(No so) Wordless Wednesday...First Ride of the Year

My dad is a farmer. His father was a farmer. His father's father was a farmer. You see where I'm going with this, don't you? 

I grew up on a farm. I grew up knowing that each spring and each fall, we wouldn't see much of my dad for several weeks running. And if we did see him during this time, it was usually inside the cab of a tractor or combine.

Now, I NEVER remember combines (those big machines that harvest the grain) out in the fields so early in September - at least in our neck of the woods. Dad started picking corn last Tuesday. I jumped in the cab for my first (and hopefully not last) ride of the year last Friday. He said that he'd harvested soybeans as early as September 1 before but NEVER corn (field corn, not sweet corn).

Why so early? We haven't had a significant rain since late July. This caused the corn to mature and dry down in the field much faster than normal. Farmers don't want the corn to get too dry in the fields so when it's ready, it's ready - no matter what the date!

Here are some more shots I got during my ride. Enjoy.

My dad...

Views from the cab...

Unloading...notice that dad unloads into grain wagons which will then be pulled out of the field and dumped into grain bins. You may also see combines unloading directly into semi trucks with grain hoppers (trailers) or even unloading while continuing to harvest.

Dad doesn't do that. It's a two-man team on our farm - my dad and my Uncle Sam (though Mom has driven the tractor this year too) and they don't own a semi so this system works best for their limited manpower.