Potato Harvest!!!

Last year due to timing issues, we left town before the potatoes came out and when we got back the potatoes that were left in the ground had frozen.  I was quite disappointed that we missed potato harvest our first year here.  But, seasons come and go and we are here again!

This year is an odd year though, according to most people around here.  We had a double harvest going on across the road--wheat to the west and potatoes to the east.  Check it out, potato truck coming out of the field, combine just over the hill on the right.

Now, as I'm thinking I'm a total dork taking pictures of the harvest because I'm so fascinated with it, these people pull into our driveway.

I went out and visited with them.  They're driving through from Texas.  Really nice folks.  And I'm out there with three kids--the two-year-old only wearing a diaper. 

After daddy got home and we had dinner, we headed over for a little harvest of our own.  The kids got a ride over because daddy's a softy.

This contraption digs a few rows of potatoes and dumps them out into the middle of some more rows.  Makes things a lot faster.  (And I wish I knew the names of all these machines, but I don't. Sorry.)

We took advantage of the above machine and picked our potatoes from that freshly dug row.

Calla stuck them in her shirt.  We filled our wheel barrel full in no time.

Later I called our neighbor.  Her daughter is driving truck for Mr. Potato Farmer.  I asked if it might be possible for my kiddos to catch a ride the next day.

And sure enough!  Look at these two excited kids!  She pulled in and gave a little honk--though it's an air horn and there really isn't anything "little" about that honk.  Those two bolted for the door faster than I've seen them move in a long time.  I think they may have even gotten up with their shoes on today.

Grace and Calla went with her out in the field, got a load of potatoes and headed for the cellar.  That's where I met them.

The cellar is HUGE.  They don't look that big from the outside.  Yes, they look big, but not HUGE.  I'd say that's 2 stories of potatoes back there. 

The trucks take anywhere from 7-14 minutes to unload depending on the capacity.  And there are 8 people standing on the contraption the potatoes go through to the cellar picking out vines and dirt chunks and such. 

Of the eight people standing there, three of them are kids.  Not little kids, middle school and high school kids.  I think that's awesome.  Especially since our district gets two weeks off for the harvest.  Lots of teachers get in on the action, too. 

My kids are excited about potatoes.  And they just soaked it all in like a couple of little sponges.  Later, we got a handful of heads of wheat from across the road and I showed them the wheat kernels and we ate them.  

Grace told me that harvest if fun.  I totally agree!

And for anyone wondering, the potatoes are Russets destined to be seed potatoes.