to an auger while all the semi's roll past me into the elevator. But I'm so much better at backing that truck now than I was the first time they made me do it a few years ago!

We had a little excitement there at Walkers on one of my trips to town - it must have been rush hour! There was 2 semis, me and another truck on my side of the highway waiting to go on the scale. Probably 2 semis and 3 or 4 trucks on the other side of the highway waiting to go on the scale and 5 trucks swirling around in the parking lot there at the various dumping areas. The manager was out running around directing traffic while the fire sirens were going off. 2 trucks full of volunteer firefighters and then the big tanker truck and an SUV full of emergency people all came flying south between all of the waiting trucks. Never did hear if there was a bad fire somewhere - never noticed any smoke when I was going back south to the field either. Then a combine and a header came through the middle of all that. Then about the time I got to the front of the line, some doofus tried to kill his wife and kids pulling out into the middle of all the traffic when he couldn't see what was coming for all the trucks in the way. I tried to give him hand signals and he paid attention to one of them, but I guess he got tired of waiting and tried to scoot out, but he sure picked a bad time to do it! I was cringing in my truck, hoping I didn't witness a horrible accident 20 feet away from my truck and right directly in front of the driveway to the elevator!

So I hope today is uneventful in that I don't see any more near accidents at the elevator, there are no fires for anyone harvesting anywhere and - well - I don't want to jinx anything happening smoothly on our farm so I'm gonna stop talking now! I better get to cooking or I'll never get it done in time!

It's HOT when you're sitting in line at the elevator...

We got into full-swing harvest yesterday (Thursday June 25)! I fueled the trucks on my first few trips to town and boy was it hot! The manager at the gas station said we were in a heat advisory and the heat index was 107! I believe it - that's Kansas harvest time for ya! Don't worry I put on sunscreen! I didn't really have too much time to worry about the heat, because as soon as I'd get back from town with an empty truck, I had a full one waiting to be taken back in to the elevator. I had to remember how to do all the correct shifting real fast - there was no grace period yesterday. It still gets me after doing this for probably close to 5 years now - how different the two trucks are. On one truck, you have to let the clutch clear out to the seat and just barely push the gas pedal to make it move smoothly and the other truck well you better be put on your lead boot on because you're gonna need it!

It was so hot yesterday, the asphalt was melting on the stretch of street where all the trucks turn their loads into the elevator to be probed (sample the grain for moisture and such). Some radio station fellas were trying to be nice to all us farmers working in the heat, handing out greasy pizza and lemonade there at the elevator. Greasy pizza was NOT what I wanted at 4 in the afternoon when the heat index was 107! I could have done better with 2 gatorade's instead of pizza! BUT, I took it back to my other half who spent the day planting milo (grain sorghum) in the air conditioned tractor, and he happily at the pizza in the middle of the afternoon!

I am going to be the new driving instructor this year since Becca has decided finally she's serious about learning to drive the trucks. She didn't want the guys at the elevator to laugh at her for killing it or making the sideboards bang loudly (on that truck with the tricky clutch/gas setup), so I got her out to a flat stretch in the country and made her drive a few miles back to the field. And of course, she got the thing lurching and banging just like I used to do when I first started driving. Hell, I still get the thing lurching and banging sometimes when I get in a hurry! Patience is a virtue if you are a harvest truck driver! And a good ability to handle the heat, because there is no A/C unless you enjoy the hot wind going down the highway!