It’s only April, but the mild Spring means farmers are hittin’ the fields hard already. The anhydrous is being applied, ground worked, and corn planted in quick succession. Some who’ve had a busy week might be glad for a break this weekend– the threat of rain has been pretty ominous!
Before the work can be done in the fields, maintenance has to be done on the tractors and implements. Here’s the two tractors ready for work: the one on the left is hooked to a field cultivator, the one on the right is hooked to the planter. No matter how thorough everything is checked/replaced/improved before hitting the field, chances are something will still break. Such as… the air conditioner. But hey, better the air conditioner than most any other part!
Here we are, ready to get going! I thought it was difficult getting out of the house with everything I’d need during a day in the tractor, but put a baby in the mix and it took me a hundred times longer to get out of the house. So much for just grabbing a cooler on the way out the door!
It’s no secret that Trent is a fan of bouncy rides, and it sure didn’t take him long to konk out in the tractor. There’s a good chance he inherited my sleeping gene– it was a rough ride but we had him snuggled tightly. When I was on my own, I was able to speed up and hit the bumps a little harder. Good thing there was no chance of my water breaking this time. Actually, this was the first day in the tractor since I finished chopping corn silage last fall… with my water breaking as I climbed down the ladder…
Trent & I ran the field cultivator through the field to make the ground into a perfect medium for a seed to thrive. This was about the time I realized the air conditioner wasn’t working– off came Trent’s sweatshirt and socks. I yanked up my pant legs and pushed up my shirt sleeves, but otherwise stayed completely clothed, thankyouverymuch. He never once fussed, so I think he enjoyed it. He slept, woke up and played, and then fell asleep a second time. Clearly he enjoys my singing as much as he enjoys the bumpy ride. It’s soothing =)
Now Trent’s watching his grandpa get started planting the corn.
The dust was flying! It was a perfect day to work ground… not a perfect day for trying to crack a window and find some cool air!
Working ground is extremely satisfying to me. You can tell on the right where I’d been, and on the left where I had yet to cover. Slowly but surely I always get to the far end of the field.
Dad’s kickin’ up the dust on his end of the field too. It was difficult to get a good shot out my tractor window while hitting bumps aggressively, so pardon the slight blur!
Break time. I stepped out towards the end of the field to snatch this picture: the blue implement is the field cultivator and the red one is a rolling harrow. They work together to make the field into a massive garden.
At this point, I was done and put her in park. You can see my dad still going with the planter in the distance.
Hopefully we’ll get a nice, gentle rain this weekend and by next week I can come out and look at tiny green corn plants reaching for the sun.
Funny story: so here we were in rural country, a house here & there but fields as far as the eye can see. I took this picture at the same place my nephew John (3 1/2 years old) pointed towards the distance and excitedly said “Look! There’s a field over there!” Love him =)
We’re not done with the field cultivator, not done planting corn, and not even started thinking about soybeans. But it’s only April, and we’re off to a dang good start! I’m happy to know that Trent likes to ride in the tractor. Company sure is nice!
The Pleasant Farm 
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