28 Jun Jenna: Third stop…Deerfield, Kan.

Deerfield, Kan. – This morning when I first woke up, I had absolutely no idea where I was. I really and truly had to run through a list in my head. Texas? No. Oklahoma? No. On the road? No. Finally I remembered…I’m in Kansas now.

On Saturday morning, Dad and I got on the road at about 7 a.m. and made the first trip from Hooker to Deerfield, Kan. It’s about a 100-mile trip, so it only took us a couple of hours. In Deerfield, we unloaded the combine, refueled, drove to the campground to make sure we had a place for our trailer, then turned around and headed back to Hooker.

In Hooker, we got the second load of stuff ready to go, then actually ended up waiting around for a while since the air conditioner in the Peterbilt was being worked on. We hit the road early evening and arrived in Deerfield at dusk…which also happened to be about the exact same time that a small storm rolled in…which meant hooking up the trailer house in the wind and rain before it got too dark…which meant everyone was really thrilled (not).

Because of the rain last night, we didn’t start cutting until around lunchtime today. The crop here is amazing this year – the dry-land field we cut today was 65 bushels per acre, 12 percent moisture and had a 62-pound test weight.

Mom helping Dad load the combine after finishing harvest in Hooker, Okla.

Moving day: checking the oil in the Freightliner turned into a two-person job when I had to recruit Taylor to help me lift the hood.

I snapped this shot of the Hooker skyline before we left town.

Harvest near Deerfield, Kan. (Mom found the smiley-face ball in a field in Hooker; she must enjoy its company when she drives combine.)

That’s what I call beautiful.

Jenna Zeorian can be reached at jenna@allaboardharvest.com. All Aboard 2010 Wheat Harvest is sponsored by High Plains Journal and DuPont Crop Protection.