29 Jun Across the Midwest

Louisville, Nebraska—My days aren’t slowing down and they’re all starting to run together. And I kind of hate it. The Z Crew got moved to Garden City, Kansas, on Tuesday. How in the world has it already been almost a week!? We pulled into the camp ground outside of Deerfield long enough to get the water hooked up and air conditioner turned on and then we headed out to get the combine to the farm yard. Equipment was parked, the Frank was unloaded and at the very last minute it was decided we were going to unload the combine. So we did. In the dark. That’s a new one! But at least we got it done.

Wednesday morning after a quick run to Walmart to restock the trailer for Mom and Dad, Callie and I got loaded up and headed north. We made it home by Wednesday afternoon and spent the evening with Jenna and Jamie. I know we weren’t gone long but it was so fun to get everyone back together! The rest of the week has been a whirlwind of getting myself back into the groove of “normal” life. Callie left early, early Sunday morning for Chicago. The bus made it to the city by early afternoon and it sounds like she’s already having a great time! But I miss my buddy.

Garden City, Kansas—We moved to Garden City on Tuesday and by Wednesday at 10 a.m. Mom and Dad were already in the field cutting! They were visited this week by a High Plains Journal crew. I feel awful that I missed them. The new combine cam has been quite the excitement! Look for the link on the homepage. I asked for an update on the crop from Mom and it sounds like they have quite the wheat to cut! Here’s a note from Mom:

June 26—”The wheat has turned into a surprise for us. We were expecting low yields according to the dry spring we had heard this country had. However, some timely rains came at just the right time and this is what we’re looking at…60-bushel dryland wheat with 63/64 test weight. What a beautiful stand of wheat. There are times the yield monitor registers 90 to 100 bushels. Miracle wheat! The combine doesn’t know how to handle such wonderful wheat. The bigger machine is an amazing piece of equipment! It can handle a large amount of grain and push forward at an impressive speed.

“We thought the rains weren’t going to get us. But it did. The weather radio and storm warnings started about 1 a.m. By the time it felt like I could go to sleep and not worry about having to escape the Cottage, it was well after 2. For the most part, storms don’t really scare me when we ride them out in the camper. This storm was a bit concerning. To watch the wind push the slide-out inward did make thoughts of leaving enter my head. I was glad the girls weren’t here. We got 1/2″ of rain out of it and a day to get caught up on a few things. One of them being laundry—again.” (Mom provided all of the photos for today’s blog. Thanks, Mom!)

This week Mom and Dad look forward to getting more and even better wheat cut. I’m back home in Nebraska and will take advantage of the time with my niece and nephew. Callie’s in Chicago (hopefully) bringing home first place at her FBLA Nationals Competition! While we’re spread all over the Midwest at the moment, the Z Crew will be back together in about a week.

Dad and Callie sat on the floor of the camper and added together all of tickets from the elevator. I think they might’ve double-checked their numbers about three times!

This was a first for everyone—unloading in the dark. It went surprisingly well! Everyone pulled together and we got the job done quickly.

Gettin’ work done.

These darn thunderheads are always a bad sign!

But on the bright side I’m sure it gave Mom and Dad a much needed day of rest and “catch up.”

All Aboard Wheat Harvest™ is sponsored by High Plains Journal and New Holland Agriculture. The Z Crew can be reached at zcrew@allaboardharvest.com.