September 30, 2010

The summer hay crop is in the barn. The silos are full of chopped corn. The morning temperatures are getting cooler. The trees are changing from green to various shades of brown, yellow, red and orange. The corn fields are ready to be harvested. It is fall. This is my favorite time of the year.

Today we stopped at Sonny and Freda’s to say our goodbyes before leaving Indiana tomorrow. Sonny and two of his boys were picking corn and filling a crib. It was exciting to watch as the men brought the wagons full of corn in from the field. This is Amish Country and these Amish men are using horses to pull the picker and wagons. It was great to hear Sonny talk to the horses as he lined up the wagon dump chute with the elevator. He was standing near the rear of the wagon and not using the driving lines as he gave the team instructions. Step, back, whoa and the horse’s names were the only words he used. After the wagon was in the perfect position, he smiled as he turned to me and asked “Do you think they can do that with a tractor?” I was fortunate to see Sonny exhibit his skill and proficiency with a pair of horses. It was a delight to watch the coordination, cooperation and teamwork of the horses and Sonny.

 

Here you can see one son, Larry, waiting to exchange an empty for a full wagon while the other son, John, operates the corn picker.

Here a full wagon is coming in and an empty is waiting to go back to the field.

This crib holds 1200 bushels of corn and is almost full.