Harvest, what a small word for such a big thing....

The grain turns golden, a classic sign of harvest.

After sundown to a while after sunup, those have been the Mr. busiest hours this past week. The hay has been cut and he has been busy at work baling it up. I don't know how he makes it on such little sleep. But, the second hay harvest is almost finished up and then he will join in on the grain harvest. I am excited for that one becuase he will come home earlier at night. However much I miss seeing him during harvest, I do enjoy different aspects of this time of year myself. I was only able to make it out to the farm once so far this week but my usual spot sitting on the cooler in the tractor was waiting for me. I love the smell of cut hay, watching the baler (especially when the plastic "lolly pops" pop up to indicate a new bale has been tied up), and spotting the antelope out in the fields. Also this last time I went up we got to play with a blow torch. What fun!! Next week orientation starts for teaching and I only have a few more shifts at wal-mart left. I am anticipating that so much. I cannot believe how fast summer has flown by. I feel like I have only just started enjoying its warmth and now it is all but over. It's funny how time is, I wonder if I shall ever figure it out. It is a mystery how it speeds up and slows down though the ticking of the clock sounds consitant. And my biggest frustration: I can't control times speed however much I may wish to speed it up or slow it down at different points in my life. Harvest is one of those inevitable changes time brings. I guess to sum it up, harvest to me is a wonderful time of year when: -hardworking men who take so much pride in thier work come together to finish up what they began in the spring -when they reap the rewards of thier labor -when things speed up to full throttle before they slow down almost instantly to a crawl -when a farmers stress is relieved because thier crops are all grown and finally tucked away safe and secure from mother nature and, of course, -when I get to spend time riding in farm equipment with my hubby and enjoy being with him while he is "in his element" :) Of course, this is just my first harvest, so I am still learning a lot about it all and there is still so much harvesting left to do, but I look forward to experiencing more of it and can't wait to get on a Combine!!