22 May Steph: The grand return

Weren’t sure you’d see me back this year, were ya? Be careful what you wish for! Turns out the “harvest fever” I always talk about is a lot more of a thing than I ever imagined. That and it’s in my blood, so there is no escaping.

Osowski Ag Service has been family owned and operated for the last four years. In spite of the doubt we had all winter, harvest 2015 will go in the books as the fifth year! This is exactly how Dad likes to operate so you could say he was a little bit relieved when I told him I would once again be a full-time Osowski Ag employee. Dad has been spoiled with the gift of not having to search for hired help these last few years. Our crew for the summer will include Mom and Dad (Bob and Loree), my brother, Brandon, and me. We will be traveling to Hobart, Oklahoma, to begin our two-month journey across the Midwest before we end up back home in Grafton, North Dakota, where wheat harvest will begin shortly after we return.

People around home know we leave every summer, so about the last two weeks of May, the questions start rolling in:

• “Hey, when are you guys leaving?
• “How are the crops looking down there?”
• Or, my personal favorite: “Why haven’t you left yet??”

The last question is always the hardest to answer. Dad will tell us we are leaving one day, that day will come and go, and we will still be in North Dakota. Between the weather reports and reports from our farmers, it is always a severely scrutinized topic at the dinner table.

Since last harvest, a whole lot has happened with Osowski Ag Service! My brother will be finishing up his junior year of high school in a few short days and then we will have a senior in the house. Say what? How can my “little” brother be a senior in high school? Unreal. He was on the starting lineup for the varsity hockey team this season, which made me one proud sister (and I suppose the parents were proud too). My dad has been given the opportunity to start farming a few acres of land so we have all been working together to get the fieldwork done this spring. Mom keeps busy all winter, between her painting/wallpapering business she runs with a friend and her rental properties in town. As for me, I was able to take my gypsy harvest soul to even farther away places! My adventures included the lands of both Australia and Thailand and let me tell you, these will just be the beginning. The travel bug is alive and well and preparing for the next journey as I type this.

We are anticipating leaving for harvest somewhere around the 25^th of May (ever the tentative date of departure). Between fieldwork and general maintenance on the combines, we have our hands full this spring. However, it will all be worth it once we hit the road with Hobart, Oklahoma, in our sights!

Throwback to the glorious days of the ’90s.

Australia was even better with these two girls by my side. Taken at Whitehaven Beach!

Sugar cane right before harvest. Can you see me hiding in there?

The Sydney Opera House is just as stunning as you imagine.

Brandon enjoying his winter hobby—playing hockey!

Giving the goalie a little helmet tap for luck.

Getting some elephant love in Thailand!

James Bond Island, Thailand. This is where the James Bond movie “Man With The Golden Gun” was filmed back in 1974.

I almost put a long boat in my pocket to take home with me.

Harvest 2014, you were good. Let’s try to do even better this year!

All Aboard Wheat Harvest™ is sponsored by High Plains Journal and New Holland Agriculture. You can contact Stephanie at stephanie@allaboardharvest.com.