Harvest

Harvest has been a little different this year.

I read somewhere that this is the latest harvest has gone since the 1960's and we are not done yet. Last year we finished harvesting on November 2. It is already November 11 and while the end is insight, it will be the middle of next week before the corn is all in the bin or in town.

Okay it sounds like I'm complaining, but I actually like harvest. Sure I miss seeing my husband for more than 20 minutes a day. Yes I get a little stressed out about getting hot meals out to the field in a timely manner after work. But, I like to see how a year of hard work turns into thousands of bushels.

I am luckily enough to live 6 miles from the farm I grew up on, which means I get to see my family once in a while. One particular night they were harvesting at a field near my house so Mike and I stopped by.

For those that don't know much about harvesting or can't see it in this picture, my dad is in the tractor dumping the corn that was just picked into the parker wagon. From there the corn is augured to the bin where it waits to go to the elevator in town.

It wasn't snowing that night. That is just the corn dust.

My mom, grandma and grandpa watch the augur, so they can turn it off when the corn runs out.

Mike rode with dad in the tractor first. While it looks like dad is giving the peace sign, he is actually doing some highly secretive family sign language.

When I hopped in the tractor dad became number three and I became number two. Can you guess you number one is?

(Sorry the picture is sideways. I would change it, but I can't remember where I saved it on my computer.)