Northern Farmer

The week is about wrapping up around here. The leaves are starting to fall, the high color period in the woodlands is about past, and the season is starting to feel like fall. They say there’s a hundred percent chance of rain tomorrow then a cool down. Sure could have used that rain in July. The day my internet went out over a week ago we had us four inches of rain that Thursday afternoon. Boy, did it ever dump a load! And that was on top of an inch and a half the Monday of the same week. As it was happening there was water everywhere, but it didn’t take long for it to disappear into ground or down the river. Even the deep meadows are still firm, just goes to show how dry it was here to take all that water and not be overly saturated. But the good news is that our creek is running real good. It was dried up this past summer and I was figuring on changing this blogs name to Dry Creek Chronicles but then remembered that the name was already taken. Figured I could’a claimed the name though, as dry as it was here this year. The feed supply is pitiful, but we’ll figure something out. For now the cows are grazing anywhere I can find a blade of grass, or oats or anything. But in farmer tradition we’re looking forward to next year!

Trouble is next year is an election year and that might mean another drought with all that hot air blowing around. I always figured I could be a politician because I can give a line of bull as good as the rest of them folks. But I fail at taking bribes, getting a freezer full of money for how I vote and all them other requirements nowadays. Plus I get a feeling that no matter what happens next year it ain’t gonna be good. By the way I figure it them criminals in Washington are going to really start putting the screws to any God fearing person in this country. Lord help us, it ain’t gonna be good, no matter what anyone says. We’re gonna see what could hardly even have been imagined twenty years ago. Gonna have to start swimming the river into Old Mexico if a person wants to live halfway normal pretty soon.

I’d better get on another subject cause this one could upset me something terrible. Let’s see, the hog pen needs a cleaning, anyone want to be an apprentice for a day? Gotta work calves this coming Saturday. That’ll take till early to mid afternoon. Then head for the little town that our little church is located at and take in their annual bean bake. Not the church’s bean bake, the towns. I guess they’ve been doing that for over a hundred years. A big old fashioned rural meal, everything made from scratch, everything! Plus I’m a fan of eating a lot so that should go over pretty well after having my head under all them bull calf’s butts for the first half of the day. If your wondering what I’m doing down there, well, don’t ask! But I can say, that what I’m doing under there could be preformed on a huge crowd of politicians and make the world a better place in my opinion. Well, a guy can dream can’t he…?

Dug up some Jerusalem Artichokes this evening before finishing stacking the wood pile tonight. They produced pretty good considering the drought. Kinda like pulling up a tree to get at all them tubers. In fact we got two one gallon ice cream pails from one plant. Not bad. Ate some raw tonight but will cook some up tomorrow evening the old fashioned way. Might pickle some and also make relish. Them plants are a wonder plant, nothing kills them! In fact, I do believe they’re considered a noxious weed. One thing for sure, where they were planted they’ll appear next year and probably till the end of time unless someone puts some hogs where they are. Them hogs will sniff everyone out and get rid of them. But as far as free food goes I hardly know any plant that can survive and keep on going year after year like they do. Makes me think of having about a quarter acre of them things and then let hogs in most of it. Help fatten them porkers up at minimal cost. The rutabagas did wonderful too. Huge is the word and the taste is perfect. Of all the garden plants there are none that compare to the little amount of seed that it took to make such a huge harvest. They just thrived here. I also like how they out raced the weeds in the beginning so it was easy cleaning around there. After they got going they just shaded out their area and the weeds didn’t do very well at all.

So tomorrow is supposed to rain, don’t have any idea what we’ll do after church. Maybe with luck we could get it to last all day. That’d be great. An old fashioned Holy Ghost service that won’t stop. I’m in the mood, but then again I’m always in the mood for that. There’s enough work on the farm the rest of the week, might as well give it to God on Sunday. Kinda a rule I have, although I’m really not one for rules because almost every rule gets broken on a farm, the rule to do as little as possible on a Sunday. Just basic chores for a few hours and that’s about it. Sometimes I just wish this world would hurry up and run out of petroleum so we could slow down. Hitch up a team and head for church. Visit all day. Eat some good old farm meals everywhere we go and have em here too for folks dropping in. Staying a little late wouldn’t matter much cause the team would know the way home anyhow and would want to get back for a little oats and hay. I just wish….

This entry was posted on Saturday, September 29th, 2007 at 8:24 pm and is filed under Northern Farmer. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.