Melissa Kenny – Jonel Farming (South Australia)
Well we’ve been out of the game for a week now.
Our last reaping day was last Sunday. The kids and I ran the grain cart until around 9 pm and left Matt reaping a section of paddock where he could make it up and back then tip into a portable field bin. I assumed he’d knock off when he was done, but he moved over and began the next field, reaping through the night til around 7 am on Monday.
Monday was a horribly, windy day with a huge fire risk so he didn’t get to reap at all. Between cleaning up, fixing things (my grain cart tractor got a flat tyre the day before – which added a little fun pumping it each time I emptied my load), attending a fire nearby and moving grain around he didn’t actually get home from work until around 8 pm (36 hours after he started).
The rain came Monday night, which was a little disheartening, but we enjoyed a bit of a rest with a slower day on Tuesday.
Unfortunately it kept coming and we have had over an inch spread across the past week so we still haven’t been able to get back out there.
We took a bucket sample into the silos (elevator) today and the moisture is still just over 15% (the maximum threshold for delivery is 13.5% here) but at this stage, the quality is still there so, hopefully, we can get all of the wheat off without it being downgraded.
We are waiting to see what the weather does tonight as more rain is forecast but we are praying for a dry week so that we can get back out there (hopefully tomorrow) and get the job done.
1. Be ready to go at the drop of a hat...sometimes without a lunchbox.
2. Has removed the word impossible from her vocabulary!
3. Can hold a baby, take care of a toddler and drive a tractor or combine all at the same time.
4. Must be able to cook for a crew - large or small.
5. Must be able to read minds.
6. Must be able to banter with a parts man until he realizes you DO know what you're talking about.
7. Must be the entertainment director for those rainy days.
8. Be a wife, mom, friend, helper, cook, problem solver, taxi driver or extra crew hand at all times.
9. Can handle the call that makes you react, "You need what? When?" Dropping everything you're doing to make it happen.
10. At the end of the day say, "I really do love this life".
