Oh The Joys

The chopper broke down on Wednesday night, then it's been raining a bunch so we haven't been getting much of our remaining corn chopped. But today was the day for work to resume. The sun was shinging and the gear box was shipped and ready to be picked up from the IF airport at noon. Well, UPS didn't get it on the first flight, so it was delayed a few hours. We sent the chopper out to Pingree so it would be there and we could just install the gear box there and get to chopping. At 4:00 the chopper was ready to go. During my second load, the header sensor went out. Brent tried to get it working but not luck. Since you can chop without it, we continued on. At the end of my load I hear "Crap,I blew my machine up" over the radio. Sure enough the knives had been thrown. Not good for my husband who has already been completely stressed out and on edge. That means they have a long night of putting new knives in the chopper. All of the corn is ready to harvest- high moisture and all. The frosts at night make it that much more critical to get the corn silage chopped. It's frustrating when your machine holds you up once the rain has already set you back.

Oh well. Set backs are just part of the business. I'm just beginning to wonder what the perks of the business are.

New Facial Expression

You may be pleased to learn that Hudson has added a new facial expressions to his collection. He's always been blessed with a charming smile, but lately he's seemed to scowl more than anything. So as a mother, I was happy for him to do something different with his face. When he's excited he will get really big eyes and draw his lips in a tiny circle and suck in air. It is the cutest. Of course, this is most often done when he sees tractors or gets to ride with his dad in the chopper. The excitement doesn't last too long once he's sitting beside Brent on the buddy seat. There must be something mesmerizing about watching the corn feed into the chopper because it puts him to sleep quicker than a double dose of Benadryl.

Like Father Like Son

Hudson is obsessed with equipment. First thing in the morning Brent and Hudson have to look through the Fastline together. It completely captivates Hudson's attention. No other story books can get him to sit still for more than a minute or two. The nursery leader commented how Hudson will only play with tractors or toys that have steering wheels. He will point and say "DA Daa" to any truck or tractor that he sees while we drive down the road. The other day I had to run a truck in to Schwab to get some flats fixed. Since I had to wait, I decided to walk down to Rocky Mountain Equipment and see what kinds of John Deere propaganda they had. When I told the owner that I needed some good bedtime stories for my son he laughed and hooked me up with some good brochures. He also gave me a John Deere hat for Hudson. Hudson has loved looking though them, I knew he would. But I think Brent has enjoyed them even more. Who knew that equipment literature was synomous with male bonding.

Getting Off Early

After a long week in Grace chopping corn, the entire crew was dragging by Saturday. Brent must have sensed a mutiny not far off, so he let us off at 4:30. I was totally surprised because that is very uncharacteristic of Brent. But it was awesome to get a few things done around the house and yard! We had a little down time, Brent snuck in a good nap before venturing out. I made Brent take me to Honks before we met Nik and Chod at the Blackfoot Wingers. It was a comical evening with a very unprofessional Winger's staff. It was enjoyable to spend the evening outside of the truck.

Survival

Now I remember why I titled my blog Plain & Simple- because that's how things are. During harvest, it's nothing but survival. Cereal for breakfasts, lunch from the cooler, and freezer burritos for dinner. Pretty plain, boring, and mundane. I try to make sure we have clean clothes for the next day before I go to bed. My lawn has burnt up and looks so white trash. Too bad it doesn't die evenly, no there's still got to be a few green spots to mow. I have a huge box full of tomatoes that I'm going to try to get canned tomorrow (still keeping my fingers crossed I'll only have to work a 1/2 day.) In the meantime, trips to town grocery shopping, scrapping, visiting, and hair fixing have all been put on hold. Wait just one minute. . . hair fixing has long since been abandoned. I don't know what I'm going to do with all my time when I am no longer working 12+ hour days, 6 days a week. Oh yeah, I'll go crazy. That's how farming goes. No constant pace. It's all or nothing, and for another four weeks I hope I can give it my all.

Surprise!!

I know it's been awhile since I've made my blogging presence. Sorry to disappoint any fans. Corn harvest has hit, and hit hard. I wasn't quite prepared to become a full time truck driver but Brent has been in desperate need of my help, so I've been spending my days in the truck. Meanwhile, Hudson has been spending time with Aunt Nik and Grandma Hillman. It has been really hard on me to send him off to daycare. I think I need him more than he needs me. How will I ever manage to send him off to kindergarten? It hasn't helped my blogging to have our computer down. Who knows if it will ever get fixed.