Ya Got Trouble

This photo encapsulates the problems of Wheat Harvest 2014: mechanical issues, mud and weeds. But it's a pretty sky, right?

There's a song in the musical, The Music Man, called "Ya Got Trouble."

Ya got trouble,
Right here in River City!
With a capital "T"
And that rhymes with "P"

In the musical, the "P" stands for "pool." A shyster band instrument salesman is attempting to line his pockets when he tells mothers that the boys of River City are frittering away their time in the billards hall instead of striking up a band. That's not what any self-respecting mother wants to hear, so, of course, they line up to purchase instruments from the con man.

(My brother was The Music Man in Pratt High School's version of the musical years ago. I was only a little bit jealous that he got to star in one of the world's favorite musicals, when I don't even remember the name of my junior-class play. I do remember my famous line, "Oh woe is me! Oh lack-a-day!" Yeah, that's kind of how I feel about The Music Man vs. the I-can't-remember-the-play-for-the-life-of-me play.)

ANYWAY, as I stood at the corner south of our house on Saturday, the sound track of my mind played that song, even if I couldn't remember all the words until I pulled it up on YouTube.

The truck was nearly blocking the east-west road, with its tail-end perched in the weedy ditch.  It was dead, no matter how much ether Randy sprayed into it while I turned the key and pumped the gas and prayed that it wouldn't blow up.

I volunteered to stay with the truck while he went to grab some tools. Randy looked at me and said, "I think they'll see it."

 "T" definitely has stood for "trouble" during Wheat Harvest 2014. But I substituted "problems" for the "pool" for my letter "P" in my personal soundtrack version of the song by Meredith Wilson. 

No matter what Randy tried, he couldn't get the truck started. And while there's not a lot of traffic on our road, we did need to get it out of the way. We tried using the pickup at first, but the ground was too soft for it to get traction. The combine successfully pulled the truck back into the field. It's still sitting in the field with a load of wheat on it. Thankfully, it's wheat from ground we own, not some we share with a landlord. 

The truck problems were just the latest in a hit parade of headaches for Harvest 2014.

Yesterday, as Randy was trying to finish up in a field that had been too muddy on Saturday, the combine's air conditioner went out. He toughed it out, but ended up sweltering in a closed cab on the 100-degree afternoon. He got half of it cut, but the rest was still too muddy.

Water and weeds have been two challenges for this year's crop. Ironically, we didn't get enough rain during the growing season. However, once harvest started, we kept getting rains that kept us out of the field for more than a week.

Because the wheat was so sparse, the rain also gave a boost to weeds. We weren't the only ones who ended up leaving some wheat behind in weeds, especially by the edges of the fields. (We did spray a few fields for weeds. However, that's an additional expense for a less-than-bumper crop. And you have to wait a week after spraying to harvest.)

Last year, we had the best harvest we'd ever had, despite planting into dust and several late freezes. For harvest 2013, our overall yield average was 52.7 bushels per acre. Our highest yielding field was 76 bushels per acre, and our lowest was 32 bushels per acre on ground that is primarily used for hunting by the landlord.

For Wheat Harvest 2014, our best wheat made 35 bushels per acre, and that was on summer-fallowed ground. The lowest yield was 8.5 bushels per acre, again on that less productive ground.

We started harvest on June 17. For all intents and purposes, we got done on July 7, nearly three weeks after we pulled the combine into the first field. That may be the longest marathon for wheat harvest in our 33 years of farming together.

A farmer is an eternal optimist, though that may be hard to remember when the truck is blocking the road or the combine is blowing only hot air into the cab. When it's time to plant wheat in September, Randy will pull into each field, hoping and praying for the best. And we'll see what Wheat Harvest 2015 will bring.

And the guys are on to swathing and baling hay. With farming, there's always the next thing.

Celebrate Independence!

Wheat harvest can mean its own version of fireworks. It's a big production. It can be loud. It can be crazy. There can be explosions, though you hope they don't happen in the combine's drive shaft or with tire blowouts on the trucks. (Short tempers are their own form of explosions, I suppose, but they usually blow away relatively quickly, kind of like the smoke after the flash and boom.)

Wheat Harvest 2014 certainly hasn't been the typical harvest. At this point, we've been out of the field more days than we've been in it. So, if the wheat and the fields dry out enough, we'll be cutting wheat on the 4th of July. We plan to start harvesting again early this afternoon "up north," on sandier ground.

We won't be relaxing next to a calm lake with sunlight dancing across its mirror-like surface.

Instead, we'll be running the combine through "waves" of golden grain ...

and dodging stagnant water in mud holes.

Instead of gathering at a picnic table or around a campfire, my 4th of July revelers will likely use the car truck for a dining surface.

We may see a few fireworks dot the night sky, off in the distance.
But it's more likely that the show in our western skies will be from the sun sinking toward the horizon.

The sunset reflected on the window of the combine cab.

It will color the clouds with a palette of hues to rival any combination produced by fireworks manufacturers.

The combine will provide the light show instead of orbs of exploding color.

Our 4th of July celebration will likely consist of eating red- and blue-decorated sugar cookies, tucked into plastic bags and taken to munch on-the-go in the combine or the truck. That's what farmers do. They do the job when they can get it done. That's why God Made a Farmer.

Photo from Wheat Harvest 2013, when the wheat was prettier!

We've got our red combine, our blue sky and some white clouds, and we're ready to go. Now, if Mother Nature cooperates, we'll celebrate our independence from weather delays.

If you want to celebrate your patriotism with some all-American baking, you can try any of these tried and true recipes from Kim's County Line. They work equally well in the harvest field or at a more typical 4th of July celebration.

No Roll Sugar Cookies

 Star-Spangled Cookies

Macaroons

Clipper Bars

All-American Brownies for a Crowd
(Caveat: I didn't wait until the brownies were completely cool to frost and cut. It didn't affect the taste; just the look!

Hiatus Over? Not So Fast ...

It had been about 188 hours since we'd cut any wheat during Harvest 2014. A week and another 3/4 of a day was the longest hiatus either Randy or I could remember during a wheat harvest during his 58 years or my 57 years on Kansas farms. (Yikes, I'm still adjusting to saying that after my birthday last Friday.) The year I was born, 1957, the harvest was also slowed by rains. My Dad didn't have to get off the combine to come to the hospital for my birth. He was already at a standstill.

We only had one 42-acre field that we could cut yesterday afternoon. Randy got the 4-wheeler stuck while checking another field. That was enough to convince him not to pull his combine into that field.

Overnight, we got another 0.60" of rain. Six weeks ago, we'd have loved listening to rain hit the roof as we went to bed. I'd be lying if I said we had the same reaction last night, despite my repeated affirmations that I won't complain about rain.

I've always liked taking photos by this old silo. To me, it says quintessential farm scene. At first, I cropped the weeds in the foreground out of the shot. Farmers aren't big fans of weeds, and my husband is no exception. But, then, I decided I needed to leave them there to tell the story of Wheat Harvest 2014.

The rains are great for corn crops and alfalfa. But weeds like the rains, too. The wheat was thinner this year due to the drought during its growing season, so it didn't provide as good a canopy to keep the weeds small.

A week ago, we had the co-op spray for weeds in one of our wheat fields. At the time, Randy was somewhat concerned about the week-long moratorium on harvesting the wheat after the weed treatment. He needn't have worried about it. We have passed the deadline, and we still won't be cutting the wheat today.

We aren't alone. The weekly USDA report says that most of the state's farmers are facing short wheat, muddy fields and weed pressure. The USDA reported that 40 percent of the state's wheat crop has been harvested as of Monday, slightly behind the 50 percent that had been harvested at this point last year and well behind the 66 percent average.

Little yellow flowers in a wheat field may look picturesque to a casual observer. But since they thrive in mud holes, they just signal another challenge to a farmer. And, once it dries out enough to cut, they don't smell the best going through the combine either.

Randy says we are about 60 percent done with our harvest. Today will be another day of waiting. 

Happy Birthday to Me!

Happy Birthday, Grandma! 

I just thought we were going to be cutting wheat on my birthday, June 27. I've spent plenty of birthdays in the harvest field. It's just part of the reality of being a farmer's daughter, then a farmer's wife.

Instead, we got 1.50" of rain Thursday. So we went to Topeka instead. I got to share a birthday celebration with Kinley and her Mommy on Friday. Kinley didn't used to like ice cream. But she definitely liked frozen yogurt. She ate all her Mommy's fruit toppings, too.

We were going to take her to a water park for swimming on Friday afternoon, but the rain followed us to Topeka. So we played with the water table instead.

We also took turns pushing Kinley in her swing. She would swing all day, if you'd let her. (As Brent says, "So would I, if someone was willing to push me!)

On Saturday, Brent drove over from Manhattan and brought cupcakes. Another surprise! It's great to have him close enough to come for family celebrations.

Saturday morning, we also went to the Farmer's Market near the Capitol.

Kinley wanted to pick out the vegetables. (The girl came out of the stroller and the veggies went in after awhile, but she was insistent that she had to carry the peppers she'd personally selected.)

Jill prepped Saturday's noon meal of chicken fajitas and Brent did the grilling. We also used Kinley's green peppers. (It's a surefire way to get kids to eat vegetables.)

While Uncle Brent was grilling, Kinley got a pedicure from Mommy. (Don't they look alike in their concentration and the way they cock their heads?! We'll see if Baby Sister, due to arrive September 3, has the same attributes. By the way, if you ask Kinley what the baby's name will be, she says, "Sister" or "Baby." I guess there's no getting the girl to reveal family secrets, even on Grandma's birthday weekend!)

What a fun weekend! Do I wish we were done cutting wheat? Yes. We'll see how quickly we can get back in the field. We got another 0.90" of rain Saturday morning.

Neither Randy or I can remember having a harvest halted for a whole week due to rainy weather. Now I guess we'll remember the summer of 2014 for that phenomenon. On the other hand, the corn looks great. It's probably about time for another photo with my human measuring stick!

Golden Field, Golden Hour

Sunset, June 18, 2014, over a CRP field north of our house

Real photographers call it the golden hour.  An hour before sunset and an hour after sunrise, the light shines on the Earth at an angle, diffusing the light and casting a golden glow. During this hour, light is warm, soft, and perfect for taking pictures, or so says an internet search. Gone are the harsh shadows from the sun shining directly overhead. The only flash needed is the soft stream of light breaking through the haze of a summer evening.

So golden wheat at the golden hour should be even better, right? 

One evening last week, the sky was beautiful from every direction. I took the photo above looking south, with the light accenting the clouds, as if God was wielding a paintbrush and was adding highlights to a landscape masterpiece.

It was just as pretty to the north, with more clouds shifting shape as evening turned to dusk.

Just a few minutes later, and the sky and the field transformed again as the sun sank toward the horizon.

Sunset changed the sky faster than a magician makes his assistant disappear.

As the sun was setting, June 19, 2014

The golden hour? Yes, indeed. With a little orange thrown in for good measure.

We'll see whether we'll have more sunsets witnessed from the harvest field today, after Randy figures out if the wheat and ground are dried out after our Sunday evening rain.

We Now Interrupt This Program

"We now interrupt our regularly scheduled program." Remember hearing those words as you were watching your favorite television show as a kid? It always seemed like it was at a crucial moment. You know, like wondering, "Will the Coyote finally catch the Road Runner? And I'm going to miss it because the president needs to tell us something?"

In some ways, you feel like that when there's a rain during wheat harvest. We got 0.70" of rain here at home yesterday evening, where we were cutting wheat. We'll see if we got more or less at other locations where we still have wheat to cut. (We are nowhere close to being done.)

Earlier in the day, the clouds dotted a bright blue sky and made for a beautiful Sunday afternoon ride.

 

The sky provided a picturesque backdrop as we approached the Zenith branch of the Kanza Co-op to take a load of wheat.

But, by 6:30 or so, Randy was racing to get as much cut as he could before the skies opened up.

It sure made for a pretty backdrop for the golden wheat. You have to look at the bright side, right?

Even more importantly, the rain gave the corn a good drink of water at just the right time. Some of the corn is tasseling. The rain and the cooler temperatures forecast for the beginning of this week should make for good growing conditions for the corn and for the alfalfa.

Me and My Shadow: Kansas Wheat Harvest Style

"Me and my shadow, my shadow and me.
"We're always together, as close as can be."

The song from "Peter Pan" playing in my head was accompanied by the rhythm created by the combine's reel and the occasional beep from the machine's monitor as we rumbled through the wheat field.

Snapshot Kansas' Tuesday assignment this week is "Harvest." I figured I could show a few different views of harvest, since I have an inside connection with a handsome combine driver.

He chauffeured me through the field and I tried to take non-typical photos to share.

The combine stairs and platform formed a pretty red frame for a snapshot of our amber waves of grain.

I'd like to say harvest is in our rearview mirror. I guess it is, in a manner of speaking, if this photo is any indication.

But, in reality, we've just gotten started. I just might have lots of opportunities to post to Snapshot Kansas this week.

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