20 Jul Nightly rain showers

Limon, Colorado—Every morning around 9 a.m., Dad heads to the field for his daily combine maintenance. He’ll call back to the camper around 11 a.m. and request Mom is brought to the field around 12 p.m. Noon rolls around and I’ll drive Mom to the field and they usually start cutting if the wheat is dry enough.

If it’s not dry enough then they’ll wait another hour and give it a go. The combines and trucks are in full rotation around 3 p.m. That just so happens to be the time we start preparing dinner. And that’s when the clouds start building. And continue to build until they drop just enough rain on the field to shut the combines down. Right around dinner time. Every evening.

I’m not going to complain, though. There’s something really wonderful about shutting down the operation and enjoying a meal as a family and as a crew. But don’t tell Dad that. After we’ve enjoyed a delicious meal we pack up the dinner dishes, head back to the camper, shower and sleep. We wake up the next morning and repeat from the beginning.

Since the last update we haven’t had much change in the wheat stats: as low as 12 to 15 bushels per acre or as high as 50. Test weight is fair at 59 to 60. We’re still hoping for the nightly rains to stop so we can just get to work!

A big ol’ healthy dinner of brisket, corn on the cob, cole slaw and chocolate cake was on the menu for last night.


We have visitors! Jamie, Jenna, Eli and Nora drove out yesterday to pay us a visit. Above, Nora meets the farmer’s grandson Baby Davey.

Bow your head and fold your hands, Baby Davey!

The crew must wash up in the wash bucket before they are able to get their dinner plate.

The kiddie table! Everyone was so focused on the food we didn’t even talk.

Eli (far right) had a blast playing in the dirt with some new friends!

Because of the rain we had last evening we ate dinner in a shed near the field. It’s so much fun to be part of such a big crew for once!

And here was my excitement for the night. Our run-around vehicle began overheating on the way to dinner and in the middle of a storm. Dad drove out and picked us up and we let it sit over dinner to cool off, ran back, filled it with water and drove it back to town. Hopefully it’ll drive well enough that Callie and I can get back home in a couple weeks!

Nora Grace has just about as much hair as her little brother did at that age! But at least we can put hers up in pig-tails!

Eli had to run outside this morning in his PJs and boots to help “Papa” put a new water hose on their trailer. He’s so cute.

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