Well, since the last time we visited, we have missed all the rains that were predicted. There were a few drops on various days, and even enough rain overnight once that made puddles on the road. It is dry! Going into harvest is a safety worry as a field fire caused by a hot bearing starting a machine fire is always a worry. I remember a long time ago when little pieces of smoldering trash dropped onto cornstalks as the combine went through the field.
Starting that paragraph with “well,” takes me to the next story. One evening I was going to water a volunteer tomato plant along the fence near the water hydrant. I flipped the lever on the hydrant, and no water! I couldn’t believe it, so I shut the power off to the well pump, then back on and that didn’t do a bit of good. I called grandson Erik and told him what had happened, and he said he would come right out.
We had a few cows and calves and a bull in the pasture that depended on the automatic waterer. The plan then became to lure them all into the barn lot so they could be moved to the bottom pasture the next morning. The clank of corn hitting the feed trough brought all in except the bull and 5 calves that stood looking like “deer in a headlight.” They would not come into the barn lot for any reason. They stood in the pasture, heads up and ready to go the wrong way (which they did) when Erik tried to bring them in. We gave up, but fixed it so they could come into the barn lot and the others couldn’t go out. So, about 8:30 with just enough light to see they finally came in, the gate got shut, and they were all ready to be taken to the other pasture.
Of course, it was one day from the weekend (things seem to happen at that time), but I called for help anyway and explained we had water at the house, but not the north pasture. It wasn’t an emergency situation. The lady on the phone said they would call us Monday morning and set up a time which she did. Tuesday, I was in the machine shed and heard a truck pull in. They had arrived, had everything going in a couple hours or less, and water is back in the pipes again.
I’m again sharing an old recipe for apple crisp that Alleyne Beck gave me years ago. It seems to be the right time of year because our two apple trees are ready to share their bounty. I turn the oven on to 400 degrees, use at least 6 cups of thinly sliced apples, then mix and pour 3/4 c. sugar, 1/2 c. water, 1/2 tsp. cinnamon, 1/2 tsp. salt in the bottom of a 13 x 9 pan. I mix 3/4 cup flour, 3/4 cup sugar, and 6 tablespoons of margarine together to crumble over the top. Cook for about 30 minutes or until the apples are cooked and the crumbly stuff has some crisp edges. Enjoy!
That’s about for this week, folks. Please slow down for machinery that will soon be on the roads, and if possible pull into a driveway to let them pass by. Reports are that we are guessing the lack of rain for beans, and the hot, hot weather will show a reduction in the size of each bean and weight of the corn kernels that will lower yields. Part of an old saying goes, “It is what it is.”
Sharon Chenoweth is a resident and farmer of McDonough County. Her column focuses on rural life and will be featured every other week in the Community News Brief Friday Edition.
