Jenny Bashutski of Bashutski Harvesting LTD.
I keep thinking there’s nothing exciting to write about. Who wants to hear about the fact that we harvest some type of crop every day, what I cook every day, or that I wash clothes every day? Then, I find myself checking the HarvestHER Facebook page every couple days to see if anyone has added an update on what they’re doing, which is virtually exactly what we are doing every day. So, maybe someone else is like me and just likes reading about what every other harvester is doing, even if it’s the same repetitive thing.
So, we are still in Circle, MT. It feels likes it becoming our second home this year! I have such a love for my home state that it’s perfectly fine if we are here the longest. Although, I am getting a little bit ready for a change, it’s the gypsy soul!
But seriously, when the UPS & Fedex men are getting to know you, it may be time to move on! I’ve made a good dent on Christmas shopping though!
We had a couple of days off while we waited for more chickpeas to ripen. Mike ran home for one night and the guys and I just relaxed. The kids & I went on a walk/bike ride the night Mike was gone. Of course, we were about 1 mile from camp & Kolton did some fancy maneuver on his bike on the edge of some gravel & landed on his knee. It must’ve hit a vein or something because that thing was gushing blood! We have such great guys working for us this year that I was able to text them & have them come pick him up for me while I walked back with the little ones & their bikes. They offered to walk back the bikes but I told them just take him back, he could clean it up & I’d look at it when I returned. They said they’d take care of him & when I got back they had him all cleaned & bandaged up! So awesome of them!
When Mike got back, the farmer asked us to do a half section of standing canola that they had while we wait for the chickpeas. At home, canola is always swathed but we have cut standing before. You want to make sure all the green is out of canola before putting it in a bin because it will heat on you in no time! Then, you either have a burning bin or a big, huge lump of no good canola. Neither of those are what you want to end up with!
There is a special tool used to check how much green is in the canola – it’s called a canola green count tester. It’s usually a plastic paddle with either 100 or 500 divits in it that the canola seed sits in. You then put a piece of wide masking tape over the seeds, peel it off, roll over the seeds (that are now stuck on the tape) and squish them to see how many are a dark green. If there’s a lot of dark green, you don’t want to cut it just yet. If the majority are a brightish green then you can giv’er!
We didn’t have this tool with us because we never need it down here. So, Mike set out to make one to make sure that it was really ready because there was some green spots very visible to the eye. It ended up being good to go, however, they did leave some draws to ripen up & will clean them up later. The weather has been quite warm here so Mike recommended they put air on the canola to cool it down some because it was so hot going in the bin & it could still heat & end up all stuck together.
Now the chickpeas are ready so they are starting on those today. If the weather holds, we should be able to finish & be moved home next week sometime.
1. Be ready to go at the drop of a hat...sometimes without a lunchbox.
2. Has removed the word impossible from her vocabulary!
3. Can hold a baby, take care of a toddler and drive a tractor or combine all at the same time.
4. Must be able to cook for a crew - large or small.
5. Must be able to read minds.
6. Must be able to banter with a parts man until he realizes you DO know what you're talking about.
7. Must be the entertainment director for those rainy days.
8. Be a wife, mom, friend, helper, cook, problem solver, taxi driver or extra crew hand at all times.
9. Can handle the call that makes you react, "You need what? When?" Dropping everything you're doing to make it happen.
10. At the end of the day say, "I really do love this life".