A farmers life

So today I want to write about farmers.  Hard working, getting dirty, always having to fix things, helping each other out, farmers.  I was raised on a farm. You know the mid-west farmer's daughter.....yep that was me.  I have lived in the city longer than I have in the country now but I still consider myself a farm girl.  I just got back from my homestead and have lots of stuff rattling around in my brain  needing to come out so here it is.
   My dad is 91 years old and lives with my youngest brother, Paul in the house on the main farm. My two middle brother's Ivan and Rod live on farms beside Dad's farm. It's harvest season, so when the weather is good you have to seize the day and work to get your crops in from the field, put in a storage barn for selling later or get it sold now.  Sounds easy right?  Wrong!  If it rains too much it takes time for the fields to dry so you may get stuck.  If you have problems with machinery or tractors you have to take time to fix it or get it to a farm mechanic and that takes time away from the field. Not to mention these are dairy farmers so cows have to be milked twice a day. If you are selling now you have to haul it to the elevator.  When it's harvest time you may have to wait for over an hour in line.
   Steven is my oldest brother and lives a little farther from the rest and doesn't have all the equipment he needs to do everything so he needs help.  I witnessed how kind my brothers were helping him get his silo filled one day while I was there.  They each had a lot of work to do on their own farms but took time to help him.  One day Paul helped Ivan move some calves around to different pens when he needed to get some of his own to the sale barn.  Rod helped my dad with a flat tire on his plow, and remember he's 91 but still works as long as he can when the harvesting is needed.  The list goes on and on of each of them helping the other as the need arises.
  I love that my family is like that.  I get so frustrated at times when I go home because the house is never in the shape I'd like it to be.  I spend most of my time cleaning up and cleaning out things, but when I see how hard they all work sun up to sun down, I understand the housework cannot be a priority when their livelihood depends on working outside.
  Farmers are some of the hardest working people I know.  They have to be multi-talented and multi-taskers.  I am thankful for each one of my family of farmers, and those that aren't farming.  I am glad I was raised on hard work, fresh air, laughter and a lot of card games.

 Paul talking to my grandkids on the phone.

 Calves watching me watch a sunrise.

 Dad picking corn.

                                     Dad and Paul putting some beans in sacks

Paul unloading corn to the crib.

                                                                     Grainery

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