Jenna: Happy Trails

They say absence makes the heart grow fonder.  And, boy, is it true. Last summer was the first summer in more than 20 years that I wasn’t on the harvest trail with my parents and sisters – the hands and the faces of our family owned and run business, Zeorian Harvesting, of Manley, Neb.  – and it was tough.  Real tough.

By the end of the summer, I had learned two important things: 1) I would never be able to stay away from those wheat fields and combines for too long, and 2) eastern Nebraska humidity in July is killer. (I hadn’t experienced it since I was, what, two years old, and…goodness gracious.)

Spending my summers chasing the ripening wheat from Texas to Montana was all I had ever known – my great-grandparents started the custom harvesting business in the early 1950s, meaning me and my three sisters are fourth-generation harvesters. I think – I hope – my passion for our lifestyle and for agriculture was conveyed throughout the past years as I wrote for All Aboard. It’s what I love; it’s where my heart is.

Last August, knowing how I had struggled with being away from harvest, an All Aboard reader emailed me and wrote, “Perhaps your gypsy feet will find other happy trails.” Sometimes, words just stick with a person – and those words stuck with me.

Since then, with a lot of prayer and a lot of patience, these gypsy feet have found a new trail. I now work in product and marketing at CLAAS in Omaha, Neb., where we build – surprise, surprise – combines. And soon I’ll be packing my things to spend a couple of weeks with some of those combines in – surprise, surprise – wheat fields.

But this doesn’t mean it’s goodbye from the Z crew. Oh no. If you remember, I have two younger sisters, Taylor and Callie, who are still on the harvest trail. This summer, they’re excited to be the new voices of the Zeorians for All Aboard. I think you’ll like them – I myself think they’re pretty okay, anyways.

And maybe, if I ask nicely, they’ll let me post a time or two on the blog when I catch up with them on the road for a visit. Because, shoot, I’m going to miss you guys – I mean it.

Until then, my friends – happy trails.

The Zeorian Crew. (Left to Right) Taylor, Jenna, Callie

All Aboard Harvest is sponsored by High Plains Journal and Syngenta. The Zeorian Crew can be reached at zcrew@allaboardharvest.com.

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