Harvesting Soybeans

The field across the road from me has been planted in a different crop each year - hay, corn and, this year, soybeans. But the plants had turned brown and died a very long time ago and I thought perhaps the owner planned to just plow them under. But early one morning (notice the harvester's lights are on), several truckloads of equipment arrived and began harvesting:

When they were done, I walked over for a closer look. The ground was covered with soybean hulls and shredded stems and leaves. Apparently the harvester takes only the beans, ejecting everything else back onto the field:

The harvester and "cutter" were left in the field, so I got to take a closer look:

I found soybeans still intact where rows had been missed:

This was large, expensive equipment. The cutter reel was thirty feet wide:

Here's a video of soybean harvesting in Michigan:


I looked back across the road at my little place. It looked homey and welcoming - and a lot less work than "real" farming:

More Farm Photos

There's been a lot going on around the farm this summer. This is the baby fantail pigeon at 8 days old:

And at 10 days old - indeed, a face which only a mother could love:

Also 10 days old, looking a bit like an attacking eagle:

The proud parents:


The baby chicks are still peeping but now look like chickens. This is one of them at one month old:

The yellow Asiatic lilies bloomed before the orange ones:

The ditches along the road and adjacent to my fields sported cattails:

Milkweeds bloomed, filling the outdoors with a fragrance which reminded me of a florist's shop:

There will only be a very few pears this year, but those few have been developing nicely:

A view of the barn and house from the north field:

A neighbor's field, which I am guessing was planted in soybeans:

Corn has had two difficult growing seasons, but grass hay always grows well around here. This also was a neighbor's field, and directly across the road from the soybeans: