Wheat Planting on the Prairie

Wheat Planting Time on the Prairie

Mid-September to the first of October is the ideal time to plant wheat here on the prairie. Wheat was always the primary crop that we planted on our farm when we were farming full time. The farmers work all year to raise that crop as that is your main source of income for the year. It is vital to the success of the farm, family and finances. Because of these dynamics it can be a very stressful time of year. Much work must be accomplished on the farm to care for the crops and the animals with the winter months fast approaching. We usually carried over a truck load of wheat from last July’s harvest so that it could be used to plant or drill the new crop of wheat. This seed wheat needs to be cleaned to remove trash and make it as clean as possible to plant.

John 12:24 Truly, truly, I say to you unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains alone; but if it dies, it bears much fruit.

One year the land we were planting wheat on had not been prepared as properly as the Farmer liked it to be. Some of the weeds on one piece of ground had grown too big and we couldn’t get the ground worked with the tractor and sweep machine as much as we liked. So we decided to drill the wheat while we still had some moisture and began the process. The Bride is the Farmer’s only hired man as the sons and daughter were in school.

The Farmer’s plan was that the Bride would help to load the drill with seed wheat with 5 gallon buckets as he was down in his back and couldn’t do all that he wanted to do. This process went along pretty well. It was during the next step that the problems began to appear. The Farmer drove the tractor while the Bride rode on the drill to make sure we could get through the weeds and that the seeds were going into the ground as they should. Because we know from the scripture above, unless the wheat falls into the ground and dies it does not produce and we needed much fruit!

This plan, although a good one did not work well as the Bride got over whelmed with her duties and fell quite behind. The Farmer always has a good plan B ready and we changed spots. The Bride drove the tractor while the Farmer rode on the drill. This was better but the Bride was very concerned that she would knock her precious Farmer off of the drill with her antics as the driver. Also the tractor is very noisy and it makes it extremely hard to hear the Farmer and his instructions. The Bride has never understood Farmer sign language. She did however understand that she was to stop the tractor when the Farmer began to hit the drill with a crow bar with great force. He said he was not angry he was just trying to get the Bride’s attention to STOP the tractor.

Life is like a field, where we must gather what we grow, weed or wheat…this is the law, we reap the crop we sow. – Patience Strong.

Needless to say, it was a long day and there were some marriage issues that arose BUT the wheat did finally get drilled and a very tired Farmer and Bride got home to a nice warm shower after a strenuous day in the dirt.

The Farmer at Home

Our Lord blessed us tremendously on the way home from Arizona. With fuel prices rising, we thought it would take plenty of fuel to get home. We had a very strong tail wind for two days and averaged 13 miles per gallon. The last day home was a different story. As we turned to head Northeast, the winds were buffeting us from the side and rocking everything. The knowledge that we were a few hours from home, kept us going. Our fuel average went down and down but home sure looked good.

Home is the place where, when you have to go there, they have to take you in.
Robert Frost

The farmer was summoned immediately to begin to build terraces for a neighbor. We still own a single belt terracer but don’t have a tractor anymore. Well, that’s not completely accurate as we have two IHC Super C’s and and IHC B. They are not the kind of tractor with which you pull a terracer, however. This is according to the Farmer.

He also started driving a semi for a neighbor and hauling corn from the bin to the ethanol plant. He didn’t even get a chance to draw in a deep breath. He does love working in the dirt and has built lots of terraces in his day. I think he had a good time throwing dirt around and telling the younger guys how to do it.

We were still able to meet another great SOWER couple as they came to stay at our overnight parking for SOWER’s and their RV. They are brand new to SOWER’s but have been looking forward to this for a long time. They are both still teaching at a Junior College up north. They are looking forward to their first assignment in Colorado Springs. We loved getting acquainted with them and sharing so much about our families and our love for the Lord. The Farmer and I hope they make their way back through this prairie someday.

The Farmer’s wife also had a project in mind that involved replacing some wall tile in the bathroom and the Farmer’s daughter needed assistance with their basement bathroom. Those daughter’s sure know how to wrap those dad’s around their little fingers. If their smile doesn’t do it, chocolate will turn the tide. The Farmer was pleased to help our wonderful son-in-law with this project.

July on the Prairie

Thankful for the sacrifices made for our freedoms.

The farmer put up a couple of flag holders so that we could fly our United States flags on the fourth of July and praise our God for the freedom we have in this country to pursue our relationship with our Lord. We thought of many who have given it all to allow us to keep these freedoms. My dad was in the Navy in WWII and many we know served in VietNam. The farmer served six years in the National Guard. Thank you to all of you veterans out there for keeping this country free.

Every day we grow more thankful to live on the wide open prairie far from the happenings in the world. We don’t watch the news and do not watch TV at all. It has been a tremendous blessing to be free of that. We love to read and pray and keep our ears to the news with a Christian radio service.

We know our world is in turmoil and we know much of our world is in great fear. Every day there are new concerns and much, much is unknown. Tomorrow is a different story from the day before. Everything is changed and we don’t know when or if we will ever be back to “normal”. One constant is that God never changes. He is the same yesterday, today and forever.

Before the mountains were brought forth, or ever you had formed the earth and the world, from everlasting to everlasting you are God.
Psalms 90:2

The heavens are telling of the glory of God; and their expanse is declaring the work of His hands.
Psalms 19:1

For by him all things were created, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities–all things were created through him and for him.
Colossians 1:16

With all that is happening in the world today the only place of safety and security is in His arms. Even here on the prairie the only place of refuge is in His loving arms. The only peace, the only calm, the only place to be free of fear is to put our trust in Him. Peter in Matthew 14:22-33 could walk on the water as long as he kept his eyes on Jesus. When he looked at the circumstances (the waves crashing around him) he sank down in the water and thought he would drown if Jesus didn’t reach out His hand and lift him up.

We too can drown in fear if we take our eyes off of Jesus and listen to the chaos around us. But for Jesus and his hand to rescue and save us, we may be overcome by fear in these days. Have you given your life to Jesus today? He is ready to give you the free gift of salvation. All you must do is ask him and believe. Here is a prayer you can use to ask him for his peace and faith instead of fear.

Lord, I believe you sent your Son, Jesus Christ, to die on the cross for my sins and then He arose from the dead. I repent of all of my sins and ask you to forgive me. I believe that you have forgiven me and I invite you to come into my heart and life. I want to trust and follow You as my Lord and Savior. Thank you for saving me, Jesus.

Leaving the Little House on the Prairie

Whew this Kansas weather is something! Yesterday it was 45 degrees and today we have a blizzard. Snowing again! Today was the day to put the final touches on the camper loading and prepare for our departure tomorrow morning. So thankful for a big shed to work in to get out of the driving snow.

A couple of complications entered the picture today. One was a propane hose leak on the camper. We are at least 90 miles from the nearest camper dealer and no one else seemed to have what we needed. With the blizzard underway we didn’t want to make a long journey today. Good thing my farmer husband is resourceful. A little western Kansas farmer ingenuity and the leak is fixed and we can continue with our departure in the morning. We are thankful to our gracious Lord for helping us again today.

The second was having to drive his freshly waxed pickup on our muddy country roads. He sure did mess up that wax job. Wax on, wax off at least it was good exercise. Farmers almost never complain about rain in our area though. Moisture is a much needed blessing here.

Tomorrow we will be

“On the road again, like a band of gypsies we go down the highway,

We’re making new friends, goin’ places that we’ve never been.

The life we love is working for Jesus with our new SOWER friends.

We just can’t wait to get on the road again.” Thank you Willie Nelson.

South bound!