Corn.

Sometimes dreams really do come true.

Like when you are five and have waited all summer to do corn, and the day finally arrives.

It's a good day.

I love corn chopping time, always have.
There's just something about getting the corn in--
it marks the end of the summer craziness, it's the beginning of fall.
The seasons are beginning to change and so is the pace,
it feels nice.
We haven't been here to experience it for many, many moons.
In fact, I don't think any of my kids have ever been here for it.

So, for those of you non-farm people let's have a little corn tutorial--shall we?

Here's the deal:

It takes a fair amount of man power to get this done.

And when I say man power I don't just mean the adults.
It also involves the minions.
Here's some of the junior work crew.


Every one had at least one kid with them AT ALL TIMES.
And it can be exhausting work,
just ask Howard's little lady, Mya.

Nothing says comfort like a nap in a bumpy truck
with your head resting on a bucket!

So, once you have the workers in training all lined up....

The corn
(it's called field corn-not sweet corn. sweet corn is people food, field corn is cow food.)
needs to be chopped up and hauled to the corn pit where it is stored and fed to the cows during the winter.


You need someone driving the chopper that is hooked up to the tractor.
My brother Richard was the chopper driver this year.


*SIDE NOTE*
My dad is usually the chopper driver.
This year he was in the middle of getting 2 new knees.
I figure this was probably the first time since his mission that he wasn't out driving the tractor during corn.
But, we did set him up a spot outside to watch the action.

He kept an eye on things.

So, you have the chopper.
Then you need a dump truck to follow the chopper and catch the corn.

Like this.

Well, two dump trucks really.


One in the field filling up while the other one is driving to the pit to empty it's load.

This was my job back in the day. I love driving the corn truck.
This year our truck drivers were mostly Mike and my brother Howard.

Next is the pit.
The pit is where I always remember my grandpa being.
He worked the tractor on the pit.
Now it's my brother David's domain.
He is the Pit Man.


So the Pit Man moves the corn around and drives back and forth and back and forth over it to smoosh it down so it will all fit in the pit.
It gets really, really high.


See that?
That's the tractor coming up over the top of the barn.
High, I tell ya.

That's all there is to it.
Just chop, load, unload, move it around and smoosh it down in the pit.
Easy Peasy.
Well, maybe not so easy peasy.
I suppose in theory it is, but there's always break downs and it's not fast work.
It takes about a week to get it done.
Maybe that's why it's so fun to get it done,
because it is such a big job.

I must of offered at least 20 times to drive the truck.

I felt like the benched kid in baseball,
"I can do it Coach. Send me in! C'mon, I know I can do it!"

Alas, they had enough drivers
and my mad driving skills were not in high demand.
But, wait!!
Who is that...?


Who is driving that dump truck with the greatest of ease?



It's a bird, it's a plane, it's farmgirl!

My brothers, Howard and Richard, had to go back to their regular jobs.
Mike took over the chopping and I took over the truck.
At the bottom of the 9th inning I was put in the game.
Literally, we only had about half a field left.
I was just happy to do it.

Yup, I still like it.




Corn time, it's a good thing.
:o)