Spring

It's been an early spring on the farm this year, which means the wheat has started growing like crazy.  The other day I took Harlee out for a walk on our road, and it didn't take long for her to make her way into the wheat field.  I'm not sure if she likes the fact that it's cool there (compared to the pavement), or softer, or just the right height for her to bound through, but it's quite obvious when you watch her that she is at her happiest when she gets to run in the wheat.  Here's a video I took on my phone:

I went digging in the dead foliage of last year's day lilies and found new growth sprouting!  I pulled out all of last year's dead foliage and this is what I found:

And our lilac bush has started to return to life too:

I cannot wait until it starts blooming!  Although last night we had to cover it because it got down to freezing, and a couple of even colder nights are supposed to be on the way this weekend.  I really hope we can protect it during these chilly nights so it will bloom.

All in all, I'd say we're happy that it's spring! 

The Adventures of Harlee Dog

Last night I took supper out to the field and of course my trusty sidekick Harlee went along.  When we got to the field I let her out of the car and she ran around sniffing every inch of ground and every milo stalk in the field.

I was parked at the edge of the road, near the grain semi.  The tractor had pulled up to the semi and was unloading the grain from the grain cart into the semi.  I figured I'd stay a while and ride in the combine with The Farmer, but the combine was out in the middle of the field.  I decided to jump in the tractor with the hired guy and ride with him out to the combine.  I sternly told Harlee to stay and hopped in the tractor.

Since we were pulling a huge grain cart behind the tractor, we could not see behind us but I figured she'd stayed close to the semi at the edge of the field.  We drove the tractor clear to the other end of the field and turned around to meet up with the combine and begin unloading the grain from the combine into the grain cart.  As we turn around, who comes running around the side of the grain cart?  That would be Harlee dog.

She was panting hard and had run quite a ways by the time we crossed the whole field.  I crawled out of the tractor and was going to jump in the combine with The Farmer, but first we had to figure out what to do about Harlee.  The Farmer didn't want her to keep running through the field because the milo stalks are taller than her and he was afraid she'd get lost in them.  The only option was to put her in the combine with us.  

Now one of the things Harlee hates most is getting picked up, even by me or The Farmer.  Several weeks ago she followed The Farmer in the tractor when he was planting wheat, and by the time he realized she was following him they were a mile from the house.  So he picked her up, put her in the tractor, and she rode with him in the tractor all afternoon.  So when he tried to grab her to carry her up the combine ladder, she was having none of it.  She knew what he was going to do and took off.

The Farmer told me to crawl up the ladder and wait at the top, because Harlee usually wants to be where I am.  He figured she'd be more likely to let him catch her and bring her up if I was waiting at the top.  So I crawled up the ladder to the small platform outside the cab.  The Farmer crouched down and tried to talk all sweetly to Harlee.  She came running back to him, but stayed JUST out of his reach.  As soon as he tried to grab her, she took off.  You could tell she thought it was a fun game, and she would get tantalizingly close, only to dodge his grasp as soon as he tried to catch her.  Meanwhile I was on the platform laughing my head off.

Well eventually The Farmer did manage to catch her and carried her up the ladder and put her in the cab of the combine with us.  She flailed all the way up the ladder, but as soon as she got in the cab she calmed down and was happy as a clam.

 Here she is riding on the floor of the combine.  She just stared out the front windshield and looked pretty pleased with herself!

 We rode for close to 3 hours, and she really did great the whole time.  When I finally decided it was time for us to go home, The Farmer had to carry her back down the ladder and she was NOT a fan of that, but all in all I think she was pretty pleased with herself for getting to ride with us.  And even though she was a little booger to catch and carry, I think The Farmer was glad to have some company in the combine with him.

Fall on the Farm

The warm summer temperatures have FINALLY given way to cooler nights and beautiful days, and fall harvest has started at the farm.  This is The Farmer's busiest season; he's got soybeans and milo to harvest and wheat to plant.  The other night he was out planting wheat and when I took some supper to him in the field, I noticed this pretty milo field across the road.

Last night he was cutting soybeans, and I went out to take him some supper and get in a little combine time myself.  (Just riding, not driving.  The Farmer has offered several times to teach me how to drive the combine, but let's face it: I once drove my car over a curb, shredding my tire, because a spider crawled across my leg while I was driving.  I am probably not the girl you want to be entrusting with heavy duty machinery.)

While I was waiting for him to stop so I could jump in with him, I snapped these pictures of the sunset:

With the long days where The Farmer is in the field all day and I'm at work, Harlee has been spending a lot of time outside.  The exception was this weekend, when I was laid up all weekend with a nasty cold.  She got lots of cuddle time with me on the couch, and of course she begged for food every chance she got.

 "You gonna finish all of that?"

 

Wheat Harvest 2015

Well, we have officially made it through our first wheat harvest as a married couple.  In fact, today marks our 6th month wedding anniversary!  It does not seem like half a year since we got married.  I guess it's true that time flies when you're having fun.  

We had a great year for wheat harvest.  The Farmer started cutting in the evening on Friday the 19th and finished on Thursday the 25th and did not have to stop one time because of rain.  Even the humidity stayed low, which meant the grain dried out easily and they could start cutting early each day. 

The Farmer's brother drove in from Colorado to help and was able to be here the whole time, which was awesome.  It's so interesting to me to watch them working together.  They seem to just know what the other one is thinking/needing.  For the most part, The Farmer drove the combine (cutting the wheat) and his brother was in the tractor pulling the grain cart (taking the wheat from the combine in the field to the semi waiting at the edge of the field).

I had a bit of vacation time left at work (it has to be used by June 30th or I lose it), so I was able to take a couple of afternoons off during the week.  Between the extra time off to make food and the food I had made ahead and frozen, there was no food shortage.  I really enjoy feeding them!

It was certainly a fun week, but I'm glad it's over now.  There's always a danger when working around heavy equipment, and it would only take one hailstorm or fire to be devastating.  God not only gave us a safe year, but brought the rains just in time to make the plants produce.  I think The Farmer's grandpa summed it up best when he told me, "You know, we can plant, but God gives the increase."  

Breaking Scientific News

In today's science lesson, we will learn that 

sun + rain = stuff grows!

Ok, not a news flash?  Maybe not, but Kansas is absolutely busting at the seams with gorgeousness as a result of a month of rain (May) followed by lots of sun the past couple of weeks.

The wheat is SO. CLOSE. to being ready for harvest.  My family (who lives about 60 miles south of our farm) actually started cutting wheat over a week ago, before getting rained out for several days.  The Farmer still hasn't started cutting his wheat, but he expects to start tomorrow (unless it rains tonight).

It is golden and beautiful!  The other day I went to go snap a few pictures of it in its ripe stage before it gets cut.

 

A few days ago we had a little rain shower move through.  Once it moved to our east, I saw a faint rainbow and took a few pictures on my phone.  Then I went inside to eat a piece of pie, and pretty soon The Farmer came running in.  He was on the phone with someone, but motioned to me frantically to come outside.  I ran outside and saw the most vivid rainbow I have ever seen.  It was so close that the color appeared in front of the tree row about a mile and a half from our house!

 

Of course, my little camera didn't fully capture the beauty of it, but it is still a cool picture.

Sometimes I get a little bored on my drive home from work (my job is a 30 minute commute).  I was driving home yesterday noticing how blue the sky looked, and then I drove by the most lush, green corn field.  I have no idea whose field it was, but I decided to stop and take some pictures.

 

How lucky am I, to get these kinds of views on my daily commute?!  I don't think I could handle a 30 minute commute in heavy city traffic, but I don't mind it when I get to zip down the highway doing 70 mph and looking at all this beauty.

 

Kansas Beauty

Whoever says Kansas isn't beautiful has obviously never been here.  Okay, so I know I'm a little biased, but I truly do think Kansas has a unique beauty.  Maybe we don't have mountains, or crystal clear lakes, or sandy beaches, but I have seen so many beautiful things around the farm recently!

The wheat around our house is finally turning from green to brown (it needs to turn brown before it can be harvested).  We had a very rainy May, so it looks like wheat harvest will be a bit later than usual this year around here.  There was just hardly any sun in May to ripen the wheat.  A couple of weeks ago I noticed that the still green wheat made a beautiful contrast against the clear blue skies so I had to snap a few pictures.

The Farmer went to check on one of his fields and I rode along.

The wheat is much lighter now, and tonight as the sun was setting there were thunderheads all around us.  So I ran back out to the edge of the wheat that borders our yard to take some more pictures.

If you don't hear from me after today, it's probably because I got the West Nile virus.  Or malaria.  The mosquitoes were OUT. OF. CONTROL.  I guess they love all this rain we've had, but in the 10 minutes I was outside to take these pictures I got eaten alive.

When I turned around, the sun was setting behind the barn and I couldn't resist snapping a picture of that as well.

Of course, my trusty sidekick Harlee was with me the whole time.  She likes to check out the wheat.  All of her wheat inspecting duties must have made her thirsty, because she stopped at the water trough on the way back to get a drink.