Since we moved to town I’m not much of a farm girl anymore. Â I miss it from time to time. Â I was happy when I was there but now I’m happy to be here. Â I’m glad I’ve had each of the experiences in my life.
This last week was crazy busy filled with kids, appointments, new babies and late nights. Â On Tuesday I had an appointment to have my foot checked. Â After that I ran the errands not taking my scooter and walking with my boot the entire time.
It was getting dark as I was finally heading towards home. Â I had to drive past the farm where we used to live, where Hubby still works, to get home. Â I saw that he was in the combine in the field right next to the road. Â Although I had ice cream in the back I decided to stop and ride a few rounds with him in the combine.
This was my view for the next 45 minutes.
I am so amazed with the work that Hubby does. Â There are so many knobs, buttons and toggles that all have their own purpose. Â It would take me years to be able to figure it all out. Â There’s a monitor that predicts the yield (amount of bushels of corn per acre). Â Happily, it’s running high and crops are good…the down fall…prices for the corn aren’t very high. Â But, a good yield always makes everyone happy.
We went a few rounds chatting and catching up. Â I don’t see Hubby a lot in the fall. Â Typically a half hour or so a day. Â It’s not enough, but that’s farm life.
From there I headed home with the task of unloading the groceries and getting the house ready for another day of childcare.
Friday I played farm girl again. Â They were done with what they needed corn for now and moved over to beans. Â The corn isn’t finished but the beans were ready to go. Â Corn is much more flexible than soybeans are.
Hubby was done at one field and needed help moving four miles down the road to the next farm. Â None of the guys were around so it was Kelli and I to the rescue. Â He drove the combine to the new field. Â We picked him up and took him back to the old field so he could drive the combine head to the new field. Â We dropped him off. Â He asked that we stick around and make sure everything went okay. Â I proposed something else. Â I said we’d to get ice cream and them come back and check on him…he liked that plan.
Once we got back the bean head was hooked onto the combine…see?He was ready to go.
He has a semi waiting to be filled with beans. Â Then the plan was to come home. Â He predicted not a real late night. Â He’d be home by 9:15 or so. Â I don’t know how he does it. Â He was up and on his was to work by 5am. Â He’d been doing it day after day…and has at least six more weeks of it.
Here he is how we left him…opening up the field.
As much as I miss him, I know in his heart he loves being a farm boy. Â As for me, as long as he’s a farm boy, a part of me will always be a farm girl even if I live in town.
I’m glad it quit raining so you could start harvesting your crops. We ran beans all afternoon today, they’re yielding well. In a couple year he will have another rider. Grandchildren love to ride in the combine. Blessings, Gretchen
Thank you for sharing a peak into your world. I’m not a city gal but I have no idea of farm life either. Although I knew farmers worked hard, to see just how hard it can be gives me an even greater appreciation of the work.
I grew up in a farming area and know those hours. I also remember being far more cautious on the roads during harvest. You never knew when you’d come up on someone with a load moving slowly, or someone who might not be as alert as they could be due to lack of sleep. But they keep us all in food one way or another.
I love that you appreciate your husband, and notice how hard he works.
So many women go all-out for husband-bashing, one would think all the good men have vanished!!
You leaving the ice-cream to melt, to spend 45 minutes with your man on a machine in a corn-field….it’s a beautiful picture! Thank you for sharing!!
Your articles on farming and country life are so informative for us city folk, I wish you had a wider audience to share your insights.
Thank God for men like your husband who are willing to work so hard to help feed our country (and the world). And thank you for sharing him with the world.
(and they say Americans don’t want to work hard! (sorry for the snark))
I was just wondering about the bean attachment to the combine. Is that the thing that looks like a big scoop on the front? Where do the beans go from there? Do they get sucked in to that big tube and then somehow get back in the bin of the machine?
Just wondering.