2021 wheat harvest #2

And so harvest continues … well, sort of! 

Farmer’s family came to John’s Farm for the weekend; youngest brother, Bodozer, might be a farmer too someday so he got in several ‘rides’ with his Big Bro!

When Your Big Bro is A Farmer: You wait with him for the opportunity to drive/ride the combine.

Yesterday began earlier than usual as John made the beef/wheat delivery run through much of central Oklahoma leaving Farmer and Farm Manager in charge of the home front. 

I’ve often said cattle are much smarter than we give them credit – they have internal calendars. For example, a heifer will decide to have her calf on Christmas Eve, a bull will jump the fence just as you are about to carve the Thanksgiving turkey, and a calf will find the smallest hole in the fence to exit the pasture just as you are about to go out-of-town for the weekend. I really should have been surprised when a neighbor called at sundown to let me know a few calves have wondered from our pasture into his yard. 

The pasture was a 30-minute drive from our headquarters; it was dark-thirty as we neared the neighbor’s home. The calves had wondered out of his yard onto the road. They recognized the sound of John’s pickup so they followed along as we drove to the nearest pasture gate, opened it, drove in with calves kicking up their heels in excitement to be ‘home.’ The challenge was locating the broken wires and then repairing the fence. That’s where headlights become multi-purpose 😉 

Fixin Fence by the Light of the ... Headlights! I've often heard 'by the light of the moon' but when moonlight is not prominent headlights get ya' what's needed, along with leather gloves and fencing pliers. Thankfully, mosquitos were already asleep!

Calves where they belong, fence fixed, and we were home shortly after 11pm. 

Everyone was eager to begin another day this morning; a brief team meeting and everyone scattered to begin their tasks. In only a short time Farm Manager uncovered an equipment breakdown on the combine, John’s tractor shut itself down in the field for no apparent reason, and the grain storage auger plugged as Farmer was unloading a truck. 

This…..this truly is harvest; happens every year! So…harvest continues, just in a different mode than one would hope but there is always tomorrow!