Combining Soybeans

It is that time of year when we harvest the crops that were planted last spring.  John and his crew have been working on combining the soybeans and corn since the last of September.  This year I have not been driving the grain cart like I have done in past years.  John is trying to get along without me since this makes me so nervous driving large equipment.  He has part time help from 3 other guys so it is working out so far anyway.

I took these photos a week ago as the clouds were building in the east and the afternoon sky was so dark in that direction.  We didn’t get any rain from those clouds so they just kept harvesting.  This has not been the best harvesting year for John this year has he has had multiple breakdowns on the combine.  It seems like several times a week he is taking the machine apart to fix or replace a broken part.  One breakdown he called the dealer about 1 1/2 hrs. away for the part and the only two parts the guy found were 1 1/2 hours away the opposite direction and one in Toronto, Canada.  I volunteered to go get the one in Toronto (ha, ha) but he opted to drive and get the one closer by.  Needless to say when you have breakdowns the crops don’t get harvested and everyone gets anxious.  After all, that is our whole income for the year just sitting in the field and it could get damaged and destroyed by one weather event….hail, strong winds to name a few.  The winds were strong for several weeks and the crops so dry there were lots of fires caused by machines over heating so that was a worry for all the farmers too.  We had a little rain last week, enough to dampen the stalks so hopefully the fire danger isn’t so great now. 
This field is planted all to soybeans and is 1/4 of a section (1/4 of a square mile) so the rows are long.  When John is at the far end I can hardly see him but do see the dust and debris flying so can pinpoint where he is.  Aren’t the clouds magnificent and a great contrast to the golden color of the soybean field?

 

Since I am not in the field I am doing more cooking for the meals I deliver to the field each evening.  The guys all take sack lunches for their noon meal so I try to fix something hot in the evening.  There is a stipulation that the food I take can be eaten while holding it in their hands….no forks or spoons.  They want to keep working so need finger foods to eat.  I have been trying to be real creative by seeing what I can fix in a sandwich, bun or tortilla to mix up what I take to them.  So far I have had no complaints.  I have packages of cooked meats in 4 servings each in the freezer so I can pull out different things to fix each night.  If you have any suggestions please let me know as I am always looking for something new.

Until later,
Lynn