For the Love of Dirty Jobs

Some farmerwives are working partners - driving the wheat truck or milking the cows.  Some don't do heavy farm work - sticking to the house and meals & usually another job off the farm.  I am in the middle.  I don't drive the heavy machinery.  I do clean the heavy machinery.  Shop Vac, Turtle wax and Windex - those are my farm tools.

cleaning tractor windows with affection

We spent a few hours this past weekend cleaning the seed wheat out of the drill.  I explained a bit of the drilling process in Muddy Roads and Clean Wheat.  Once the drilling/planting is complete, ALL remaining seed wheat must be cleaned out to avoid mice getting in to eat it and make messes in the process (ew).  Cleaning up farm stuff is a dirty job.  After June's wheat harvest, I helped dig, vacuum, and blow the dirt & wheat chaff out of the endless crevices in the combine.  Dirtiest. Job. Ever.  Kind of looked like I'd been skiing through the wheat stubble on my head.  Following that effort -  shampoo, rinse & repeat?  You better believe it!

I don't generally look forward to these dirty tasks.  In fact, I must admit that enthusiasm is not my first reaction when I hear "Wanna' help me clean the tractor/truck/combine?"  However, I say yes because I married a farmer.  I love my farmer and our teamwork time.  Heading back to town with grimy clothes and windblown hair - mission accomplished - it's a lovely satisfaction knowing farmer and farmerwife accomplished the task side by side.

Chiggers, Coyotes & Peas - Oh My! (or harvest 2010)

Harvest is the pinnacle of the farmer's year.  We recently finished harvest so I'll share a bit of it.  You should know that we live in town and our family farm is about 10 miles out with no house there anymore - just various buildings and machinery.

We have gained a farm cat who will need a new home sometime before winter. (husband is allergic) She's friendly, adorable and now has some meat between her skin & bones. Any takers?

A calm twilight after 2 days of wind & heat brings out the wildlife. A fat badger scurried away when I pulled into the farm that evening. Then, as I was finishing up cat visitation, some coyotes started howling & yipping unnervingly close (adrenaline rush/goose bumps.) I saw some hazy figures in the distance & quickly plopped the cat up in her tree and drove off. That's when I realized the figures were four deer observing me.

My 17 yr old daughter & I still both fit in the combine with Alan. Only now I can't see much in front of me & when we get out it takes awhile to walk normal again.

We can still all four fit in the big tractor, but it's humorous, especially when Becca knocks it out of gear with her overly expressive elbow.

Overheard while riding in the combine with Alan: 
My son asks via the CB (needing to know how soon his dad wants to dump on the grain cart) "How much wheat do you have out there?" 
dad - "A whole lot." 
son - "That is NOT helpful." 
dad - "I won't know until we finish this field." 
son - "Okay, can you now answer my question the way it was originally intended?"

Chiggers like me better than my son. A night without bug spray is painful, especially behind my knees. I guess I'm just sweeter.

Becca - "Why do they say farmwife? You married a farmer, not a farm."
Me - "It's kinda' like housewife."
Becca - "Except you didn't marry a houser."

Mother/son entertainment during a field supper - try to land Alec's hat on each other's heads until Alan snatches it & tosses it into the ditch.

Becca - "They make pink John Deere shirts. Why can't they make a pink John Deere?"
(yes, she was joking)

I am driven by one ultimate goal each night: Keep all the hot food hot until the last man eats!

Me to my Pop-in-law: "Want some peas?"
Al - "Oh my, that was too much last night. I still have that great big cup in the fridge"
Me (louder) - "I said PEAS, NOT TEA."

Next day to my Pop-in-law (handing him lunch): "There's a cookie in there too"
Al - "What???" & looks at me like I'm nuts
Me - "A COOKIE"
Al laughing - "Oh, I thought you said a turkey."
(I love him - hearing challenged & all.)

Al - "Those are some real good pork chops!"
     No joke here, I just love to impress him : ] 

The men I cook for: one prefers handheld food, one wants all hot home cooking (my hubby-he wins), one loves fruit and hates sweets and another hates fruit and loves sweets. It's a challenge I relish - at least for one week out of the year.

Farmers generally have names for each field - often after whatever family used to own it or you still rent from, or by the closest road or town. Two of ours are super clever - the furthest east one is "Over East" and the newest one, which is the now the furthest west is - yup - "Over West"

I have a good guess how many miles to each field, but directions tend to sound more like this: drive north, turn left at the black top, turn right at the feedlot, turn left at the road that goes by the water tower. Once you go past the really big tree that hangs over the road in a low spot - you're almost there.

And I'll end with my version of the farmer wave. -Innn- (One finger lifted casually off the steering wheel - okay it's a skinny, short finger, but you get the idea)