Yesterday evening, hubby and I left chores behind, hopped on the motorbike and headed to our favourite hamburger joint at a nearby town. Summer is lingering here on the prairies. The sun is warm. The weather is dry. And farmers are rejoicing in the brilliant harvest conditions. It`s been a rough year from spring floods to summer droughts. Many crops were ruined, while others never had a chance to be planted. So it`s truly a wonderful site to see combines on golden fields. These are the lucky ones.
I have an unusual list of things that get me verklempt. I get a lump in my throat whenever I see and hear Air Force jets flying overhead – especially our Snowbirds, the Canadian aerobatic team. The lump is also there when a fire truck speeds by, with fire-fighters geared up and ready to face the unknowable. And the emotions are triggered when I see a row of combines on our prairies harvesting the fruits of so many months work.
Living in an agricultural community, the weather and farming conditions are a natural focal point of conversation. It seems that it is always too hot or too cold, too wet or too dry. As soon as the snow begins to melt, talk turns to seeding conditions. As the summer progresses, prayers bombard the heavens – either for much needed rain or for the rains to finally stop. As crops begin to grow, there is the ever present worry of storms and hail damage. Huge fields with flattened crops are a sad site.
So, to see the combines lumbering down the fields late into the night with grain trucks at their heels is truly glorious. My husband came from a farming family. Combining was his favourite task, because you finally saw the money coming in! And it’s true. Each harvest means that a family might have a chance to pay off the huge debts incurred with planting a crop, cover past losses, and hopefully have enough left for a decent living. And, of course, it means food on tables around the world.
Here’s a shout out to all our farmers and their families, with prayers and hopes for a bountiful harvest!
(The photo was taken from the back of the motor-bike. I wanted to get a combine shot, but kept missing it. I was just happy to return home with my iPhone intact!)
catholic dialogue 
It makes me jealous. The weather is finally marvelous here, the bike is covered and I’m sitting here working.
“I’d rather be riding my motorcycle thinking about God than sitting in church thinking about my motorcycle.”
I, too, live in a farming area. Your description of life here on the prairies was eloquent! I intent to forward this blog to all of my farming friends. Thanks for the word picture!
Thanks Marceta! Here’s to good harvests everywhere. 🙂
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Great photo Isabella, open road, and open sky, and the lush pastures, oh what a feeling!!! The warm wind, and the sense of freedom, surrounded by such beauty.