I have been traveling a bit so I had my fingers crossed I’d be around when the combine harvester arrived. That day was today. David Mason, a local multi-generation farmer here on the shore leases the 75+ acres in front of where I live. This year he planted corn at the start of the year and soybeans at the end of June when I first saw this place.

The harvest process, like most things in farming, is an orchestrated process which is a bit tedious. First they drive the combine harvester to the field. Not every road is wide enough or idle enough for the combine to make the trek in “operational configuration”. Fortunately, the front catch - which is 30 feet wide - can be removed and trailed behind a pickup. There is also a truck with a fuel bladder and a tractor trailer for the harvest. This caravan arrived around 4pm today with the sun steadily creeping toward the tree line. I grabbed a few pictures as David started the harvest.

Around 6pm, with the temperature dropping quickly into the 30’s and long past dark, David finished filling the first 18 wheeler and called it a night. Parked in the front yard is the tractor trailer, the combine, and one of the pickups. I’m guessing it will be an early day tomorrow ! … a cold one too.

Related tangests ...   Staying safe in an unsafe world   The Fig Harvest Begins   Road Hog

Posted in Cold, Eastern Shore, Farming | Print

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