Harvest and all that Jazz

We are in a state of expectation.

We are waiting for the rains to hold off just for a whole day so we can get into the barley.

I say we, rather like the Royal "we". I mean, of course, my brother and his huge monster of a harvester and all the paraphernalia that goes along with it. Two further men, two tractors and trailers to take turns in unloading the machine and carting off to the grain store. If we have some stiff winds and the corn dries there will be no need to go to the expense of artificial drying. Cereals of any description cannot be stored wet and the moisture content of the crop is measured frequently for the optimum content before cutting. To dry after harvesting costs huge amounts of money and of course this eats into profits; what little there is.

I can hear him now, he is cutting round the edge of the field with a clipper and cutting down the overgrown driveway where he will take his great lumbering machine. Its a huge logistical problem just getting the machine here. We cannot afford or indeed justify a machine of our own as they cost something in the order of £250,000.00. This jobbie has to cut around 2000 acres all told for the four farms it will service. It will labour from dawn to dusk.

It might be our turn first this year.

My brother contract farms for us and we have to wait our turn.

Its a case of whoever has the correct moisture reading on the day gets the machine first. Ours is looking good. We stand very high here and with a good wind and some strong sun we should be in pole position. Dad's farm lies just over the hill, across the river and he waits also. Second on the grid.

Harvest, a bit like charity, should begin at home I think he feels, but not when you are a contractor, oh dear me no. Poor old dad, he still finds this hard to stomach. He keeps ringing me to "see if they are here yet" so he can come up and watch proceedings as brother won't be doing it right - oh no no no. You can imagine. 82 years of experience versus 47. No contest really.

I took this photograph yesterday afternoon - Tuesday - whilst on my walk, looking back across the barley to the farm. I try to do at least 10,000 steps a day - the recommended amount. Who recommended I can't actually recall but it sticks with me. I have a friend who is a House mother in a Boarding House at the local Prep School in a huge old building and she recorded 15,000 steps just during a day's work!

I actually do something in the region of 14,000 on average as I am always outside, walking to and fro somewhere on this farm. It is 35 big steps from my kitchen sink, through the hall, through the dining room into the office so I can soon clock them up. 500 steps to the pond. You get my drift.

Anyway, on this particular day, I have my Ipod attached just to help me along a bit. All sorts of random bit of music, skipping from country to jazz, to rock. When I first got this little toy I was not connected to the internet and therefore it is just loaded with songs with no titles. So it sort of skips from one track to another, rather than plays a whole album. Anyway its a bit like me, skipping along to old Van M, and then racing along with Shania and dreaming with Josh G.

But all the time waiting.

Waiting for harvest.