Impressions of a Mähdresscher

Let the good past roll

I had seen these machines in movies. When Hollywood paints a picture of rural life in Iowa in the fifties, or something. But I was completely unprepared to see Gregor pulling up one day to actually use one and commence harvesting!

This is the field that borders our garden. So I took out my camera, made some shots while Gregor approached, and then joined him up at there at the controls.

Present day machines are far more effective, of course. Less noisy, much faster. But they are not nearly as much fun as this old beast. This one, though, can only still be used because many farmers around here are, to the present day, working small fields.

I hear that airline pilots do their job, flying Jumbo jets around the world, but when they really want to experience the thrill of flying, they take the controls of a small Piper or Cessna or Mustang. Gregor tells me he has a similar kind of feeling when harvesting with this nineteen fifties machine. Munch the dust, smell the crop, and a tremendous sense of achievement when the sun sets in the Summer evening.