Crash and Harvest

As the season wound down, so did my computer. My hard drive gave up the ghost after only 9 months. Warranty replaced it, but not all that data. I don't have any particular attachment to most of what was on the hard drive, but I am quite upset about losing a season's photos and journal entries. I'm both angry at my computer and at myself for not diligently backing up my data. I'm searching for the lesson in all this (like, technology bad, simplify your life, etc.), but unfortunately, I think the lesson is, back up your data.

Despite that setback, the farm rolls on through its 2nd, 3rd, 4th, and 5th frost. The turkeys continue to gobble, and Courtney and I have stored away the potatoes, onions, and winter squash. The emmer has been harvested and sits in the back of the truck in the quonset, safely out of the rain.

Actually, the emmer harvest was emblematic of all the support we've received our first year, especially from our close friends and family. My good neighbor (who picked up my lentils) was unable to slip away from his farm to pick up my emmer with his combine. So I called on my father-in-law Clyde, who does custom cutting for some of his neighbors. Saturday, after our final farmers' market, we met at his place, along with Court's brother, wife, and son. The caravan was as follows: Court in our pickup, Renee in hers, me in Clyde's pickup, flagging for the combine, Clyde in the combine, and Steve in the truck. We all worked to clean out the combine and truck, and it wasn't long before the combine picked up all the swathed emmer, dumped it into the truck and my 15-acre field's season was over.

Now if you'll excuse me, I have some data to back up.


Steve and Sam put the truck together and clean it out.


I cleaned out the combine, happy for all the help we had.


And we're off.


The pickup header sweeps the swathed emmer into the machine.


The emmer in the combine bin.


Dumping...


Dumped.