A Ride With Papaw

My dad was combining beans a few weeks ago, so we took advantage of the opportunity to ride in the combine.  My mom drove us to the field, and we waited for grandpa to make his way toward us.  Vera was excited for a ride, but I don't think she completely understood what a combine ride meant. 

My dad helped Vera climb into the combine, and then they convinced me to ride along too.  I told my mom as I climbed the ladder to the combine that it's been a good 20 years since I've gone for a ride in a piece of machinery with my dad! 

The combine that my dad and Steve has is "new enough" to have a buddy seat, so Vera and I had a comfy seat to ride.  Vera sat on my lap and took everything in. 

First, dad swung out the auger and emptied the grain into the wagon.  Vera wasn't sure what was going on.  Then we rode out to the field, dad lowered the grain head, and we were combining.  It was super-dusty and we could hear the beans pinging off the cab as we were combining.  About four minutes into the ride, a few alarms started sounding with warning lights in the cab.  Immediately, my dad shut everything down and went to check it out.  After some investigating and checking, he figured out that a chain slipped off of the main auger.  We were done combining.  Vera broke the combine.  haha

My dad said we'll have to come back when he's shelling corn.  He said it's a lot more fun to watch.  Hopefully we don't break it next time!!