Tonight I delivered meals to the Dayton farm. I drove 25 minutes north and delivered 8 hot meals of ham balls, potatoes, and pumpkin bars. I know the men appreciate the hot meal. They have been working all day, bring their own sack lunch for the noon meal and look so forward to the hot meal to get them through the rest of the evening. I don't make anything fancy, and try to make things that are easy to eat in the field. Sandwiches are best because I can send them in a paper bag wrapped in foil, all can be tossed in the garbage. Tonight and many nights I use my little tupperware containers with three sections. I try to get the food out as quickly as possible to keep them hot. It has been cold, unusually cold, more like winter. I am sure the hot meal helps warm the guys and give them the fuel to keep going. Luke was in the combine with his grandpa, Jake was driving the fuel/service truck and later drove the corn head on a trailer back home. It was dark when I arrived and all the lights were in the field, the semis all lit up, the combine running, the grain cart and tractor,, and trucks. It seemed everywhere I looked there were lights in the distance. All the farmers around were running and semis were hauling. Harvest is a hard laborious season, up early in the morning and work into the night, load after load hauling corn to grain bins or the coop. The push is on as there is more snow in the forecast. The season has been long and keeps dragging later. Weather delays have made this the hardest season yet. Farmers are so underpaid and overworked. So many people don't have any idea what they go through. City people just find them a nuisance having to slow down on a highway for the slow flashers of a tractor going down the road. They get annoyed because the price of food is too high. They don't understand or appreciate farmers are the food providers. Mark gets tired and he gets mentally drained at the end of the season. I have always had a hard time understanding why he always wants to buy more land and farm more. That requires bigger equipment, more men, and longer hours. This year he had an opportunity to buy some land and for the first time, he chose not too. I have to say I was thankful. I love that we are a family farm and I appreciate all that Mark does for us, the farm he has grown so our kids can farm if they choose.I know it takes a lot time, energy, and money if you want to have enough for the next generation to keep going. It is becoming harder and harder to keep it going, its all about numbers. I just don't like to be so busy and overwhelmed that we cant enjoy life. It takes a toll on your body too. Mark looks at farming as a war battle. He pushes through the tough parts, the bad climate, the poor prices, the setbacks, breakdowns, and delays. He plans and prepares way ahead of the season, so he is always ready for whatever comes his way. He is strong and dedicated to this farm perseveres in some very hard times.
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