Good morning my friends. Hope you have a pleasant day.
It's raining here and I just got back from the dog-walk soaking wet. Still, the gardens need it.
Cruiser - Your comments about threshing machines brought back happy memories for me.
Here is an extract from my memoirs which I wrote about twenty years ago, which is on the same subject.
I was about 5 years old at the time, and had been sent to live in the country, having survived a near-fatal
bout of diphtheria
Harvest time was particularly interesting, when a huge threshing machine would arrive, to be driven,
via pulsating leather drive belts, by a magnificent steam engine. How we boggled at this latest technical wonder!
The whole farmyard was a hive of activity. Some men were loosening the sheaves of corn with which to feed the
greedy monster, some were positioning sacks to catch the grain gushing from a chute and then carrying away the
full sacks. Others were dealing with the straw, which was delivered to the top of a hayrick by a long conveyor belt.
Then there were the spectators, including little me, standing at a respectable distance, watching in amazement.
And all the time the wheels were spinning, the belts flapping and the steam engine puffing, snorting and glowing
with heat. It was a sight never to be forgotten.