another good one ;)

This is another post from this fall...


I survived! Yes, that’s correct I have successfully made it through my first harvest! I grew up on a horse/cattle operation in southwest Mississippi and even though I had a lot of “farm boy” friends from the delta while in college, I really had no clue about farming at all! Well, I have been educated! Granted, I only ventured up to northwest Iowa to my fiancĂ©’s farm a couple of times in the past month and a half, but it was still very stressful!! I require a lot of maintenance and attention and when the tractor, and the combine, and all that other equipment robs me of what I have become accustomed to, it can put quite a strain on the relationship!! Not to mention the constant talk about the harvest, which is most grueling. All these new things I have to remember and just trying to act interested is a feat in itself! I have even pin pointed the exact moment when the conversations between my fiancĂ© and his friends turn to the subject of the season. It begins with this dreaded question “well, how’s your crop?” This leads to the lengthy discussions about yield, moisture content, and what has broken since the last time they had this exact same dialogue! AHHHHH! When will it end?!?!?! Much to my dismay everyone constantly reminds me that it will happen again next year, and the next!! And that I really only get a small break until planting begins this spring! Lord help me…the rest of my life!! On the bright side, I have recently developed a love of photography and got to take some really fun pictures the day “we” combined soybeans. However, riding in the combine was not near as much fun as I thought it would be. In my head I imagined that we could get some serious wedding planning done during this boring time but apparently this big piece of machinery is very complex and the driver needs to maintain full attention on the rows…I don’t even need to explain why this experience was flawed from the beginning (see previous confession concerning my incessant need for attention!) Needless to say when I commenced chattering on about polka dot centerpieces and pink stripped ties he was more than uninterested and used the combine as his excuse to change the subject to a less significant topic! Now, riding in the tractor to take the beans to the co-op was more enjoyable but totally embarrassing...everybody passing us and of course staring to see who was getting their crop in!! I guess if I had to choose, my favorite part of harvest is when it’s OVER!! In conclusion, after making it through all this, I have officially christened myself a “farm girl!” :)

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