Finding contentment in harvest

Hubs up flying back home

The sun winks sleepily in golden orange rays before bursting over the horizon to start the morning. Frost highlights every blade of grass in silver, muting the vibrant emerald green as a light, cold wind tickles the trees. Soybeans, tall and unbending, take on a pale silver hue waiting for the sun’s rays to chase the frost away.

I love frosty mornings. It’s cold enough to make you appreciate the warmth of the truck cab but not that biting, nipping cold usually found in the dead of winter. And it makes the hot coffee all the more precious. I have found myself half way to the truck before realizing I’d left my coffee back in the house on the counter. You know I ran back to the house to snatch up that mug of morning happiness.

Learning the hard way is not always fun but when it’s a heavy frost morning and I parked the combine facing north or west; I learned quickly it pays to always park it facing east. A gunky, wet windshield makes bean dust stick quite well. Even after I’ve wiped it down. Uff da.

Up hill at this point

This week defined in one word: content. It’s nice to be back and combining the gently rolling hills, seeing the beans fill up tank after tank in my combine.  And I always enjoy working with my dad.

Finding contentment in harvest is tricky, especially this season. A late frost, almost the middle of October, and six inches of rain a couple weeks prior combine with the nice weather to delay the start of harvest. I was asked ‘aren’t you worried about getting harvest done with this late start and the occasional rain popping up?’

Well, I figure I could get myself all worked up with worry and anxiety. I’ll be honest, I don’t know if I ever not worry and get anxious but I do try my best to not let it get the better of me. Harvest is a season and a time to give thanks that all your hard work is coming to fruition. And it will end. I much prefer the me that enjoys the harvest, the day working to get as many acres off possible without leaving beans behind to the me that is wound tight with worry and anxiety and dreads the work day. And I sleep better when the worry is limited to a small box (not an extra-large) that I carry with me, metaphorically.

I hope you can be content this harvest and enjoy what your land has produced. It may be less or more than you expected depending on the weather. But the harvest is always more than if you hadn’t planted in spring, right?

There are more photos over on my Instagram and Facebook, should you be curious. :)

May your week be content, the frost light and the bushels heavy.

Needs more beauty sleep apparently. Photo credit to hubs