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Sharptails At Harvest Time By Les Kouba

Sharptail's at Harvest Time painted by wildlife artist Les Kouba

Since man first turned the soil of the prairie, wheat has been the great common denominator in the agricultural heartland of North America. The land determines the activity of the people. Everyone is at the mercy of the weather, the wheat crop, and the markets. It all depends on the crops, and if they aren't good this year, there is always “next year.”

In the days before high-tech farming, good crops brought itinerant workers from far and near, often riding on top of freight trains that delivered empty box-cars for the harvest. These day-laborers slept in the hayloft, got up early to feed, water, and curry and harness the horses, and all this before breakfast.

Meals were served in the cook car and prepared from scratch by farm wives and hired girls who worked from sun-up to sun-down and longer.

It takes hard work to bring in harvest-lots of it. The hours were long and the pay was short, about 25 cents an hour. The only respite for the tired crew was the whistle of the storm engine signaling dinner and quitting time. Its unique sound could be heard for miles around.

In September during harvest time, the sharptails would leave the cover of the adjoining prairie and brush coulees. In early morning and in evening hours, these great grain fields became their feeding grounds.

When a flock of sharptail grouse is together and left at peace, they engage in a social and noisy cackling. One can only surmise the gossip of this bird talk, but Les Kouba seems to understand it.

The wildlife artist has painted these delightful birds with their rather comical and inquisitive countenance as they enjoy scuttling about in the stubble fields and sunning themselves on the shocks. They were not very shy early in the season, but several of the more skittish have taken wing, sailing along at great distances with set wings before landing.

The sharptails and their cousins, the prairie chickens, have largely vanished along with the prairie which was once their home. The red wooden grain elevator in the distance, once a symbol of abundance, has now become the tombstone of many dying small towns and a way of life that is fading fast.

Sharptails at Harvest Time The second print in the American classic series a classic farm steam engine tractor at harvest time with a group of sharp-tails bulking up for the upcoming winter.

Sharptails at Harvest Time by Les Kouba is available for sale as a numbered limited edition of only 2,000 prints with a 15 x 23 image size priced at $___ unframed.

Order yours today. All artwork is professionally boxed and insured and guaranteed to arrive in mint condition.

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