wheat harvest

Our own wheat is something past hard dough stage, and would have been harvested some time ago if the rains hadn't come. Yesterday we cut half of it. After beginning with two sharp sickles, we decided it would be worth the time to fasten a hazel bow for one of the brush scythes. A hazel sapling, some string, and a few pieces of salvage hardware make a crook that gathers the wheat as it is cut, then drops it at the end of the swing. We cut half the wheat after lunch, then had to stop and make sheaves before the rain that threatened could do much harm. There will be some shattering of seed, since the wheat is past ripe, but the ears are large and full and we expect the crop to do well.