20 Aug Jenna: Home!

It’s hard to believe that the summer is almost over. Time is a crazy thing, you know? It seems like a long time since I left home in May but, at the same time, feels like only last week that I was talking about the wild pigs and rattlesnakes in Texas, the storms during the move to Oklahoma, crop conditions in Kansas, and so on. Now, here it is, the middle of August – and I’m back in Nebraska getting ready to start my last semester of college on Monday. Weird.

Me and my two younger sisters, Taylor and Callie, left Jordan, Mont., on Monday morning and made the 950-mile road trip home to be back in time for school to start. We left behind our parents, who were actually moving to Hilger, Mont., that same day to pick up some more acres, as we didn’t have as much to cut in Jordan this year as we normally do. Mom and Dad will finish up the rest of the harvest season on their own – without their “crew,” without their cook, without any extra help, but mostly, without the company of their wonderful daughters. :] We’ll expect them home sometime during the first couple of weeks of September.

Meanwhile, I’m trying to adjust back into the non-harvest life…the first few days back home are always so weird. It’s hard to explain but it’s like one day you’re living one lifestyle and then, literally the next day, you’re trying to live another. The transition happens so suddenly that it almost makes the past three months feel like a dream. It’s good to be home but at the same time, it’s hard to come to terms with the fact that harvest is over.

In summary, though, Zeorian Harvesting had a good run this summer. From Texas to Montana, we saw above-average wheat crops. I really can’t remember a past summer when, everywhere we went, people said it was one of the best crops they’d seen. It was exciting for the farmers we worked for and exciting for us. We have truly been blessed.

I want to thank the High Plains Journal for letting me be part of All Aboard this summer and, along with DuPont and our other sponsors, making All Aboard happen. The time invested, the planning, and the work that takes place behind the scenes is unbelievable! And it is has truly been a privilege to work with such amazing, talented, helpful and understanding people involved in all aspects of All Aboard – the blog, the print version for the Journal, social media sites, radio and newspaper interviews, promotions, etc.

I also want to thank you, the readers, for again making this summer a memorable one. Your support, encouragement and involvement with All Aboard has been overwhelming and amazing, and you have made it an experience I will never forget. Being able to share the past two summers with you has literally changed my life. Sorry if that’s cheesy, but it’s true.

I have no idea what the next year has in store for me, or whether or not I’ll be on the ol’ harvest run again next year – but I don’t really like thinking about that. So, for now, I’m going to celebrate making it through my 20^th summer on the road and go bake a cake or something.

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Here’s the second installment of sweet jumping pictures to sort of wrap up the summer – click here to see last year’s! Yeah, I’m a nerd. Enjoy.

Before leaving home.

First stop: Hamlin, Tex.

Second stop: Hooker, Okla.

Third stop: Deerfield, Kan.

Fourth stop: Limon, Colo.

Fifth stop: Jordan, Mont.

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