9/28/22 was the first day of harvest for 2022 starting with soybeans. It was perfect weather, sunny and 70's for a whole week. Beans are slow and beans dont require as much help. During the day, Tony ran the grain cart, Mick or Mike ran the combine and Mark ran the semi. In the evenings, starting around 4 to 5 PM, Mark hauls the semi, Luke runs the grain cart, and one other drives the combine. This was Luke's first year running the grain cart and he took to it with ease. The mama bear in me worried he would be working too often and too many hours. It has been manageable so far with the guys quitting by 8 on weeknights. The beans are doing will with the highest averaging yield being 80 bu/ acre.
Harvest has been going strong, We finished beans in less than 2 weeks and have been combining corn. Over the weekend Jake drove the semi hauling corn to the bins for the first time. In 2 days, he ran it 20 hours. Luke has also started running the grain cart. It is such a monster big tractor and he drives it like a pro. My boys are not kids anymore, they are hard working farm men.
10/22/22 the past two days have been in the upper 70's, a very nice fall temperature. Everything is so dry, it is dangerously dry. I think we had one day all season with a few tenths of rain. The gravel roads are so dusty and the combining and unloading are super dusty. It is so irritating to the guys breathing it and getting it in their eyes. Jake got done with his midterms on Wednesday and had the rest of the week off. He has been putting in long hours in the semi. He is hauling corn to and from the grain leg and unloading. This is only his second weekend hauling. He enjoys it, but not the long 12+ hours. He is so tired and likes to have a little tv time at night so has a hard time starting in the semi by 7AM. Luke has been helping on Saturdays by running the grain cart. He has been doing a good job at it and runs such a hug tractor. He also purchased a GoPro and has been making videos. Today a videographer came out from Lanus to take videos, photos, and interviews of Mark and the boys. It will be exciting to see what they do with them. Mark is estimating 2 weeks remaining. Harvest is such an intense time with long hard hours. I have it easy and take it for granted. I take meals out in the evening and most days I take a lunch for Mark. I am thankful I am not out driving the combine or tractor for the long hours that they go. I know Mark's mom drove the combine for years! I could handle it for a couple hours a day. My making meals is the least I can do, so I try to make the most of it and bring good hot meals. Fall is such a beautiful time of year with warm days and breathtaking sunsets. Sometimes you have to just stop and take it all in and thank God for so many blessings.
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