29 Sep Steph: What day is it?

Not like it’s anything we all aren’t used to by now but harvest really couldn’t care less what day it is … or what time or what month or what season for that matter. When it’s time to go, it’s time to go. Around home, it has been nothing but go, go, go for the last month.

This view will never get old.

The late planting season put all our area farmers against the clock and in turn, the crops are now all turning one after another in ridiculously close succession. Pieter was harvesting sugar beets in the morning only to cruise across the county to harvest wheat for the rest of the afternoon and into the evening. Without the rain we graciously received at the end of this past week—seriously, we needed it—I’m not sure when we would have seen a lull. The harvester in me will always love a rainy day; it signifies the best and really only excuse to slow down a little. I can physically feel my body loosen up just hearing the trickle of rain on the roof and you better believe I sleep with the windows open. Between the sound and the smell of rain, I’ve never slept better. Unless, of course, there has been some neglected maintenance on machines, then those raindrops mean absolutely nothing.

Late planting or not, all the crops have been and continue to look outstanding. Some of our best wheat ran 100 bushels with an average of 80 bushels across the board. Fifty-nine- to 62-pound test weights are definitely nothing to complain about and with those stats, this crop did nothing short of keep our grain cart driver on his toes. Combines could barely make a pass up the field without all the beacons flashing on the outside and that incessant beeping we are all so familiar with going off on the inside. However, the 5 to 8 days of wheat harvest we get around home will never be enough for the soul of this wheatie.

The Cronje’s are officially a family of four as of Aug. 17, the day our sassy little Scarlett made her appearance. Scarlett was eight pounds and six ounces of sweetness, measuring 21.5 inches long. We squeezed everyone into the cab for our annual Cronje family combine cruise. Jack couldn’t get enough of all the colorful buttons a combine cab has to offer. The hardest part for the poor little guy was not being able to mess with that ever so tempting steering wheel. It will come as no surprise that Scarlett slept the entire ride. Honestly, I’ve taken some of my best naps in the combine so she is definitely her mother’s daughter.

Stephanie Cronje can be reached at stephanie@allaboardharvest.com.

The excitement leaps from the photo. 

“I’ve got this, guys.”

It took knocking on the window for Jack to realize it was there, talk about cleanliness. 

A tight squeeze but worth every minute. 

Too cute not to share, even though I’m not quite sure why the long face. 

A little harvest selfie for mom and dad. 

One of our newborn photo shoot shots.