Chapter 19 Harvest Time

The wheat heads were golden, hanging there on their stems. A gentle hot wind blew from the south. Mark walked out into the field of golden yellow and bent to pick off a head. He opened his hand and rubbed the head into his palm and picked up a kernel and bit it with his teeth. It popped at the touch. It was ready for the combine.

An exciting time on the farm was about to begin! The combine was backed out into the yard. Our faithful old grain truck was parked beside the gas tank. After breakfast I washed the windows of both the combine and truck. Mark was under the combine greasing all the little important areas. It promised to be a great day for our first day of cutting. The sun was bright and a warm breeze blew from the south. It was just the type of day that made a farmer whistle as he worked!

 Bret and Kate were happy little campers too. They had a new friend! We had been lucky to find two different young girls who came to stay with us during harvest time. Julie was with us this year. Both girls knew all about babysitting. They made meals, went exploring with the kids, helped them dig worms, playing dress up with the cats on the back porch, put them down for naps, and had them all scrubbed and dressed for bed when we got home late at night. They were a life saver to me. I never worried once. This morning Julie had the kids somewhere out in the north 40. They were exploring something really interesting!

It was like a zoo getting Mark calm enough to take time for a fast lunch at noon and the kids were still excited about having Julie here. There were jugs to make and last minute instructions to give. There was a spark in the air. After all, the harvest of Mark's labors was standing ready in the fields and you never knew about the weather! One storm is all it would take to end everything. Because of that, I could hardly get a peck on the cheek from my hubby. There wasn't any extra time for being romantic during this time of the farming year!

Around 1:00 pm, Mark ran through the back door, a dirty jug in his greasy hands. "Would you mind cleaning this up for me a bit and filling it with water?" I am heading out to the 80 across from Grandpa's to start with," he said as he went to the half bath just off the kitchen and washed his hands. "Give me about an hour and I should have a load ready to go." We had taken the old truck out before lunch and it sat there waiting.

Close to 1:00 I grabbed my water jug from the closet, filled it with ice and turned on the water letting it fill as I hollered at the kids playing in the basement. "I'm leaving now with a load. You be good for Julie."

"I'm sure we will get along just as good as can be. Shall I make you a lunch for this afternoon?" Julie asked looking at me from the bottom of the stairs.

"I'll just stop by and grab a little something around 5:00."

I grabbed my jug and billfold, ran out the back door, hopped in the pickup, and headed for the field. I pulled into the edge of the field, parked, grabbed the jug, and made my way through the wheat stubble over to our old 63 Ford truck. It looked really cute setting there, with its white top and blue hood. I loved this time of year! I could hear the hum of the combine somewhere off to the south. It made me happy just thinking of how happy Mark would be right now.

"Boy he filled this old girl to the brim. Hope I can get up the hills!" I thought to myself as I put the jug on the seat beside me. I turned on the key and she started right up.

I put it in first, let out on the clutch, slowly drove to the field gate, looked both ways, pushed a little more on the gas pedal and bumped out onto the road.  Then into second, then third, the engine was slowing down, going up that dumb hill. Oh great....shifted back to second and roared the rest of the way up the hill. Well I no doubt woke Grandpa up from his nap! Ok, back to third, now forth and bumped across the intersection and on down the road past the 80.

It is about six miles to the grain elevator. I really love hauling wheat over there. It's in a very small country town. The men who work there are like grandpa's to me. Their names were Bernie, Marsh, and Corky. Gary owned the elevator and Kathy was the book keeper.

Good ole Bernie was a stout man with a jolly laugh. He always looked on the bright side of life. He was a real friendly fellow and knew everybody by name. He knew how to make a lady driver feel like a million dollars!

Corky was so sweet and I loved him. He was a skinny little fellow. He walked real slow and always had a pipe sticking out of his mouth when he wasn't unloading wheat. He was always looking on the negative side of things. "Now Mark," he would say, his pipe wobbling out the side of his mouth, "you know if it don't rain soon that wheat just won't amount to a hill of beans."

Marsh---I just loved that name, don't you? Our friend Marsh was a happy easy going fellow. He had this lopsided smile and always seemed to get a kick out of life. He moved the fastest of all three of them. That is probably why he got all the work that called for "high gear".

I came coasting down Main Street, past a few houses, a church and an apple orchard and came to a stop at the end of a line of trucks, pick ups pulling grain carts and one or two tractors pulling a grain wagon. I was about a block from the scale.

Boy was it hot! I flung open my door and stuck my foot up against it so it would stay open. I found an old dirty envelope on the dash and started to fan myself. About the time I grabbed for my book, the line moved. I sat up from my comfortable position, started "Old Johnny" and moved up a few spots.

I was going to be next on the scale. "Now let's see, where did Mark put that piece of paper telling how much wheat goes to Uncle Pete and how much to us! I think Mark gets 2/3 and Uncle Pete 1/3 but I'm not sure. Where is that dumb paper?" I frantically looked under a greasy old rag, an old glove, a part of an oily box. Where is that paper? "I lifted up my book and whew, there is was. Just in time. Bernie was standing there with a smile on his face, waving his arm in wide circles for me to drive onto the scale.

I put it in first, let off the clutch and roared onto the scale, while Bernie's arm flies up to protect himself. He must think I was going to run him over right there! Silly guy anyway. Doesn't he know that is how a woman drives a load of wheat?

"Now how are you this fine hot day little Missy?" he ask as he grabs a gallon can and climbs up the side of the bed, dips the can in the grain and hops back down.

"You can pull ahead and they'll unload you." He waves for the truck behind me to come to the scale as I once again roar ahead.

I sat there, sweat running down my face, as I watched Marsh and Corky unload the truck ahead of me. They stood there behind the truck, Marsh's hand resting on the control of the lift, masks over their nose and a fog of dust all around them. Corky ambles over to the side and gets a shovel that was leaning up against a barrel, walks back over to the truck and starts cleaning out the corners of the bed. Marsh pulls the control toward him and down comes the truck. It's my turn!

You see, my old Johnny didn't have a hydraulic lift on the bed, so I had to drive my front tires up on a little cradle of sorts, and the cables on both sides would lift the front of the truck up in the air as the wheat poured out the back into the grates on the floor.

I sat up straight in the seat, pushed in on the clutch, shifted into first, both hands on the steering wheel, let out on the clutch and prayed it wouldn't die! It gave a snort, bucked a little-----and died! How embarrassing!

Corky clapped his hands! Well here we go again, but this time I really gave her the gas! The engine roared a little too much, the truck bucks a bit, but in I go! Bump---my front tires jump up on the lift.

"Stop!" Corky holler's from behind and reaches for the lever to lift up the front end. I quickly turn off the key and jump out. I step outside while fog rises all around the truck. It doesn't take long until it's empty, and Corky is pulling the lever toward him once again and down she comes. Clunk!

Marsh waves his arm in the air "ok honey your ready to head out. See you again."

"Thanks, see you." I holler back as I get into the cab, turn on the key and yunnn----yunnn, oh wonderful! Now what? And all those trucks are backed up waiting on me! Yunnn---Yunnn Oh what do I do? Help me!

"It doesn't start Missy?" Marsh has ambled up to the window.

"No! What do I do I'm so embarrassed!"

"Just be patient. I'll get the tractor and give you a pull."

I took a deep breath, looked in my side mirror at all those trucks lined up back there. I suppose the drivers are all men and I can just hear them laughing! "Oh hurry up Marsh for goodness sake!" I think.

Finally here he comes on his old narrow front end JD tractor. He backs it up to the truck, gets off and slowly drags a log chain off the back end of the tractor, lays down in front of the truck, hooks one end of the chain to the fender and the other to the tractors draw bar.

"Ok, put it in third gear and when we get to rolling, let out on the clutch and it should start," he hollered to me as he makes his way up on the seat.

With a little jerk, we were off. "Well thank goodness I was out of the way of those other guys!" I thought.

I let up on the clutch, it gave a little jerk, nothing happened! I pushed in on the clutch again, let out, jerk, nothing! Pushed in on clutch, let out, jerk, nothing! "Now what?"

Finally after going what seemed like miles, Marsh waved his arm in the air for me to stop. He gets down off his tractor and comes back to my window.

"It's not starting?" he asks.

"No, do I need to call Mark? Maybe something major is wrong with the engine?"

"You have the key turned on I'm sure." he said taking hold of the bill of his cap and scratching his head.

"Oh---yes---I mean---well let's try again, ok?"

"Ok," he chuckled to himself, pulling his cap back on his head and climbing back on the tractor.

"Ok--push down on the clutch, put it in third, let it move ahead, pop your foot off clutch---wow it worked! It does help to have your key on!"

I finally got back on the scale to weigh back. Whew, what a hot afternoon! It was even hotter now!

"Were you trying to entertain us all out there?" Bernie asked as he handed me the ticket through the window.

"Oh hush!" I laughed giving him a high five. "It's just too bad you weren't driving the tractor!"

"See you later."

See that's why I love those people so. I know Marsh knew all along that I didn't have the key on. He just wanted to be nice about it is all.

It sure felt good to be moving down the highway once again, wind blowing through the cab, drying out my sweaty clothes, hair blowing in my eyes. Mark would sure be waiting for me with a full bin. He would ask me what had happened. Let's see. Oh yes. Well I'd just smile my pretty smile and say "All's well that ends well. " After all, hadn't he just told me a few days ago that he thought I would be the best driver he could ever ask for this summer?