Another Harvest Update

Hi Everbody!

Harvest continues to roll along around here without too many major hiccups. We finished on the rented land of ours (me and Jeff) this past Thursday, and moved back over to Prairie Sun Farms to continue on with Tom and Carol's spring wheat.

In between finishing our own winter wheat and spring wheat, we were over there to cut Tom and Carol's barley crop. It was a really good crop, and I am a little disappointed I didn't get myself in gear and get some photos of the barley. I have none of the actual crop. I do have some of the barley straw, however.  The guys decided to cut the barley so that the combine left the straw in wind rows, so it could be baled. So, our harvest was filled with a little bit of baling barley straw in the mornings as well. The barley straw will be used as bedding and perhaps feed for the cows.

My very uneducated guess is that there is about a week to ten days left of cutting spring wheat at Tom and Carol's, but I could be way off.  Things change quickly, anyway. If there is one thing I have learned living around here is that plans change in a moment and you have to be ready to react to any eventuality. Especially during harvest.

I have been continuing to help out as needed: helping move vehicles, driving truck a little, and cooking meals.  A big part of harvest, and farming in general, is keeping the operational side of things moving along in the house. Cooking, cleaning, laundry, etc. During other times of the year, a lot of these tasks are actually split fairly equally between me and Jeff. During busy times, like harvest, I do a lot more of that type of thing. These tasks can seem menial, but I know that Jeff is a lot more productive if he has been fed and is wearing clean clothes.  When I see the bushels of our wheat in the truck or the auger, I remind myself that while my time was not always spent directly working with the crop, my efforts definitely helped with the successful harvest.

Here's a few more photos to check out:

Combine at a dusty dusk.

Wind rows of barley, waiting to be baled.

Barley straw on a bluebird day!

Filling a truck.  This is Tom and Carol's spring wheat.