Wind became our constant companion starting this spring. Not just a now and then breeze but a real honest-to-goodness wind. After our really long, last forever and ever winter ended, the wind began.
Now wind is normal for our spring….it takes the wind to melt the snow in the mountains and in the canyons surrounding us, and because we live on a mesa, we are subject to wind.
Our wind comes out of Utah.
Five miles away in the town of Delta, while we are blowing away, they have nothing, nada, zip, no wind.
(I took this at 4:00 p.m. last evening)
But this year, after the spring winds left, the winds continued on into summer, then fall, and now winter 15-35 and sometimes 45-60 M.P.H. wing-dingers.
Even though the corn stalks, and the corn leaves, and the corn tassels are dry…the ears with their lovely little knurls are not.
The tops are now broken, lying helter-skelter along the furrows and there is nothing we can do but wait.
A warm up is suppose to start today and get all the way up to 45* by Friday with the nights bottoming out around 16*. But the best part is the wind is only going to be around 5 M.P.H.!
Say a little prayer for us that corn dries down to 14% or lower. Once that happens we can begin the harvest. A couple things rely on harvest…the cows are turned into pasture, which cuts down on the hay usage, and we get paid! One paycheck a year per crop is how a farmer gets to stay in business.
Sure has been a funny year. Terry said in all his years of farming, or his father farming corn, has the harvest ever been so late. We aren’t the only farmers hurting, so hopefully a corner has been turned and the corn can get out the fields into the elevators.
Linda
Life on a Colorado Farm 
Linda,
You’d think that wind would be more helpful for drying them out.
Praying for the Lord to send dry air for a good harvest for you. :o)
~Faith
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There are many things I dislike. But there are few things I can’t abide. Wind is one of them. We grew up in a canyon and the winds would howl through them, cold and biting. To this day, it’s probably what keeps me from living in some areas.
Stay warm and I said a quick one for the corn harvest.
Peace to you my friend.
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On my way to Chico for Thanksgiving, I learned that the rice farmers here in California had a trying year also. They usually plant in late March, but couldn’t get into many of the fields until May. They have to harvest before October, so they had a short season and a little too much moisture in the grain. They seem to have facilities for machine-drying it, however. Of course that adds cost, and when you only get one paycheck a year, you try to keep the costs down. Overall, though, they did OK. Rice seems to be an adaptable crop.
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Well I’m crossing my fingers and toes for ya. I sure hope you are able to get that corn off the fields, farming is hard enough without any added grief.
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How many acres do you have to pick? I hope you can get it picked soon, I know crops are income for a farm.
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Prayers coming your way for you, Terry and the corn to dry. I do know how you feel about wind. South Plains of Texas is notorious for it. Kinda wears on a person after a while.
Blessings!
CottonLady
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Yikes! Hope you are able to get your crop in very soon. You’d think those Wasatch Mountains would keep that wind on the west side of the state. Or something like that.
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Like others I hope that for your sake, the wind does the right thing and dries out
the crop so as you can harvest. I had no idea that corn can be so contrary! I shall endeavour
to a show a bit more respect for it in the green grocers and the supermarkets!!
Good luck with the harvest.
Cheers
Colin (HB)
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As awful as the wind is, your header is magnificent and dramatic. So are your other photos of flailing corn leaves. Hoping for still, dry, even warm, weather for a corn harvest and that one paycheck. Around here we say the wind blows because Wyoming sucks. Maybe you can blame Kansas
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Hi Linda, We’ve had high winds this year also—high for us, which is not as high as you get… Today we are having tons of RAIN… We even had a flood warning out this morning for awhile in our area… AND–it’s going to get cold tonight…
Hope your weather does warm up SOON –so that you can get that corn harvested…
Hugs,
Betsy
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Talk about wind…we just went across the eastern Colorado Kansas prarie to Grandmothers house we go… no hills till Topeka. The wind was howling and shaking the van. When we stopped at a rest stop we had to be careful not to open the doors on both sides or all would blow out (o:
Praying for your corn (o:
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While your weather is still wacky ours has finally gotten back to what they tell me it should be around here. Hopefully, no snow this winter for us. I’m keeping my fingers crossed for harvest coming soon.
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I know how you feel about the wind, I think it blows 80 percent of the time here also! It has started to rain and we are supposed to get high winds here tomorrow! Not like yours but still 40 to 60 mile an hour winds.
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I sure pray you can get at your corn…..SOON!! Terry must be pulling his hair out.
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Hope the weather and the corn cooperates! The wind has been the worst ever this past year..I don’t understand it..or how the wind howls so bad..but I am glad I am not alone in my observations..that must mean I am not nuts:)
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I feel for you! I know all about winds, but the hot/searing kind. I will say a prayer for you!
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Sure hope you can get your corn harvested. Yes, I agree… wish the wind would dry out the corn. I used to live in an area where the wind would come up every afternoon and I grew to really hate that wind. Cold, damp sea wind that drove us all inside. Maybe Utah could send you a dry wind?
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We are holding good thoughts for you to get that corn and soon. The boss was just talking to an area farmer yesterday over at the cow sale. He said he always finishes picking his corn by election day, but is not half finished this year. Unbelievable!
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i hate wind it gives me a headache so I’m glad I don’t live there. I hope the corn dries out soon so you can harvest. It must be very frustrating and worrying for you.
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I have my fingers firmly crossed for your harvest!
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Sending prayers out for you and all the other farmers waiting for that magic number 14!
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The wind has really done a number on your corn. I guess I shouldn’t complain when the wind brings down tree branches and knocks over container plants.
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I can completely sympathize with you on the wind. After moving to Amarillo, it took us a while to get used to wind all . the . time.
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