FALL ON THE FARM

Fall means drilling and harvest all at the same time.

I took a drive yesterday to the next county over and there were combines in the corn and milo fields putting their fall income into the hopper, transferring it to the semi-trailer so it could get hauled off to the grain bin or the elevator for sale. 

There was even the occasional tractor with a drill behind it, kicking up dust as it drilled its hopes for a bountiful wheat harvest next summer.  It was interesting to see which fields had already been drilled with wheat because some where already showing signs of young, tender shoots up above the ground.  As you drive down the road and can line up your line of sight with rows of drilled wheat it looks like someone took a little green pencil in the dirt.  Some of the wheat was up high enough that it looked like the farmer had laid down a green shag carpet. 

Dad's wheat has been no-tilled this year and is in the field that is directly east and north of my house.  What I call the north half of our quarter.  I suppose technically it would be the northeast fourth of our quarter, but that is just getting too technical.  Yesterday I was prepping ghosts next to the newly drilled wheat field and noticed that we had wheat poking through, maybe 2 inches tall.  The young man who drilled it for dad finished putting it in the ground only 1 week ago.  That is a pretty quick growth spurt as usually it is 2 weeks before we see much.  I don't suppose the 3/4 inch of rain the very next day after the tractor pulled out last week had anything to do with the speedy growth, well maybe it did.

So to top of my drive to the next county and back was this:  As I was driving and looking at the fields with tractors in them or combines, I noticed a recently cut field of corn and out in the middle was a small group of deer, sort of standing in a circle, obviously had stopped to admire the farmer's corn cutting but I had to giggle to myself because just beyond the group of deer was the very same combine still cutting the corn.  The deer almost looked like they were having a conversation about this corn field and it was as if they were saying to each other, "Dude, they cut down our dinner and our hiding spots.  Now what do we do?"  The must have figured out what to do because on my way back to the farm I checked that field and they were no where to be found.  No doubt they headed north to where they could jump the fence and find a secluded draw away from farm machinery and prying eyes.