Remember Faithful Farm Fresh Fans (like my alliteration there?) we’re not having It’s Real Life this week.
In lieu of that, I’d love to see Summertime at your place. Mr. Linky is over at Americanmum.
Summertime on the farm brings the wheat harvest. We harvest it with the same combine as we do corn, with a different head, used for beans, wheat and oats. Kevin planted the wheat in September, then it grows a bit and is dormant over the winter and is ready to harvest in July. It’s called winter wheat.
When the grain tank on the combine gets full, Kevin transfers the wheat to a grain wagon via the unloading auger.
The straw and the chaff come out behind the combine. Tomorrow Kevin will go out to rake and bale the straw into big round bales to use for bedding for the cattle, mulch for the garden and to sell.
Here we have a cool picture of the Iowa sky, with the corn behind the Deere 6400 (the only Deere tractor we have–Kevin prefers Olivers and Whites) and the combine in the foreground.
The sun setting behind one of the silos. Silos are used to make silage–which is the entire corn stalk and ears chopped up and left to ferment. We feed it to the cattle in the winter when we don’t have pasture.
There you have it. Summertime on the farm–at least today– and a little lesson in farming. Thanks to my dad for taking these pictures as he was driving the tractor and wagons!
I def want to show these pics to my son in the morning when he is awake. He keeps begging me to grow wheat so we can make flour for bread. Yea.. we do NOT have a yard big enough for that or a thumb green enough. So thanks for letting us live and learn vicariously through you.
Oh, how I love the country. I love farms and fields,the tractors and bales of hay. But mostly I love the smell.(just not the smell of silage. I can definitely do without that!)
I’m not weird, I really do love all the smells – and I have such a deep appreciation for the hard work of a farmer.
Great pictures, Jessica! That’s one hard-workin’ man you’ve got there!
Happy WWWAT!
-Andrea
Beautiful pictures and thanks for the lesson! I don’t know anything about farming. Happy WW!
WOW, I like your take on summertime! I am sure it is a crazy busy time of year living on a farm!
So cool! I love learning something new! Never knew what a silo was really for before now.
I’ll have to see what I can come up with around my house. I doubt it will be anything terribly exciting.
Your farm pictures bring back a boat-load of memories…summer on the farm is a lot of work! Thanks for sharing!!
Okay, so how cool is that? I want to come visit and watch all of this in action. Do your kids ever get to ride on the tractors and combines? Noah would EAT THAT UP!
Cool! I know it’s hard work and all, but I’m endlessly fascinated by life on the farm.
And you might not prefer John Deere to the others- but my boys go bonkers for them! (because they’re the 3 and 5 year old experts in farming equipment you know, lol) I’m totally going to have to call them in to see this picture after they wake up this morning!
Looks like a lot of work. What beautiful photos…
Reminds me of “Country!”
I miss silos! I grew up in Wisconsin and miss all this farm stuff! Florida had notting even close to a real farm.
I love reading your blog….
Have a graet day.
What great pictures!
It must be so wonderful for your kids to grow up in such a beautiful place. Happy WWWAT!
WOW – does that bring back memories!!
God I miss home!!! Okay, so Bett. is hardly a farming community, but I really really really do not like living in KC. I miss my Iowa!
Those pictures are all beautiful and I would give anything to live in the country 🙂
Loved it 🙂
Those pictures made me think of home. We didn’t harvest on the scale that you guys do, but we do hay every year for our cattle.
Wonderful pictures!
Great pictures! I especially like the sunset.
Great pics! These bring back memories of my childhood!
these pics are beautiful. there is a field of winter wheat across the street from the house i work in and I just LOVE when it is ready to harvest… it’s so pretty!
Great pictures – looks like hard work. We live in farm country too, but only have a tiny veggie garden. Those big machinces are always riding up and down the street behind my house.
Oh wow, those are really great pictures, Jessica! I love them. It looks so lush and gorgeous with everything growing. What a wonderful place for you and your family to live.
Absolutely INCREDIBLE!!!!!!!
Wow Jessica! Those pictures are beautiful, It must be just georgeous there all the time 🙂
My kids would love a ride on the tractors 🙂
that looks like home to me! I grew up in the middle of nowhere, and I love going back and visiting. its so calm. I love it 🙂
Awesome job!
That sunset is absolutely gorgeous! Wow!
I love the country 🙂
OOO. and a farm lesson too! that was every bit as good as mr rodgers!
i use flikr, btw, and have a nikon coolpix s550
Megan
Summertime is work time, on a farm. Good, hard work!
And that last photo is spectacular. Always time to stop and savor the sunset…
Miss Mari-Nanci
Smilnsigh
Photos-City-Mine
Ohhh, I’ve always wondered why it was called “winter wheat!”
I think it would be so cool to live in a rural farm area… but I would need a body of water somewhere because I am, afterall, a Florida girl…
oh you make me miss farm country so much! the sights, the sounds, the smells…ah!
Thanks for the email! Apparently my comments button got messed up with all the re-decorating going on at my place. I totally didn’t even know. Thanks again!
Thanks for the reminder of where our food comes from. All too often we forget that; I remember being shocked when someone told me milk came from a cow. I’d just never made the connection before. Yeah, city kid here. Hopefully I’ll be a little better at teaching my sons where their food comes from. I think this will be a great way to show my oldest how his bread starts out. Thanks for the pics!
By the way, Noah totally loved these tractors.
Great pics! Justin will enjoy them when he gets home! Sorry I couldn’t participate. It’s VBS week here…do I need to say anymore?! CRAZY week!
Thanks for showing us (me!)some of Kevin’s toys! I look forward to seeing more…it makes me homesick for my Dad’s farm – small, but a farm nonetheless! -Justin (Husband of the Mommy in the trench)
wow! these remind me of my grandmother’s farm! (vt dairy) silage and manure *fragrances* make me semi-homesick!
What a unique take on summertime! I love it. How cool! I had no idea what this is like, always having been a city girl, so I’m really glad you posted this! Thanks for the sweet comments on my blog!
Beautiful pictures. Part of why I love this beautiful state we live in!
Wow! Those are amazing pics! Thanks for sharing. I learned a little bit too!