I love this time of year. When you drive through the countryside you see what looks like a patchwork quilt of crops. You’ve got the green soybeans and corn, the golden yellow wheat, and farmers making hay. It’s a busy time of year for farmers.

I loved wheat harvest when I was growing up in Kansas. It’s funny the memories you take away from childhood. I remember riding in the combine with my dad, and the air conditioner dripping water on my head. I remember putting a wad of wheat in my mouth and chewing it until it eventually became gum. I remember the water gun fights at the grain elevator. I also remember the honor system… the local elevator had an old refrigerator full of  “pop” (that’s soda to everyone else) and candy bars. There was a coffee can on top. They trusted you to put your 50-cents in the can when you took your pop and candy.

Everyone had their own job during wheat harvest. My uncles and dad would drive the three combines. My cousins and brother would drive truck. My grandmother and aunts would keep the food and drinks coming. And me, my job was pretty much just to get in everyone’s way. I was the youngest and just wanted to be where all of the action was.

That was so long ago. Two decades later (wow, it’s been that long?!?!) I’m far from home, but living vicariously through my fiancé and his family as they get ready to harvest their wheat. Here are some pictures from their farm...