Wheat Harvest: One Day, Minute-by-Minute

Saturday July 8, 2006

This is a Minute-By-Minute account of a randomly selected day. This was a normal day in many respects but abnormal in others. See the notes (*) for clarification.

All the pictures shown were taken on the aforementioned day so they correspond directly with the description.

740-Climbed out of bed, Got dressed and got my water jug ready (Filled, for those of you in Rio Linda)

750-Checked my truck. Tires, oil, air, and such.

800-Waited at the in the trailer. while waiting, I watched the bonus features on Ice Age and Bourne Supremacy.

901-Dave let us know that we are leaving in an hour and fifteen minutes.

948-Called home and talked to my brother cause no one else was home.

954-Went back in the trailer and got side tracked discussing “needs”. What is a need and what isn’t. e.g. is having a vehicle a need?

957-Brushed my teeth

959-Worked on lap top

1015-Leave trailer yard and drive to field*

1107-Arrive at field and wait, I often read, nap or do devotions while I wait.

1154-Get info on who this field gets credited to and which elevator we take it to

1200-Decided to grease my truck, Started Greasing**

1236-Chuck wagon shows up, I eat lunch

1252-Done with lunch, back to greasing

149-Finished greasing after fighting with a grease gun that didn’t pump, move truck to different part of the field. We will usually use the edge of the field as a staging area, and only have 2 or 3 trucks in the field ready to load at once.

157-I rode in the combine with Andy, If nothing else it is air conditioned in a combine and it helps break up the monotony.

236-Borrowed the phone again and called home

248-Moved my truck into the field so they can load me

254-Finally get wheat dumped on me

306-Truck gets full, Tarp the load and leave field

341-Stop for construction

347-Moving again

410-Arrive at elevator and sit in line***

441-Get to probe shack and they take my sample

446-Done at probe shack, head to Pit #1

517-Pull onto pit/scales to dump

522-Finished dumping and head to trailer

528-Arrive back at trailer. This is free time.

601-Told to go to the combines/Leave for the combines

619-Arrived at combines and waited for Mel to arrive with the escort/service truck

634-Follow combines to the new field

655-Arrive at field, Chuck wagon caught up to us on the way so we parked to eat. Normally the combines and any trucks at the field stop to eat meals.

728-Finished with supper. They wanted to get a sample of the wheat to make sure it was dry enough to send to the mill. With 9 combines in a field it doesn’t take long to get a lot of wasted wheat if it is not dry enough to send to the elevator. Usually one combine will drive through the field to test it before everyone else goes crazy. So the rest of us waited. They decided it was too wet to cut.

830-The other service truck (the one that came originally had to go and help fix a combine that broke down in route) arrives and begins to fuel the combines.

850-Since it doesn’t take 12 guys to fuel, and it was Saturday evening, I called Sarah.****

907-We left the field and headed back to the trailers, leaving the trucks and combines there

928-Arrive back at the trailers.

932-I called Sarah back. We took a brief time-out while I was riding home.

1238-Back in the trailer, I took a shower and got ready for bed.

1257-Climb into Bed

1257.5-Fall asleep

NOTES:

*Normally the field is not 45 minutes away. It took the combines 2 hours to drive, they left earlier.

**I only grease my truck about once every month.

***Normally the line is not very long, but this is the only elevator for about 40 miles or so, and this one is known for being slow, and not being very customer friendly. Today the line was shorter than yesterday. I talked to one local guy that said last year he sat for 16 hours in line at this elevator.

****Saturday evenings is the only time that we really get to talk, (Besides early Wednesday mornings) and that is only if I don’t have to work too late, Remember mountain time is 2 hours behind eastern.