Our harvest took seven days this year and we had 533 acres to cut. When we started we were down our semi truck as it was in the shop but on day three we got it back which helped a great deal. There were no breakdowns and we had our usual part time guy helping us.
A couple things were done differently this year, one we hauled all our grain to the elevator and did not “on the farm store” any. After much consideration we felt it was not profitable due to market prices to store at home. I think this is the first time since I have become a part of the farm this occurred. So the farm kid and I got off pretty lucky as we didn’t have to be in the heat with wheat dust covering us unloading trucks!
The other was that Milton didn’t drive the combine the entire time, which is where you can usually find him during harvest. 🙂 This year our 13 year old daughter drove alone for a couple fields. In the past she has driven but he always stays in with her but he felt she was responsible enough and knew what she was doing to let her take the wheel alone! Our daughter was very nervous at first but then once she tried it alone her confidence just built from there. I told her on the phone “believe me, if your dad didn’t think you could do it, he wouldn’t let you because that machine is VERY expensive.”
As her mom I was nervous but knew it was time and so I had to close off my protection side and bring the encourager side. Isn’t that what we are suppose to do with our children? Push them to some degree and watch them excel or learn from their mistakes. I am one proud momma to say the least and Dad is beaming still!
Milton has a couple more fields to plant double crop soybeans and is considering some milo in another field now. Then it will be time to catch up on all the stuff that got behind during this wheat harvest. He will also clean the equipment, make repairs or maintenance them and I think he has some work to do on the cattle pens before new ones come in the fall.
On a side note our daughter has scoliosis and June is Scoliosis Awareness Month! We wanted to include a little bit about this topic because since last fall we have learned a great deal. Our daughter currently has a 30 degree curve and the treatment is bracing. She wears a Boston style brace for 18 hours a day, in the photo below she is driving the combine wearing it and her favorite t-shirt as of right now! Obviously it’s not an easy endeavor, especially this summer with ball games but we are making it work. She understands the importance of wearing the brace to try to keep the curve from growing. This is a lifetime chronic condition that will not go away, her curve will not decrease. Our hope is that the bracing will keep it at bay and spinal fusion surgery is not needed. She will have to wear the brace until she is done growing. We are very proud of her for many reasons but how she has taken on this challenge in her life has been more than impressive to us. I can’t say if I was in her shoes I would have handled it that good.
Our grandchildren came out to ride as well which is always a highlight of harvest!
Thanks for stopping by!
Julie
In Between the Sunsets of Life 