Go While the Going is Good

Last Thursday through this past Tuesday have all been days where "the conditions are right for severe thunderstorms and tornados to build rapidly." Or something similar to that is what we have heard over and over again on the weather band on our radios. Since we don't have TV we rely heavily on our radios, we get pretty decent internet service at the camper but not so much in the fields, and is still seems like it takes forever for the radar to pull up when you want to see it NOW! The thing about the radios is that they list towns and counties in the watches and warnings as I'm sure you know. Well we're not in Rice County anymore. So all of a sudden we need to be familiar with unfamiliar towns and counties ASAP. We have had a lot of practice with that in the last week. Now it seems that weather pattern has broken for the time being, it was beautiful yesterday, is beautiful today and the forecast is good for the next few days.

On Tuesday it was awful humid and the wheat was too wet to cut, though they tried several samples all afternoon it just wasn't fit. I made carmel rolls from scratch that morning (though they just aren't quite as good as Joyce's) and took 2 plates of them to Ralph, Judy, and Bill at the elevator / fuel store. They have been so kind to us. The guys did their own laundry and I did the rest of it. There was a string of storms popping up and we got some rain but the worst of it went around us and went on to El Reno and OK city where there was a lot of damage done again. Jon & I went to check on the combines. They were fine, but another storm popped up while we were out there, it had not even been on the radar when we left! We drove west enough to get out of it, just a few small hail and rain. We went to visit with the Pastor and his wife for a while, it was nice to get to know them and hear their stories of moving around. Then Jon & I went on a "date" to Sonic for a late supper.



Wednesday we had an early lunch so the guys could get to the field to test it. The field they were on was too wet but there was a different field down the road 10 miles that did not get much rain and was good to go, so they moved down there. For a late start it was a good day: combined 2 fields from 3:30 until 11pm or so. Loaded up the heads, moved to the next field, and hooked the heads back up took until 12:15. The excitement for the night was seeing a herd of wild pigs in the field. Andy ran over 2 of them with his pickup. We could hear coyotes howling as well, and they were close!!





I was riding around the field checking some wheat with 1 of the farmers mid-afternoon on wednesday, and he looked more solemn than usual. He told me that there is a Harvest Crew about 30 miles south of here, he wasn't sure of the name even. But that the man's wife was back home in OK city with their 2 kids. She and the 2 kids were in a closet in their home when the tornado hit on Tuesday, the baby died and they had not yet found the toddler, I'm not sure if the mother made it or not. More heartbreaking news. He said again, which he had said many times in the past few days, "I am just so glad that Todd's kids or anyone else was not hurt when that bin went down. This wheat doesn't matter, I am just thankful everyone is OK." Then he said, "What we worry about is 90% things that will never happen to us and 10% what we have no control over anyways."