Harvest Memories

(A photo from harvest last year, Hubby watching Son in tractor/grain cart unloading wheat into the semi. Our friend was out in the field with the combine.)


Usually, in this area, harvest starts around June 10. But this year, Memorial Day was the start date, about a week or more earlier than that. So it's been in full swing here lately, at least as much harvest as there is. (Had a bad year with drought.) I notice on facebook that harvest is starting in my home county up in Kansas. A younger friend's pictures from her combine-driver's view brought back a flood of memories. This even ties in with our anniversary, which was yesterday ...


I may have talked about his here in blog-world already. If so, just bear with this forgetful cowgirl. :)


I grew up a town kid. I loved country things, and farms, and had heard stories all my life from my parents about farm/country living. The closest I ever got, though, to any such real-life thing, was owning a horse for 4 years. My husband wasn't raised on a farm, but had enough varied work experience so that he knew how to drive truck, run machinery, etc. So just after we were married (only a week or two?), we helped some friends (this young friend above's parents - she was a toddler back then) with harvest. Hubby helped in the field, and I helped with things in the house such as watching the little ones and helping fix and deliver food.


I think I would've done a better job if I hadn't been in a brain-fog from just being married! That whole time is a "blur" in a way!


But anyway, it was interesting to me. One day I even rode with my new Hubby in the tractor. A Russian-made one, which was also fascinating to me. For food, we (ha, that's a very loose term, my friend did most of it! LOL) had stuff like enchiladas or whatever, and took meals to the field.


Then, one day, my friend had to be gone. So I was to cook the meal for noon. Thankfully, they were coming to the house to eat that day. Now, I had watched my Mom cook all my life, and I could make things somewhat, but to do this particular thing was a little intimidating - cooking for other people! *nervous* So I tried to just keep it simple. I fixed meat patties, mixed vegetables and chocolate pudding. I put too much seasoning on the meat patties. The veggies were bland. Then I accidentally used sour milk for the pudding. (My friend used powdered milk since they lived so far out, but I didn't realize it was bad, oops!) So for my first try at such a thing, I felt like a miserable failure! But regardless, I look back on that time with general happiness, with memories of marriage, friends and harvest all mingled together.


Then, last year, I got to redeem myself a little. Now with all the 20 years that have passed, I like to think I've improved in the "fixing food" category. It's not that I can't, it's that I lack confidence. Well, As Hubby and older Son helped a friend here with harvest last summer, a day came along that they needed something for noon and the regular providers were unable to do so. So after they called with a request for something to eat, I whipped myself into action, visited the grocery store, and we had sandwiches, chips, beans, fruit, snacks, and icy things to drink. Then lo and behold, I got asked to bring some stuff out the next day as well. So it was basically the same thing, sandwiches, corn, chips, fruit, drinks, etc. And even though this was kind of thrown together like a picnic and I really didn't "cook," I felt like I was "redeemed" a little from the fiasco 20 years ago! The important thing was the guys got refreshed with food and drink and were ready to go back to work.


But my dream is to be able to COOK a harvest meal of some kind someday. :)