Country commuting

When one lives in the country, the fall commute is marked by getting stuck behind a grain truck going 45 mph, a combine going 25 mph, and/or a tractor pulling two grain wagons going 10 to 15 mph. If you think the most annoying is the slowest, you are wrong. It’s the combine. Combines are, on average, as wide as a 2-lane road and are obligated to drive down the middle to avoid knocking down every mailbox on the right side. And there you are, for miles and miles.

The harvest is nearly wrapped up now, which is a darned good thing. We had a dismal weekend of alternating mist and rain, but at least it was relatively warm. Whatever corn is left in the field is going to need some good sunny days before combining now. Winter returned mid-morning today.  I drove to work in a heavy rain at 47°. When I came home, it was 20° colder and in near-blizzard conditions. There’s a long stretch of Highway 14 near the college where the road construction crews have left a 12” drop-off at the edge of the road where the shoulder ought to be. I felt the car lose its purchase on the pavement at about 40 mph. I carefully lifted my foot off the accelerator and slowed to 35. The people behind me would just have to deal with it. I wasn’t going to break my axel sliding over the edge.

It took me a good hour to get home. Where there were trees or shrubs on the west side of the road, I could go up to 50 mph. Where the wind blew uninterrupted all the way from Iowa, we crept along. Here’s a picture of Maxon Rd.

The view through the windshield on my way home tonight

Needless to say, I’m right glad to be home tonight. Hopefully the wind and snow will stop in time for the plows to clean everything up before I have to go back to work tomorrow. Or it could get bad enough to cancel classes. It’s the place in between the two options that concerns me. Winter bites. And it’s only November.

The fifth oak in the storm