Returning to the farm

Every year when I was a kid before the wheat harvest my dad would start to get antsy. He would wonder if the custom harvesters that we hire to cut our wheat would arrive on time or if a massive hail storm was going to destroy the crop. There was always an uncertainty about the quality of the wheat and how the harvest would go that would keep him set on edge. He would remain "amped up" until after the harvest was brought in.

I also remember riding in the combine. The combine had a large window in front. The combine driver had placed a small chair on the floor in front of it. I would set there for hours with wonder in my eyes watching all of the action as the combines harvested the wheat. From my vantage point I could see not only everything that was going on in the combine I was in but the other combines, tractors and trucks that were busily working as well. It was a magical experience.

One might wonder why I want to return to the farm and spend the rest of my life farming. The hours are long, the work is hard and the pay isn't that good. The answer is simple. I want to continue the legacy that my father, his father and many generations before that created. I want to feel those bugs in my stomach when the harvest approaches and want to look up in the cab of a combine and see that same starry eyed look in Zachary that I once had. I want to feel the pure joy of "bringing in the harvest."