What Do You See

Often we look at a business, an operation, a situation, or an individual, and see the obvious, the up front, and the assumed.

 When in fact there are a number of folks and things happening behind the scenes. I would like to recognize the folks that help our family get things done and make life happen.

Alex has been part of our team for some time and is capable of doing about any job he is given, Grandson John is also helping in this picture.

 Brad, Julie, and their three girls live close and also have their own operation. Brad is not only helpful in any job but also has the ability to manage and help plan.

 Pablo is a loyal friend and neighbor. He helps out as much as his full time job at Cargill allows.

 Matt and Becca have four children. Matt helps after work and even comes once in a while before work if we need an extra hand to run semis through Cargill. Matt has an engineering mind and loves to figure out solutions.

 Jim is the Mayor of Beacon and retired from 30 years at Shrago. Jim has mechanical talent and can fix anything.

 Larry has been hauling corn for us with Jerry's truck. He is retired. He and his wife have five grown daughters, grand kids, and great grand kids.

 Don lives in Knoxville and also comes from Jerry's crew. He is good help and enjoys being part of our team.

 Andy is in between jobs so we just recruited him to join us. Andy has the ability and willing spirit to either  truck or run farm equipment. It has been enjoyable to have him help us this fall.

 Ryan goes to William Penn College and comes and helps out three afternoons a week. I never dreamed how helpful it would be to have him do catch up jobs that take a back seat due to harvest.

 We couldn't get along without Linda and her keeping track of things in the office. Her husband Kevin and her nephews have also trucked for us all month with their trucks.

 Brian is our son-in-law and farms on Fridays. He and Becky are expecting their 5th child in December. It was fun having Becky, Zach, and Harris help out Thursday when we took their crop out. Brian is a Pastor at Sully CRC.

Obviously our operation wouldn't be possible without the rest of the family. BJ, Karl, and Kurt are the core of our operation, planning, managing, and getting things done. Mike is always willing to jump off his dozer when we ask for help. Mark and Stacy are taking their crops out on their own. It's fun to watch their family work together. Our paths cross often and we help each other out when needed. The gals also have extra responsibilities this time of year as they keep things together at home. It's always fun when they come to the field either to help or to just hang out and watch their crop come out.

The later it gets in the week the more I look forward to Sunday and I was hoping we could coast to a stop early yesterday. Well BJ's combine fell through the dry dirt near an intake late in the afternoon. It kept sinking and soon was sitting on it's belly in the terrace.

 We went and got the track hoe in order to move dirt away from the cab ladder and bottom track.

 BJ dug a hole so we could get a wagon under the unload auger and get rid of some weight.

 Yep. We finally called a wrecker where we couldn't budge it and were afraid things were going to start to break.

 We hooked 4 cables up to two different positions on the front axle and then chained the back axle to the front axle so the combine would come out in one piece.

 Yea. Late last night it finally came out intack and in working condition.

 We were all dog tired as we finished off the week by bringing our loaded trucks in line to Cargill for unloading early Monday morning.

So what do I see in this picture? So often we see the "stuck in the mud" stuff screaming at us and miss all the good stuff as it just whispers. In this example of life we have a second combine that Karl and Kristin are driving that is continuing to harvest. We have a record crop to harvest. We have the crew I introduced to you that is a joy to work with, even when getting a combine out of the mud. The combine came out in good working order. And finally what I've wanted to tell you since the beginning of our visit, none of our blessings or accomplishments would be possible without our Heavenly Father being in charge. Have a restful Sunday and don't forget to say thank you for blessings.