Old Time Wheat Harvest

Wheat harvest is just about finished in this part of the country. About one more week is the estimate. Although the drought has been bad and the harvest poor the local farmers have had a better crop than they expected. Better, but still not good.

Every year the locals get together for a day and have an old time wheat harvest to show how it used to be done.

No, this combine isn't an antique...it's just waiting to finish the job that the old time machines start.

I can't imagine harvesting fields of wheat with this little guy.

And look at that tractor! No cab, no air conditioning.

But there were three old time harvesters running in the field and dumping in an old grain truck...not a huge semi truck like farmers use now a days.

Looks hot out there doesn't it? Well, it is. The temps have been in the 90's and 100's for the last few weeks. Today's high is 106. (After I finish typing this post we are going to the pool!)

It was funny because there were probably 50 people out in the middle of this hot wheat field just watching the harvesters run. I'm sure they wouldn't have been so cheery if they'd been harvesting this way everyday for two weeks.

 This was a chance for some of the guys in the area to share some of their old toys too.

 Antique tractors and antique cars.

I was really looking forward to the old time harvest as being a wonderful educational experience for the boys. Honestly though it was too hot and dusty and we were all in a raging bit of a grumpy mood  so we didn't stay very long.

The most interesting thing for the boys to do was pick up wheat the old harvesters had missed. Yip and Yap kept holding up handfuls at me and hollering, "Is this enough wheat to make some bread Mom?"

I kept answering, "Not quite."

So a couple large handfuls of wheat are sitting in the back of my car and maybe this week will try to thresh it and grind it into flour and use it in some bread. I think the boys will be pretty disappointed with how little flour they'll get though! Maybe next year it will be a bit cooler on old time harvest day...I hope!