Make hay while the sun shines... well combining must be done before the bins fill - regardless of weather. Thus earlier this year, while Steve fulfilled his obligations as a custom hay baler, I operated our 8900 White (which is actually colored red) combine to pull the wheat then the oats off the fields. The air temperature outside was over 90 degrees F; inside the cab, air temperatures reached 115 degrees F according to the small digital thermometer Mom gave to me for Christmas last year. No, there is not functioning air conditioner.
Dave, Steve's brother, opened-up the field for me; this means he made the first few difficult passes into the field. Then, when he left to return to his own farm, it was up to me. When it goes well, it is a lot of work but very satisfying. My left hand does the steering - and is within reach of the too-soon-empty water bottle. My right hand bounces from lever to lever; adjusting the combine head's height with the contours of the land, and tweaking the speed of the reel. The reel, a big round spool of "combs" picking through the wheat, must be also be height adjusted from time to time.
Of course, the head became plugged, and both hands had to move rapidly to shut down the RPM's (Rotations Per Minute or engine/fan speed), cut the power to the head and turn off the great machine. Then, strand by strand, the entangled wheat (or oat) stalks had to be teased from the combine head. The weather was ideal for combining - if not for the operator - so after 10 hours the field was done.
Aiden had been busy in the house; filling in for many of the duties normally assigned to me. He made dinner - a fabulous brisket with saurkraut - and handled laundry and a few household cleaning tasks. His contribution was certainly appreciated when finally Steve - exhausted from similar hay baling conditions - and I - admittedly nearing heat-stroke for under-estimating the amount of water to drink - stumbled dusty and bleary-eyed in the door.
Now, Steve is combining not only our own soybeans, but those of his brother, Dave. It is good to return the favor - and much needed for Dave to receive much needed rest and medical treatments. Aiden is again taking care of our supper; only this time while await my lessons in at UW-Madison's Science Hall. Tonight I will explore "Special Topics in Soils" with a tag-team of two professors; Pete Nowak, a Rural Sociologist, and Fred Madison, a Soil Scientist. Both came from farming families; both hope to educate conservationists and farmers... actually hoping to create a world where one is not one without the other. I hope, I may soon be such an example.
