Giving thanks for harvest end

Dressed for comfort in layers for Last Day of Harvest. PC to Dad

Inhale the frost-edged air and exhale an opaque, silvery plume. Delicate, fantastic designs swirl and dance over crisp leaves and up ramrod-straight stalks. Ears of corn rest in their husk jackets safe from the frost. Below the tassels, golden leaves pause in their gentle wave like banners frozen in a moment.

My last day of harvest for 2017 started with such a day. I had to take a couple of minutes to enjoy the novelty and wonder how frost always turns out such ethereal beauty. It gave my combine a different look, especially the windshield. As the frost retreated in the warmth of the sleepy sun it was time to begin the process of starting the combine. It most definitely grumbled to life and took its dear sweet time to warm up and defrost.

This was one of my favorite final days of harvest. Why? Well, it was such a beautiful day and I could cruise to the finish line. Now the cruise was more of a casual saunter with the time to be picky to make sure the cut was excellent. It has to look good from the road, don't ya know.

I saved the final round for Dad so he could officially end harvest. Also, I thought he deserved a little fun time. What better way to end harvest than with the last, easy round on a gorgeous day? As we’re cruising and eating up the final rows, I look over. I see a fat opossum (with a bad hair day) in a waddling jog on the other side of this baby draw, racing us. (I thought he was cheating since he was running between the rows, ha.) The monitor shows a ground speed of 3.5 mph and this dude is keeping up with us. We estimated he kept up the good fight, er, race for about 100 feet before the lack of oxygen on his part sidelined him. Mouth breathers. Everyone knows you’re supposed to inhale through the nose and exhale through the mouth for an efficient breathing strategy.

How did harvest yield? Well, like everyone says, better than expected. If you’re looking for specific numbers, well, you should know by now that farmers are coy when it comes to that. Similar to back in the day when ladies would flutter their ornate fans as they danced around a question (or flirtation).

A nice sight, minus the dirty windows of course

Best part? Done before Thanksgiving. It’s kind of unfortunate for me because then I’m at Mom’s mercy for doing the weird little jobs for food prep.(You can only have so many chefs in the kitchen.) I’d rather clean the house and set the table. Then I don’t have to wash the hordes of dishes that mysteriously appear after the feast. And this is after the dishwasher is filled. Yikes. The dog said he would clean only so many plates and then he would have to take a nap. I’m kidding, I don’t let the dog help ‘clean’ the plates. That is for fairy tales.

Well, I’m off to begin the pre-cleaning of the actual cleaning process of the house. If I’m quick-like, I might get to work outside and get the combine prepped for winter storage. Ahh, the life of a motivator. Sometimes I wish I was a tad bit more lazy but then I would be bored.

May your harvest wrap-up be sweet, (American) Thanksgiving a time with family and the pie outstanding. 

Happy Thanksgiving!

Time to put my feet up, ish. Still work to do. (repost from Insta & FB)

Badgering corn

Bone-chilling cold wind slapped at my face. It didn’t say hi or playfully nip at my nose. It was rude really. Oh my goodness, that north arctic air was my motivation to stay INSIDE the cab and never leave. 

One of the few visible sunsets this week

In true SD fashion, for weather, the brisk autumn air fled in the night and left the field wide open for the light breeze (30+ mph) from the north. I was overjoyed to open my weather app and read that the outside air felt like 6F but it was actually 23F. Yup, my favorite weather temps for harvest right there. Guess I should’ve packed my parka for work.

It’s been awhile but I’m back in the corn! The rumbling of corn ears passing through the feeder house under my feet is disconcerting, especially when a slug of them run through and play knock-knock along the way. Seeing the shelled corn in the grain tank, a gorgeous dark gold, is so satisfying.

While I was finishing the last round of corn on this field I saw a furry animal running away from me. I thought of hubs and grabbed my phone, swiped for the camera and attempted to get a decent photo. Well, this guy was running away! In this awkward side-to-side lumbering trot. So I did the logical thing and speeded up. I was going 5.5 mph and I didn’t dare look at my screen to see the losses monitors. Still, this animal, which I now realized was an infamous badger, was pulling away from me. I did my best but this is the best photo I got while in a moving combine and a subject that wouldn’t stop and pose. 

Silly badger

 There’s something artistic and beautiful about a well-combined field, be it soybeans, corn or another commodity. I enjoy as each round passes, more corn stalks are chopped and shelled corn blooms in the grain tank and the vista of gleaming, dark gold harvested field expands. 

Clouds shuffled off and an uber bright sun gleamed above. Thankfully, a warmer air had blown in from the south. As the morning wore off I noticed the haze that seemed creep in along the horizon.

Then the moisture on the screen started to creep up. Dad, in the semi, reported that the neighbors were parking and quitting for the day. Well, you can only haul in so much corn at a high moisture (like one truck load) before admitting it’s better to stop for lunch and hope the humidity drops. Apparently the corn was sucking up the air humidity like a child gulps down chocolate milk.

Noon hour goes by and it’s even more hazy outside than when we stopped. So what do you do? Well, I go for coffee. :)

And a big thank you for your service to all veterans for your service. Semper fi.

May your week be the lull before the storm called Thanksgiving, your harvest roll into the finish (if it hasn’t already) and the coffee be plentiful.

Me and the pup

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