Back in Time - Combining Oats
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| Rich S. cleaning the chaff from the combine air filter approx. 1983 |
The oat fields are just starting to turn golden in this area, and soon the harvest will be underway. Harvest for other crops (malt barley, oat hay, alfalfa) have already begun or are finished. Soon, the silage will be cut, sugar beets dug, and beans combined. It's a busy time of the year for local farmers.
I really don't know how my brother managed to get everything harvested, as he and my mother also milked cows twice a day. My oldest brother, John and sometimes his son, Larry would come out and help during the harvest. When they weren't available, Rich would combine the oats, fill the truck box and then drive the truck back to the farmyard and unload the grain into the bin. Often he would combine even at night.
I love how the alfalfa fields look in the fall, gorgeous mixture of colors!
ReplyDeleteFarming is such hard work. It seems like the work never ends for a farmer. I loved the fields out west and took so many photos of them.
ReplyDeleteFarm work is NEVER done.
ReplyDeleteI felt that way about my aunt's work too. It just seemed she finished the breakfast dishes and she was already working on lunch . . . and, of course, that was between all the other house chores that needed to be done.
Both my Uncle's in Montana farmed wheat and it is indeed a lot of work and a totally different life.
ReplyDeleteWhat a nice picture!! Farmers put in long days, and I don't know how they get it all done without help either. I hope the harvest is better than usual this year.
ReplyDeleteFarmers really do work hard and your photo captures that beautifully. And those "farm kids" grow up to have a great work ethic. My dad grew up on a Kansas wheat and hog farm, but left farming behind. When we were farming (1978-1988) here in SD he loved to come out and run the wind-rower or mower or drive a grain truck behind the combine. However he did NOT like helping with the livestock.
ReplyDeleteWhat a wonderful way of life! What a beautiful time is harvest time. As I girl I used to stand on the porch and breathe the amazing scents during harvest--then sneeze from the alfalfa. Lol! The trucks hauling cantaloupe and grapefruit would pass by and drop fruit in the roadway. We would sit on the curb and eat them. You never fail to bring back wonderful memories. Thanks Nancy.
ReplyDeleteYour photo is just a reminder of how hard a farmer works. To many people take for granted where the food on their plate comes from and the hard working people that put it there. Thank you for the reminder.
ReplyDeleteFarming is hard work:)
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