Split

Usually the harvester we are helping temporary has his crew together running anywhere from two combines to four combines.

Well one combine has something wrong that happened last Tuesday. They can’t figure out what it is so they called someone to come out to diagnose it. Last night a shaft broke. On another combine. Next rainy day or late start morning it will get fixed.

Today the crew is split. Three in one field with one combine, grain cart, and one company truck plus one or two hired.

And the crew we are on. The owner on combine, owners wife took a day off and is on grain cart, Wrangler in the truck hauling less than a half mile to grain bins. I am the runner between the two fields if something is needed.

They just got started for the day at noon. This morning was foggy and dew out and it was to wet to cut first thing. They tried to fix combines but neither is an easy fix.

After I got them to the field I ran 8 miles into the town of size with a grocery store and dollar General. I stocked up on drinks, sandwich makings, and snack food. Plus some easy quick things like frozen pizza for those late night snacks.

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Long days short nights

Harvest is nothing but long days and short nights. Start around 8 in tbe morning when the elevator opens. End after the trucks get full after the elevator closes which is usually at ten. Last night when we got back to the camper is was midnight. By the time each of us showered and ate a quick meal it was 1. The alarm went off at 7. Supper is out to the field around 7 but after working more hours your hungry when it’s done.

Common Kansas crops

Kansas has lots of crops common to our state. We are know for your wheat. Also very common crops are corn, Milo (grain sorghum), soybeans, and sunflowers. Less common crops but can be found is cotton, canola, rye, tritacle (cross between wheat and rye), and millet. Hay crops like alfalfa, feed sorghum, and oats.

Wheat, tritacle, rye, and canola are harvested in June and July. Corn, Milo, sunflowers, beans, and cotton are harvested right now. Oats are ready in the spring. Feed sorghum in the fall. And alfalfa has many cuttings spring to fall.

Last week we hauled 3 loads of Milo and a ton of beans. Now we are onto corn.

Harvest for a couple of weeks

In 2009 and 2010 Wrangler went on harvest for two years with this one harvest crew. The boss he really liked and got along with.

2015 wet corn season came and he needed an extra truck for a few days we went.

2017 Wrangler lays our truck on the side. We worked with the harvester for five weeks. The company who truck it was had nothing for us. We would have had no income.

2018 he calls needing help. We talk to our old company and they are from the same town and they said okay go help him for 3 days. We did. Wrangler and I had a plan in place for our next move. This guy has no drivers this year. His just retired. Well Wrangler said if my boss won’t accept my two weeks nicely do you want my help. He said in a heartbeat.

Well yesterday the old boss through a royal nasty fit at our two week notice. We are done. We unhooked the trailer we are leasing from the company. Gave back the tags but the paper extra copy was good enough to get us home. Elmo is parked. We are driving 3 of his trucks.

We will be here 2 or 3 weeks until everything is ready to roll with the new company. If what Wrangler’s friend who already works for this new company and the new boss says is true we will be making more running on the easy side what we had to stay out two weeks or leave on a Sunday to make. That is worse case. Projected case is a ton more. Also will be home more it sounds like. Not having to stay out two weeks at a time or leave on Sundays a lot.

So we brought the pick-up and camper down. They boys will be happy in the a.c. camper. I will spend time with them. I am not spending 14 hours a day bouncing from truck to truck. I have a pick-up to get around. We are camped at the farmhouse where the there brothers who are crew members to the boss and owner live. He can ride in the company pick-up back or I can drive five miles into town for him.

Home

Wrangler and I are home. As ugly as today went we are glad to be done. Wrangler says I believe the right decision was made judging by that. I agree. I am at peace with our decision after seeing how nasty his boss reacted.

I been working on getting the camper ready. We are taking it to our temporary employment so we have some where to stay.

Elmo stays parked until the new job is ready for us. So it will get a break. All bills are paid off for the company we were with. We are waiting on our last two checks to pay fuel tax possibly.

The right thing

You try to be an adult and do the right thing by giving two weeks notice. Well the owner of the company totally threw a fit about our notice. So we are no longer with the company. So I guess the jump was a major one. We have a temporary employment in place until we get everything set with the other company.

Harvest fun

These three days of helping with harvest go like this for me. Work a hour on books for the truck or write a hour on a story that will probably never be published but needs to exit my mind. Go into town with Wrangler in our truck for the next hour. My book I have written a chapter a day on the last two days. Some days it just flies out of me. Paperwork I am trying to get everything finished for quarter.

When a field is finished I drive a pick-up back and forth so that I can run people back and forth to move the equipment.