Last year I shared a photo of our three small children watching the well-choreographed dance of machinery coming in/out of our driveway at the end of a long day harvesting. This picture is similar, but says so much more than the obvious.
Yes. There is multiple pieces of machinery moving in a strong formation; 2 tractors with grain carts looking for their spot in the shed, 1 semi unloading grain inside the “bucket elevator shed” while a 2nd waits in line to do the same, 1 of the guys’ pickups parked in the yard, multiple grain bins waiting to be filled with (what I like to refer to as) liquid gold (ok, obviously we don’t fill them with liquid at all, but the kernels and pods run through it like liquid).
What you don’t see? Those 2 tractors and grain carts came into the driveway completely synchronized and probably anxious for their parking spot to give the “conductors” a well-deserved break. What really happened next? One of them went back to the field. I don’t know why. But obviously there was still more work to be done, and that tractor with grain cart is an integral part of efficient progress in every single field and farm.
The semis that are hauling grain are a luxury. Those grain carts can do the same thing, but not nearly as quickly or in such large quantities. Often, the grain carts are unloading into the semis as fast as possible and turning around to get another load; those semis can haul (more than) twice the amount of a grain cart and move it to further places. Not every farm is fortunate enough to have multiple semis, and we know that, but on our farm, they’re incredibly important.
The grain bins where those semis bring the crops that were unloaded from the grain cart to be stored are merely a facade. They stand tall, broad and big, sometimes shiny or bright, withstanding great fetes of weather and time, holding the quintessential “keys” to greater success by being able to market grain for maximum (potential) pricing/income. They look pretty good, right? (I’m assuming you have a proverbial “yeah” right here) That’s good to hear.
Because about 6 weeks ago the beautiful Pecan tree we estimated to be about 80 years old fell on those grain bins after a storm that would make even the oldest farmers cringe with nerves. It crushed one portion of 2 bins. The sheer weight and impact shook them so hard that the grain tubes were off of each bin, which means the liquid gold wouldn’t have been flowing anywhere but right back on the ground. Getting the mess left behind from that storm cleaned up involved an entirely different choreography than we’d ever experienced before - and hopefully won’t be seeing again any time in the near future. That dance was not fun, but it had to be done, and the machinery involved moved through the motions with grace and ease. They were the most useful tools of their drivers and a great asset to the continued productivity of this farm.
So when I was folding laundry and saw the opening sequence taking place, I took a moment to enjoy the beauty of this dance. I stood in our front yard wearing pajama shorts and a tank top (sorry about your view, boys!), taking more photos than necessary... because what good is a perfectly choreographed dance if no one sees it to appreciate the true beauty of effective synchronization?
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