Rain , rain , go away
, well maybe not
It seems as if
we all have things to do when the sun shines and most of the things I have
going on are because I want them to be so in some way that it drives me to plan
for them. Plan my own misery, we all do that to an extent . Trying to get all I
need done in one day requires some skills of determining what is important or
the highest priority. This all goes south when something happens to upset our
plans. Just recently I planned a huge day , bringing in help and was doing
little things on my mental list that day.
I ended up
hanging the tractor and having to use both tractors including my 1946 Allis
Chalmers -C model, and the Kioti DR45 which was the tractor with four wheel
drive that I had never stuck before then. I spent all day and was physically exhausted
by end of the day, just getting the tractor out.
Well after using
the Allis Chalmers to get the Kioti out I now see reason to keep both tractors
here on the farm. Thankfully I had the second tractor available as I may have
been over there still trying to get it out. This just one example of how things
go wrong. All I had planned for the day was set aside at a critical time which was a day or two before my open house ,
and it was wasted while I tried to get
my tractor home. Priorities change.
Mudder played a
big role in screwing up my plans and changing priorities, nothing like having a
cow standing in the middle of Rt. 800 or Rt. 8 as it was known in my early days,
now I do seem old to some now. You know you need to do something real quick and
it has to do with the cow. People sue all the time. Heck even if she took a
crap in the middle of the road, and someone drives through it and stains the
paint on their car. I wouldn’t be surprised if someone would sue you for it. Let
alone she be involved in an accident where someone actually hit her. Some days
farming isn’t worth it. It was cheaper for me to just let Mudder go than try
and keep her and accept the risk that she may be hit on the road.
Lately since the
party it seems as if summer activities of just keeping up with things like yard
work and other projects are taking it toil on me and as I work long hours and
collapse at end of the day and wonder where all the time went to. Already somewhere
in the back of my mind, my brain is planning the next day and even days into
next week. These plans, as unsettling on my sleep as they may be, are a
necessity and can be suspended any time for rain as most of what I do is rain sensitive
without me having a say in what happens. Making hay while the sun shines
requires sunshine and not three inches of rain. It really doesn’t help anything,
and lowers the quality of the hay.
Now it seems as if my first field of hay
though late is going to be sacrificed to the rain gods. It seems it is either
that all the equipment is in good shape for the first field of hay and if it isn’t
you field will get rained on, or the rain will get you as it is doing to me
now. I cut a field of hay down two days ago and it was heavy and nice , but looks as it did 2
days ago, though the sun shines through
gray clouds, it is anemic and not drying
much. Today doesn’t look much better. I have other work going on and will just
move to something else.
I went with this
lady once whose dad owned a dairy farm. He always said and this is important , as
he went on according to her, as if he
was asking the question ,
‘You know what
you do when it rains’? Then she would look at me in a quizzing way. I said no
and she said simply. ‘Let it rain,’ as her dad always said. He would settle in
for a nap and just let it rain as there was no stopping it. I guess in some
ways I too am looking forward to the rain as it will let me take a break even
for an instant as i listen to it drum on the walls and the roof of the closest
shelter and by letting it rain and I realize if nothing more the rain will be
an excuse for me not getting some things done.
After looking at
the forest fire devastation in San Diego and in other places in the desert
southwest, I don’t think anyone in Ohio should ever complain about the rain. Last
year’s snow is helping our hay yields, and even this is a double edged sword
when I comes to farming. We depend on that same rain to nourish crops in the
field but have to fight to get the crops in because of the wet fields. It never
ends and never will. No matter how technologically advanced we become, I doubt
if we will ever change the rain scenario for farming, or if we could, should we?
I don’t think so
as I drift off to sleep pondering those thoughts as I listen to the rain drum
down……….
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