HARVEST 2025

The harvesters made a start on June’s field Tuesday evening (Aug. 19) and worked just half an hour. This was a family operation this year – our lessor and his three teen-aged sons – and on Tuesday evening they had to quit early and return home for a family event.

They were back Wednesday morning and finished by suppertime. I figure that two combines finished our fields in eight or nine hours.

I took a lot of pictures, many of them not very interesting. In fact, I didn’t think it was an interesting operation this year. The wind was blowing in the morning, so they worked the southernmost field first, away from the house, and when they came in close, they mostly came down the hill from the west. Sometimes the combines were hidden in a cloud of dust. And of course, they don't pause for picures. At any rate, I’m glad that I got to watch.

Wednesday morning as I walked Bess around the pond, I came upon a rattlesnake in tall grass between the barn and the pond. I scurried to the yard to get Mike, and by the time we made it back to the spot in question, the rattlesnake was crossing the path, heading to the pond. Once a rattler is discovered, it doesn’t stick around. This was our seventh rattler sighting this season.

Now that harvest is over, we look forward to better hiking options. Thursday morning, we walked across the field to the canyon. We came upon a large covey of chukars, but Mike says not to worry. They will disappear when the season opens. (Maybe that's why they call it "hunting.") KW