Autumn

Autumn has arrived and harvest is in full swing.  With this summer's drought conditions yields certainly aren't very high for the corn that has been picked.  Soybeans may fair a little bit better, but still well below an average year.  Crop insurance may be expensive, but thank goodness for it!

I don't know if it's because I fell in love with a farmer, but Fall is my favorite time of the year.  I love full moon, October nights riding in the combine with my hubby through the cornfields.  I may not do it as much as I did when we were first married, but that occasional 'date night' during harvest is needed time together.   I also now reflect on when our daughter was younger and would ride with her daddy for hours in the combine, occasionally even content enough to fall asleep.

My biggest challenge during this time is what to fix for meals to take to the field.  Hubby usually wants just a sandwich and drink but I always throw in chips and a snack.  He's kind of picky, so I basically just have to alternate between hamburgers, ham and sausage sandwiches.  Occasionally I can throw in hotdog, bologna, sub or even a pizza, but don't ever attempt a tuna or chicken salad sandwich.  I think he looks forward to not only getting harvest done before any winter weather comes in, but also looking forward to having a good sit-down hearty steak and potato meal. 

Iowa Trip

Twilight Riverboat

A friend had told me about a Mississippi Riverboat cruise that she and her husband had gone on that piqued my interest a little bit.  When she added that the Antique Archaeology store was in the town where you board the boat, I knew it was something we had to do.
My husband being a farmer, I was able to talk him into going on the boat ride so long as we go tour the John Deere combine factory while in the area.  So I booked our passage on the Twilight Riverboat that departed Le Claire, Iowa and headed north on the Mississippi river to Dubuque, Iowa.  The price included an overnight stay at the Grand Harbor Resort in Dubuque, then the next day heading back down south to Le Claire. 


Bridge outside the Grand Harbor Resort
in Dubuque

 

The cruise is about a 9 hour ride each day, so if you have a problem sitting still, it probably isn't for you.  My husband started complaining "What am I going to do for that long, stuck on a boat?"  I told him to sit back and relax, enjoy some down-time before it's time to start the rush of harvest.   Well, I made sure to have some magazines and puzzle books to do, but he never even touched them.  He was content to just sit and watch the scenery or go up to the top and bother the captain occasionally. 



The staff were all great and friendly, they served lunch and dinner and a snack in-between, played bingo and provided local musical talents.  We even enjoyed a cocktail or two from the bar on the 3rd deck. 

Getting back to Le Claire, I did not tell my husband that the American Pickers store was located there.  Happy to say I was able to keep that a surprise until we pulled into their parking lot. It is such a good feeling when you can surprise someone and they look so pleased or tickled.  Anyway, if you get the chance, Le Claire is a wonderful place to visit.  Besides the Pickers' store you'll want to check out the Mississippi River Distilling Co. and the Buffalo Bill Museum.   We had lunch at the Crane & Pelican cafe,   and a great pizza at Happy Joes. 

Since he held up his part of the bargain, we continued on our trip to Moline, Illinois and checked out the John Deere Pavilion and store, did the Harvestworks combine tour, then headed up to Waterloo, Iowa (last minute plans) to tour the Tractorworks plant. 




I think hubby enjoyed the whole trip and is relaxed and ready to tackle harvest.  Although with drought conditions this year, afraid there won't be much of a 'harvest' to enjoy any profit.