06 Jun Emma: Harvesting Again and A Day of Relaxation

We made it to Elk City, Okla., safe and sound. We started harvesting and I will be honest – it is not the greatest wheat I have ever harvested. Wheat in this area is what we all predicted, and that was not good. So far the average is eight bushels/acre. We’ve had to adjust because of the poor wheat. That means we have to slow our fan speed down to minimize losing it all out the back end. We’ve also had to drive slower because the wheat is so short. It’s only seven to nine inches tall and that means if we don’t slow down we will miss some of the wheat. The sickle will not cut them off, but rather lays it down and just runs over it. We don’t want to do that because then we’d leave wheat behind.

When teaching a new crew member one of the things I tell them is, “Do not skip. If you leave two heads of wheat you can go on with cutting, but if you leave three heads of wheat it’s questionable. If there are four, back up and get it.” I have a little bit of my father in me – I’m what you might call a perfectionist and I don’t like to look out over a wheat field, or any crop for that matter, and see skips.

Because I’m a “half-glass-full” kind of girl I’m going to pull something good out of the situation, so here are a few good things so far…

• The weather has been more than ideal for harvesting.
• At least there is a wheat crop. We could be having the same problem we had two years ago, where we had no wheat to cut.
• The wheat prices are still decent.

Combining around Elk City. (photo taken by Joel)

Makin’ rounds! (photo taken by Joel)

We are making good time and are about half finished with the wheat around Elk City. This means we get to take Sunday and make it a relaxing day. We got to sleep in, went to church and then went out for breakfast at the local Home Cookin’ restaurant. I mentioned them earlier in a post. It is so good. We came home and waited on Erv to arrive.

Erv is from Michigan and has come to visit for a couple of weeks. He came on harvest with us for the first time in 2004 and just can’t stay away. When the hired guys come and work for us they become part of our family. Erv is my dad’s age and we still consider him one of the adopted children. We enjoy his visits.

After a rather uneventful day we headed out for supper at Simon’s Catch. Here are some photos of the unique set-up at Simon’s.

Is that a zebra I see?! Yes it is. Simon’s Catch has a rather unique side. They have all kinds of animals from zebra, elk, buffalo, donkeys, and ostriches. It’s always fun to go there if not only for the great food, but for the experience.

(L to R) Dan, Abby holding little Sara, Me, Mom, Erv, Alexader, David, Verena, Thad & Joel. All you can eat catfish, how can you go wrong?

After supper, we went to our Elk City Park, where there is miniature golf, a little train, and a carousel. It has been a tradition for the Misener Family to go to the park at least once before heading north to Kansas. A little bit of fun never hurt anyone.

(L to R) Mom, Dan, Thad, and Abby

Verena showing Alexander where to put his ball. (photo taken by Joel)

(L to R) Dan, Thad, Me and Abby (photo taken by Joel)

After a great time playing miniature golf, we went to ride Elk City’s hand carved carousel. It’s become kind of a tradition now to go golfing and ride the carousel.

(L to R) my sister Liz, Dan & Leslie who’s in the back, Elizabeth and Mom. (photo taken by Joel)

We’ll be back in the field on Monday and hopefully will be able to wrap up in Elk City. We’ll move back home and clean everything up before moving north to Kansas. This is when I really feel like we’re on harvest – when we leave home to head north. We won’t be back in Oklahoma until the middle of November and into December. It’s bittersweet because Dad isn’t with us, but all we can do is keep our chins up and push forward. It’s what he would have wanted us to do.

The other hard part is Abby will be heading back on Tuesday. It’s amazing how fast two weeks go when you’re busy and having fun. We’ll miss Abby around here. She has great work ethic. She is willing to do anything that needs to be done and has a great outlook on life. She’s also one we consider an adopted Misener. I’m telling you, once you’re in this family, you’re in for life.

Be safe and God bless!

Emma can be reached at emma@allaboardharvest.com. All Aboard 2011 is sponsored by High Plains Journal and DuPont Crop Protection.