Everywhere we go, farmers are lamenting about the weather. Some were fortunate to have had the opportunity to harvest their third crop before all of this rain. Others, like us, weren’t as well off.
We’ve had to literally sneak fields of hay in between raindrops. One farmer who is working on their third crop exclaimed, “We have to get a week’s worth of haying in, in two days.”
I would wake up at night and hear the rain and toss and turn, thinking about the fields and the area around our bags, a mud fest when we get a lot of moisture. I don’t know how fretting about the weather helps. It does absolutely nothing but keep me awake.
Thankfully, we bag all our third crop so it does not need extended days to dry out. We can cut one day and chop the very next. On the days we can work in the fields, my husband is on one tractor cutting and I’m on the other chopping, or vice versa, and we’re at it nonstop.
Our church had its Autumn Fest recently, and every year both of us help out. Because it was a sunny weekend, this year we took turns helping out. When one was working in the field, the other was at church. As I was waiting tables, my husband was raking hay as the field we had down that day was not as thick. He rolled two rows together, making it easier for me to chop. When we’re able to roll rows together, it cuts down on time, fuel, and wear and tear on the equipment.
When he got done raking, we both worked a shift at the dinner. Afterward we sat down and enjoyed a delicious meal, and then I left to chop while he helped out at the auction. Crazy, but we were doing whatever it took to get the hay off.
One day, our rain gauge showed 4½ inches of rain. Good thing we live on the top of the hill! One torrential downpour brought so much rain, it appeared as if God took a wash bucket and whooshed the entire cow yard clean. The cement literally looked like it had been scrubbed. That bout brought angry looking clouds with rolling rumblings of thunder followed by cracks of lightning. It would subside and I thought, there, now, it’s over. Suddenly it would start up all over again.
The next day dawned sunny; what a welcome sight. My husband didn’t want to cut hay, though, because the ground was so soggy and soft he would have made ruts in the field so we made wood instead. We had to cut, split and pile in the spot he had downed some logs instead of loading it on our truck because we wouldn’t have been able to back up to our wood pile and unload, as we drive across the lawn to get to our pile. When it’s too wet, it really puts a damper (pun intended) on everything.
A while ago, we happened to be talking to a group of guys, all farmers, and were thrashing over the weather situation, lamenting about the rain. I recalled a conversation with a nonfarmer years ago and he had exclaimed, “You farmers are never happy! It’s always either too wet or too dry!” I had to laugh and admit; true that. We do so need a happy medium!
For now, this day has dawned bright and sunny. Thank You, Lord! I’m off this computer and out of here! It’s time to make some hay while the sun shines.
(“Make hay while the sun shines – that’s smart, go fishing during harvest – that’s stupid. Proverbs 10:5, The Message Bible)
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