There’s one thing I can say about wheat harvest 2014…it’s not typical.
I was given the morning off (July 14). The guys were going to be moving the equipment to the fields that used to bring us to Limon. I was told that I would have most of the morning to do what I needed to do and get lunches made. Jim would call when they needed me. No big deal…they’d be close to Limon and Taylor could take me to the field.
Sounded like a great plan. If only the wheat would have cooperated. It wasn’t quite ready.
So, I got a call telling me to go to the Pete and follow Scott to the field. Which is what I did. I didn’t look to see what time it was when we got to the field, so I’m going to guess about 1:00 or so. The combines met us there and Chad took his into the wheat to cut a sample. The moisture was a little on the high-end. Let’s give it an hour or so…HURRY UP AND WAIT!
Actually, this is one of my favorite things to do (if I don’t have anything else pressing me to get done) when we’re cutting with others. I enjoy spending time with them and learning more about the people we’re working with.
The first waiting-for-the-wheat-to-dry game was throwing rocks at the corner post and see who can hit something. It was funny how a simple rock being thrown began as a personal challenge for one and turned into a game for them all. Even Jim picked up a couple of rocks and started throwing them.
The rock game soon turned into a game with dollar bills. I’m not sure what the name of it is or even if I know how to play. They were playing with the serial numbers on the bills. “I have 2 threes”. “I have four nines”. Then someone else calls them out on it – “BS”. I was the “judge” – the one picked to read the bill to verify if the statement made was true or false. This family genuinely enjoys each other’s company and I enjoy them! By the way, Jack won!
Again, I didn’t look to see what time we finally got the word to “fire ’em up”. The longer we cut, the drier the wheat got. And then the storm clouds got closer and closer. I now know my cell phone WILL notify me of tornado warnings. The closer these clouds got, the more angry they looked. They were definitely hanging very low but stayed well off to the south and were moving southeast. We probably got to cut about another hour before the moisture level went to a higher number than allowed. DANG! Again, we were just getting into a routine for the day and it was over. The wheat crop continues to be amazing. The trucks hauled 9 semi loads in the short period of time that we cut. I believe we finished about 6:30…just in time to head to the house for supper again.
