I think about this often. So, forgive me if it seems a bit “out there.” What I’m talking about is current experiences and adventures will one day be looked back on as memories. And if the experiences and adventures aren’t documented, either stored somewhere deep in your memory or by other means—pictures, stories, blogs, friends—they have only happened. A day lived with no return.

Harvest is something that never really goes away for me. It just takes on a different stage of the year. For six months of the year, we live it. For the other six months, we think about

Jordan, Montana–I’m certain you’ve had days like this … you try and try to make some sort of headway and, instead, it feels like you get nowhere.

That’s what this past week has been for us.

We didn’t get back in the field until later in the day on Tuesday, Aug. 20. Our intentions were good–we wanted to start around 10 a.m., but the moisture just wouldn’t dry down to the magic number until early afternoon. We finished the winter wheat and moved immediately to the spring wheat.


The beginning of another day!

Waiting, waiting, waiting! Some good stories can be told while waiting

Jordan, Montana–It’s been a very slow wheat harvesting week! Showers have plagued us since Aug. 9.

I’m not sure how much rain we’ve had but if I were to guess, I would guess maybe three inches. It didn’t come all at once. It’s just been throughout the week in small increments. The temperatures have remained on the cool side with lots of clouds. The past week has felt more like autumn than summer.

Curt, Jamie and the kids made it back home early afternoon on Tuesday. That same day, we had been invited to meet Bruce and Leigh Krumbach in Miles City

Jordan, Montana–We made it! The final chapter of Harvest 2019 is now being written.

The last miles of our trip from Tribune to Jordan were good and bad. The road we didn’t know anything about (between Terry and Brockway) was a piece of cake. It was the miles between Brockway and Jordan that had both of us sitting on the edge of our seat and holding our breath.

When the road sign says, "Road is narrow and rough." They mean exactly that! We only met three or four semis on the narrowest parts of the highway. Thank goodness for two-way radios! The

Terry, Montana–I am exhausted and words are not coming easily to my foggy brain.

Our past week has been spent either preparing for the move to Montana or on the road.

The next chapter of our 2019 harvest journey will be titled, “Jordan, Montana.” This is our final stop on our route. The next time the combine is loaded, banners and flags are placed where they belong and miles are driven, it will be done for the trip back home, home.

Today marks the sixth day of driving up and down the highways–to Montana and back to Kansas and back to Montana, again.

Tribune, Kansas–We’ve passed through on our way north and I’ve often wondered what it would be like to be a part of the Kansas harvest in this true harvest town.

There’s a Cenex on the intersection of Highways 96 and 27. We’ve stopped in the past to fuel up vehicles or grab a cold drink. All the while I’m quickly doing what needed to be done, I’ve often looked at the trailer court with awe and wonder. I know the number of harvesters who used to come here compared to the number today is much smaller. However, to be a part

Tribune, Kansas – Boy howdy! Can you believe those bushels cut in Western Kansas?


Garden City, Kansas wheat
This was definitely a once-in-a-lifetime crop cut by many farmers and harvesters in this neck of the woods! Anyone you talk to would agree no one really had a clue what the heck was about to happen when the combines began making their way through the golden fields of grain.

When we made our very first cut through the first acre in Garden City, we knew we were about to see something we had never seen before–100 plus bushel per acre dry land wheat.

We have

Garden City, Kansas – It had been in the works for a while. I received an email from Michael with the Oklahoma Baptist Homes for Children (OBHC) telling me they wanted to come visit and were willing to come as far as Garden City again.

I was excited to receive the note and even more excited when Michael told me Garden City wouldn’t be too far for them to travel.

The boys came last year and had to endure a very warm day and a combine breakdown. They were expecting to see a combine in action and taking turns in the machine.

Garden City, Kansas–Crazy how fast the past two weeks have gone! We left home, arrived in Chase, cut every day and have moved to Garden City. If it wasn’t for my calendar, I’m certain recalling dates of when things occurred just wouldn’t or couldn’t happen.

We began our 2019 harvest adventure on June 24. By the time we said our goodbyes to the kids, threw our last-minute stuff in the trailer house and locked the door on our home in Manley, it was 4:30. Yes, we were setting up the "cottage on wheels" in the dark. Way to start the season!
Our

Chase, Kansas – Combine Cam is up and running!

One of my most favorite parts of being involved with the All Aboard Wheat Harvest has been the Combine Cam. I absolutely love being able to tell the story of wheat and harvest by actually showing others what’s happening in the field. Whether it’s the mundane back and forth of cutting wheat or a sickle section being replaced ... you’re right there in the cab!

The day after we arrived to our destination, we met up with Grant (Kiowa County Media Center, Greensburg) in the farmer's yard.

I always look forward to this Combine