Jenna: Arizona and New York friends

Hooker, Okla. – Well, I made a few new friends today.

First was the air conditioner repair man. This is only the third summer we’ve had this trailer house and the air conditioner has, unfortunately, never worked correctly. We are lucky enough to have two airs, one on each end of the trailer; but one is always broken (even after multiple repairs). And with temperatures in at least the high 90s every day, plus heat from cooking, the poor air that does work has a hard time keeping up. So we gladly welcomed the repair man today, who got both airs working. For now.

This afternoon, we had a knock on our door from a traveling couple who is staying overnight at our campground. Since we are the only “campers” here, they came to us to ask who owns the park, rates, etc. I stepped outside to visit with them and asked where they were from (Arizona), where they are headed (Tulsa) and so on. I then mentioned that me and my family are here in Hooker custom harvesting wheat. The wife’s face immediately lit up and she said, “You’re the girl who was in Country Woman!” (A writer from Country Woman contacted me last fall after seeing the All Aboard blog and wrote a story about our family in the June/July issue). I laughed and said I am. It was a very strange feeling to have someone recognize me, but we all got a pretty big kick out of it and even took a picture together.

Arizona friends


Me and my new friends from Arizona, Deanna and Jerry.

Later this afternoon, we were visited by another traveling couple – but this visit was planned. Dave and Rose are from New York state and have been following the All Aboard blog since last summer. Last summer, they spent some time traveling the country and had hoped to meet up with us to see harvest in action, but it never worked out. This summer, though, they were on the road again and able to make it happen. They had supper with us in the field, took a ride in the combine, rode to the elevator in the semi and were nearly eaten alive by mosquitos. Minus the mosquitos, it was a great evening and we are so happy they visited!

On another note, the wheat we are cutting now is, in Dad’s words, “marvelous.” The fields are beautiful, it’s making about 55 bushels per acre, and the weight is around 61.5 pounds. Since we’re working with another harvester, who’s running two combines and a cart, we’re really covering some ground, too. Dad said he hauled more wheat today than he can ever remember. And that’s pretty crazy because he’s been doing this for quite some time.

Here are a few photos from tonight – I will post some additional ones in the photo gallery. Safe travels to all of our new friends!

Combining

Red and green – peacefully working together. :]

Red and green

Unloading into the semi before stopping for supper.

First supper in the field

Taylor and Mom talk harvest with Rose and Dave, our visitors from New York.

New York Visitors

Dave, Rose and me.

Harvest sunset

The grain cart unloads onto the semi as the sun sets.

PS. Just for fun, I made Taylor and Callie count the mosquito bites on my arms and legs when we got home from the field. The total was 57. I know, I know…that’s what I get for wearing shorts…

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

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