Mud Pies and why I hate them….

I’ve been debating if I should write about harvest because why would anyone be interested?  But like I’ve said before, it’s my blog and if it makes me feel better, why not? 

Farming is so different from other occupations.  We don’t “do” farming like someone might “do” mechanical work.  We “live” farming.  It’s always here staring us in the face.  You can do all the things right with the seed choices, the fertilizers and chemicals needed, the cultivation and a hundred other things and in the end we still are at the mercy of Mother Nature.  Harvest is the time that a year’s worth of work is realized.  Payday if you will.

Here in the Valley, we grow a very large  percentage of the beet sugar grown in the U.S.  It’s a very big deal in terms of our area economy as well as for individuals.  If you ever buy Crystal Sugar, it might have come from our farm.

Once beet harvest starts in October it continues 24 hours a day until done.  EXCEPT, when we get temps below freezing or when the ground temp is above 50-some degrees.  Then we have to wait until those conditions change.  OR, when we’ve had too much rain for the equipment to move.  In the past week, we’ve had over 3” of rain. 

We are working today – I helped move equipment to a field that “might” have less mud.  But let me show a few pics taken before the last 1” of rain….

Approach to the field: 

Water stands in various parts of the fields:

  

 

On the left is the tractor that lifts the beets from the ground putting them into the truck which is pulled by a large 4-wheel drive tractor.  The truck would be stuck in minutes without the tractor towing:

 

 

Being pulled out of the field……

Onto the road……..

We’re on the road and being un-hooked from the tractor.

 

The county does it’s best to clean the roads for everyone’s safety:

And our almost- perfect Baxter.  You cannot imagine how he struggles with harvest.  He very badly wants to be with Mr.... Farmer.  But look at all that mud.  Do you think Mrs.... Picket Fence will be upset if I run thru all that?????????  (yes, I WAS!!)  Maybe he’ll be perfect tomorrow.

I am so over all that farming in the  mud story, aren’t you?  I have a couple things I’m working on but I can only show you one today.  I was out in my woodshop and look what I found:

It’s a primitive candle box that I made as a surface on which to mount this punch needle embroidery project. 

What I will show you in a day or 2 is the Wool Garden sample that I made for Mrs.... Farmhouse over at Farmhouse Woolens.  I’ll post the finished picture plus a tutorial on how to finish it.

I’d best go check on the farm progress.  It’s been quiet so that should mean it’s moving along.