Deere, deer! It's been so busy in the Fens' fields of gold

HINDSIGHT: A deer, not a John Deere, roaming about,
and below, an expensive combine causes a bit of a storm

HARVEST time is almost over. The annual agricultural round-the-clock madness is coming to an end.
Spotlights sending out searing beams that cut into the night have been switched off and the sound of heavy machinery has finally subsided.
The expansive fields of the Fens have been full of tractors, trailers and combine harvesters. We have seen machinery in different shapes, sizes and ages working at full pelt, day and night, to bring in the crops.
Fortunately, the weather has been kind to the farmers this summer except for a few days a week or so ago when we had storms and heavy rain. But generally, we have been blessed with a great summer.
The landscape has now taken on a golden hue and we are surrounded by fields of stubble littered with bales, both round and rectangular, waiting to be taken in and stacked.
It was fortunate that we had a camera a few days ago to catch a solitary deer roaming about in one such field early in the afternoon on the outskirts of our village. It was curious when we stopped our car and it stood for a few moments, staring directly at us, but then opted for caution and cantered off (top right) towards the safety of a concealed drainage ditch running along the edge of the field. Does a deer canter?
It was a wonderful and unexpected sight.

DEER-LIGHTFUL: Click on the photo
to get a closer look 

I have enclosed a selection of photos to illustrate how busy it gets at this time of year but please make sure you take a peek at the old combine harvester below. The woman driving the red Massey Ferguson is a local farmer, mum and housewife who never seems to stop working. She can be seen in the fields at all times of year, and in all types of weather, doing the work of a dozen people. She really sums up the spirit of this region. Farming may have its rewards, but it is not an easy job.

BALE-OUT: Old-fashioned tractor, old-fashioned  square 
bales.  Personal tip. The twine cuts your fingers if you don't 
wear gloves when hay-making, as I found out as a teenager   

GOGGLE-EYED: The woman driver of this old combine
is wearing goggles. No luxurious cabin for this lady

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TWILIGHT ZONE: The light was fading when I took this
picture of a combine working next to an onion field

ROAD BLOCK: It's easy to get stuck behind a tractor

GARDEN DELIGHT: Hard at work in a field by our house