There were a couple of records set yesterday.

1. Yesterday’s temperature broke records in Denver (and probably Limon).
2. We cut the most wheat in one day – ever.

The girls said the high at the cottage was 107. Now, who knows when they looked at the thermometer but even if it were hotter than that at any point of the day, it really didn’t matter. All I know is in the field with that hot wind blowing I felt like what a turkey must feel like on Thanksgiving! It was HOT! And, I know it wasn’t just here – it was everywhere. Jamie told me the predicted high for Omaha today is 103 – and that will include humidity. Not good!

The wildfires continue to be a concern around here – and rightfully so. The other day I mentioned watching a fire north of Limon. Today I found out it was located in and around Last Chance, CO. It was started when a tire blew and the rim created a spark which eventually burned 45,000 acres (70 square miles) and buildings. It looked HUGE from my standpoint.

The smoke discoloring the sky and the sun.

The other fire I’ve been watching grew in size. This fire is west of Colorado Springs. 32,000 people have been evacuated, so far. The smoke is visible from our field. Last night, the direction of the wind changed from the south to from the west. With the change, brought smoke. With the smoke, brought a smell I dearly love. I feel HORRIBLE about these fires and can’t imagine what it would be like to lose everything. However, whenever I can leave the cab of the combine and smell one of my most favorite smells ever – things just can’t get any better. The smell of burning wood made me feel like I was camping in the field.

That is not a cloud behind Frank. That’s smoke.

 We cut 240 acres yesterday – WHOA! For harvesters with multiple combines, this means nothing. But for our low budget operation, it was a record! We’ll be done here in record time – another record!

 Mile long strips

A year and a half ago, a man I very much respected passed away unexpectedly. Oddly enough, just a week prior to his passing, we had a very lengthy conversation. He had been a past President for the U. S. Custom Harvesters, Inc. and his love and passion for the custom harvesting industry was quite evident! The one thing I took from our conversation was a comment he made to me, “We have to tell our story”.

Ryan Goodman asked me if I’d write a guest blog for his site, Agriculture Proud, about custom harvesting. Of course, I agreed. It was published yesterday. THIS ONE’S FOR YOU, RON!