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| Lane to the family farm 1997 |
This story was published in Prairies North Magazine.
As summer ebbs into fall and the farmers are harvesting their crops, I am reminded of being a kid on the farm and the memories of those harvests from long ago wash over me.
In my mind’s eye, I can see the cloud of dust that filled the evening air like a vast blanket trying to keep summer from slipping away. The recall the smell of the grain dust and the image of the combine lights cutting through the thick night air. It is still so vivid to me.
I remember the humming sound of the combine as it laboured through the damp straw. When the men came into the yard to unload, I was mesmerized by the sight of the grain pouring out of the truck into the hopper illuminated only by the yard light. The auger was so loud; I could sense the danger as I stood back in the shadows.
Occasional meals in the field were a real treat for us. Dad didn’t care much for eating in the field; he preferred to wait and eat at home when he was finished for the day. I remember taking tea in a mason jar wrapped in a towel and a snack out to the field after school. I guess that's what kept him going until it was time for his late supper.
There is always a sense of anxiety and urgency that hangs over the harvest as heavy as that dust cloud. So much in a farm family’s life depends on getting that crop in the bin before Mother Nature decides to have a bad day. The complete lack of control a farmer has over the weather must be so exasperating.
The attachment farmers have to the land is something that is just ingrained in them. You can take the man out of the farm, but you can never take the farm out of the man. Owning their own land gives people such a sense of pride and accomplishment. It is very difficult to let go of.
On warm harvest evenings when I was older with children of my own, Mom and I would walk down the lane at the farm with the kids and one or two barn cats trailing behind. It never occurred to me then that the day would come when Mom could no longer do something as simple as taking a walk outside with me. I loved those walks and I will carry my harvest memories with me always.
Have a safe and happy Labour Day long weekend everyone.
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