Weather
Weather
29/05/13 19:08
Sunday, May 26, 2013: Wow. Last night we had 4 inches of rain and as the “West Branch” creek of the Floyd River runs right below our house, we awoke to some major flooding in our bottom ground. Thank goodness we only have about ¼ of our tomatoes down there with the rest on high ground. This morning our ewes and lambs that are grazing in the winter rye field looked a bit damp and woe-be-gone. Using a bucket of grain we enticed them out of their soggy pasture, down the road, and into the barn where they will spend a much drier night tonight. This afternoon Daryl and I were separating some lambs from their mothers as it’s time they are weaned and on their own. It was lightning and thundering some but Daryl decided to go into the outside pen and tip over the feeders so they wouldn’t fill with rain water. There was a sudden bright flash of lightning and an immediate sharp crack of thunder. Daryl is quite calm by temperament but he did jump at that, tipped over one more feeder, and sauntered back into the barn. He must think it doesn’t look manly to rush too quickly. As today wore on the creek did mostly recede within its banks but it has rained for much of the day and as I write this blog at midnight the lightning is again flashing and the thunder is cracking. It seems like quite a change from last year but maybe not. In 2012 from May 20 through 28 we had 6 inches of rain and our bottom ground was one big lake. We then proceeded to get almost no rain for the rest of the year.
Since we have started raising vegetables the weather is never just a benign presence for us, one that might wreck havoc with vacation plans or soccer games. It has become “THE” major presence in our lives through the summer months. Will the strong winds of spring tear our high-tunnel to pieces, blow down the corn, whip the little bedding plants to shreds? Will the ground dry out enough for us to plant sweet-corn and green beans this week? Will the flood completely destroy our crops or can they make it through? Is this drought never going to end? And the list goes on.
Recently we watched the PBS documentary on the dust bowl years and I can only imagine the emotional agony many of those farm families endured dry year after dry year. I also wonder what it would be like to know that if our crops fail, we and our children would not eat, such as happened with the Irish potato blight in the mid 1800’s and still happens around the world today. Our concerns pale in comparison, and yet we are often concerned. It is human nature. As I look back through past diaries I have found that some years which start out looking pretty dismal have turned out okay and we have now learned to treat the vagaries of weather with a state of mind almost approaching equanimity. We cannot change the weather so do what we can to ensure our crops are safe and then accept what comes our way. We know that we are blessed and for this we are grateful.
PS: It did start to pour and rained all night. We have had over 7 inches of rain in the last 2 nights and the earth is being replenished with moisture.
Since we have started raising vegetables the weather is never just a benign presence for us, one that might wreck havoc with vacation plans or soccer games. It has become “THE” major presence in our lives through the summer months. Will the strong winds of spring tear our high-tunnel to pieces, blow down the corn, whip the little bedding plants to shreds? Will the ground dry out enough for us to plant sweet-corn and green beans this week? Will the flood completely destroy our crops or can they make it through? Is this drought never going to end? And the list goes on.
Recently we watched the PBS documentary on the dust bowl years and I can only imagine the emotional agony many of those farm families endured dry year after dry year. I also wonder what it would be like to know that if our crops fail, we and our children would not eat, such as happened with the Irish potato blight in the mid 1800’s and still happens around the world today. Our concerns pale in comparison, and yet we are often concerned. It is human nature. As I look back through past diaries I have found that some years which start out looking pretty dismal have turned out okay and we have now learned to treat the vagaries of weather with a state of mind almost approaching equanimity. We cannot change the weather so do what we can to ensure our crops are safe and then accept what comes our way. We know that we are blessed and for this we are grateful.
PS: It did start to pour and rained all night. We have had over 7 inches of rain in the last 2 nights and the earth is being replenished with moisture.