Northern lights and end of harvest

I got a frantic call from Addie last week saying "Hurry you have to get outside and look hurry move get out the door!" I wondered what in the world was wrong or going on, hoping she wasn't hurt as she was still out in the field building perimeter fence for the cows that would be coming. She said you can see the lights. Good thing Anna was here to know how to capture the view. The phone is the secret. We got these pictures, and after seeing them on the phone we were able to see the lights with the naked eye. Not the color but a white film in the same place that spread higher and higher in the sky. 

Anna went up to show Grandma Saunders and got this cool picture of Bruce. She said our lights were much brighter and more defined than in Wyoming.

The next day I was back in the tractor. Enduring to the end is a hard deal. Hour after hour sitting cramped up even though the cabs are spacious just sitting or random quick moving to deal with a problem versus the sit-stand continuity of my days at home was hard. I had to drive the grain cart for the last week. That was very scary. Directions helped a lot. I got so frustrated just being told "Do it, you can." No, actually I have no idea what I'm doing and need some guidance. With that, I was able to load trucks for 3 days. It got easier day by day. Never easy but I was able to do what had to be done. 

We had some stuck moments. It's amazing to me that 6 weeks later the pivot tracks are still muddy. I was also interested to see they are very big sometimes. This one resembled a dirt ditch. There is always room to improve on the farm. 

This is the last load. The bright flash was too much after enjoying the dark of night. I even managed to load trucks in the dark!

My sincere appreciation and admiration for the men in my life who go for months harvesting. that is true toil. The next day I could hardly move my left arm. The arm I don't hardly use but it was so painful. I'm sure all the weeks of stress and sitting had a lot to do with it. Mark informed me that elbows and knees are related so work the knee to work the stiffness out of the elbow. I did as instructed and it worked. The next day I was so much better. In time to make lots of pies. 

We are thankful for another successful year of growing our family. Of working together, of getting a decent crop, of safety and health, of managing the lands we work. We are blessed daily in so many ways. I'm fighting to keep that in my head as prices were lower for sale and higher for purchase of inputs. Water is very needed for next year and so many things I saw that we could address as I drove over almost every acre. So we work to learn how to improve our practices, to understand our situation, and do better next year. We are good at learning and not afraid to try. Life is good and we are blessed.