Harvest time

[Good memories of driving trucks]

The golden grain flows into the header bin
gathered from the stalks by the huge jaws
From the header bin to the truck bin
the grain flows like water

The truck is now loaded and I begin the task
of guiding it across the paddock .....
and round the bush to the road.
Once on the road I can get out of first gear
and slowly work up to a safe speed
on the slow trek to the distant railway siding.

Not too fast!..... Watch that bump!....
... have to be careful not to damage the suspension.
When the truck is loaded to the max
every little thing on the road
becomes a potential danger.

Corner coming up.... gotta slow down
Do it early so the brakes don't overheat
Round the corner.... into town....
out to the silo... join the queue....
wait your turn at the weighbridge.

Down from the cab and bat the breeze...
See how the neighbors crop is going.
Gee it's hot! Wotcha doin this weekend?
Familiar faces fill the time .... perhaps a bite?
Then it's my turn to get the truck
onto the wobbling platform.

After weighing I move the truck onto the dumping grid.....
... down the grain floods in a tremendous rush.
Into the mouth of the conveyor machine .....
and then up onto the huge pile ....

... my load is no longer mine ....
It's just part of that ocean of grain
that is flowing from farm to the kitchen table!

These were happy times for me .....
Sharing the work on the farm.
Those days are long gone now ....
but the memories linger on.

© Ian Croft March 2019