Harvest Pictures
2004 Harvest update: Jason writes:

    "Well, lets see. Overall it was a pretty smooth harvest. The only interuptions were a few events (baseball game, and a wedding), and a weekend shower. We finished up just before we got over an inch of rain. So we were very thankfull for that. Many farmers around us, were still cutting. I say 'pretty smooth' because we had a pretty rough ending two days. We had 3 major breakdowns in those 2 days. My water pump went out, and the header spring cushion broke. Dad's air conditioner had problems and his unloading auger had a drive shaft break. But, yeah, we finished. The wheat crop was above average, and the barley was below. Mom fixed some wonderful food as always! The excitement for the harvest was probably Aaron Stromberger getting a bee sting on is right nipple. Pretty funny stuff man! Note: A much better harvest for me than last year. No smashed finger and I'm still able to walk."

These are pictures from last year's harvest, but they can give a non-farmer some great imagery of what the most important 2 weeks of the farm calendar look like. The smell of the earth, the dust in your teeth, making 'wheat gum' while waiting in the truck... The pictures don't do the whole experience justice, but they're a start!

The harvest sky is SOOoooo big...
 More sky over the fields of grain. Having this as a 360 degree view is very cool.
 Amber waves of grain? When the wind blows, it's almost like you can see it, the currents and gusts, as they blow through the fields
 Distance shot of a combine unloading into a truck
The combines must unload their grain into trucks. Sometimes they stop and do it, or if time is short, the combine just keeps going and the truck driver must drive alongside, moving under the auger spout to evenly distribute the load. That would be "loading on the go". Not for amateurs.
 More filling of the truck
 The auger makes the grain come out in that ribbon pattern, and as kids we used to stand in the bed and "shower" under that stream of grain. It was an itchy shower.
 Unloading from a different angle
I always thought a combine looked like a big monster that chomped away. Notice the difference between the standing grain and the stubble. Even that pattern is kind of cool
 Seeing the "self-leveling" combines cut around a hill is very cool. You can see why the technology costs upwards of $200,000
 That one machine cuts more in one day than the old horse teams did in a week, I think. And this is a small, older one!
 Two different combines
Putting grain in the tanks at the home place. The tractor drives the auger that carries the grain up to the top of the tank.
 the back of the bed of the truck, lifted to dump grain into the hopper bucket of the auger. It's a simple enough job, but if you're wearing loose clothing or not careful, that 6" auger shaft, the motor, or the truck bed could maim or kill you. Farming is dangerous work!
 Storage tanks for grain. "SILO" is another term
 A "retired" combine. Some of the older machines were pulled by tractors or teams of horses. You can see the open cab, and the noise of the machinery means that most all farmers who used these are now pretty deaf. Now the cabs are all enclosed in glass, airconditioned, and most come with CD players!
The crew
 Sunset... enough said.
 As hot as it gets, the mornings are still cold. Everyone brings their coffee and does the morning checks, greasing, fueling, cleaning the machines so there will be no breakdowns.
 One more shot of loading up