Melissa Kenny – Jonel Farming
I wake to the baby…it’s 3:06 a.m. As I pry my eyes open, I expect to see my husband having snuck into bed but he’s not there, he isn’t even home yet.
There’s rain forecast and everyone has been going like mad to get the crop off before it hits.
I shoot him a quick message to make sure he’s ok. He sends me a picture back from the cabin of the combine…he’s still harvesting!! The conditions are still ok for it – incredible really!
I know how tired I am this harvest and yet I’ve not been out working until 2 or 3 a.m. and then being back up by 7 a.m. to do it all again the next morning.
It’s so easy for everyone to get a bit teasy during this busy period but important to remember that it is quite short-lived (for us)…the break at the end will be well-earned and enjoyed this year though!
Update:
It’s 9 a.m. and I’m just dropping some bacon and egg rolls (bacon, fried eggs and bbq sauce on bread or hamburger buns) and iced coffees out to the field along with fresh water and a lunchbox because Matt and our neighbour didn’t make it home last night and his uncle had a late one plus an early start.
Every direction there’s combines going and lots of trucks on the road getting the grain delivered. It’s 89F out already so it’s hard to believe it might rain later today…might be an impressive storm rolling in perhaps!
They’ve peeled so much off since the kids and I left the field at 8:30 last night…I’m just hoping and praying the combine holds up and that running for so long doesn’t cause any problems.
6pm:
An hour or so ago, we received a big thunderstorm and the first of the rain. Matt has finally made it home (after driving the combine for 32 hours straight) so it’s time for some dinner and an early night! I don’t think he’ll be up to see the sunrise tomorrow.. in fact I think the kids and I better head out for the morning and let him catch up on some much-needed rest!
At the week ending November 26th, the two silo complexes (elevators) in our local port zone had taken in just over 55,000 tonnes (2,018,500 bushels) of wheat…it will be very interesting to see what this figure is after the end of this week!
In the meantime, there’s plenty of jobs to be done while we wait for the rain to disappear and the fields to dry out ready to bring in what’s left of the harvest for 2017!
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".
