The Farmer Blues
Last night when I got home, I changed into my “farmer’s wife” clothing and joined Harland who was out building pipe fence. He’d been at it all day, and was working past sundown to get as much done as possible up against the bad weather to come.
Our forecast according to the National Weather Service:
WINTER WEATHER IS LIKELY FOR THE REGION SATURDAY AFTERNOON THROUGH
MONDAY. THE FORECAST TRACK OF THE STORM SYSTEM VARIES…MAKING
THE LOCATIONS AND PRECIPITATION TYPES UNCERTAIN. HOWEVER…A
VARIETY OF WINTER WEATHER TYPES IS POSSIBLE WHICH WILL LIKELY
IMPACT HOLIDAY TRAVEL THROUGH EARLY NEXT WEEK. STAY TUNED FOR MORE
INFORMATION IN LATER FORECASTS.
If winter closes in and stays with us, we won’t get the fence done, and the cattle need to be moved into this pasture in early March. Yesterday was a crappy day – muddy, cold, and windy. Harland had been out building fence all day. The posts were set a couple weeks ago, and yesterday he had been lifting each heavy steel panel onto the posts with the skid steer loader, and then welding them onto the posts.
The loader doesn’t work well in mud, and Harland’s boots were laden down with mud too. But he greeted me with a smile and a kiss when I arrived. We worked until it was too dark for Harland to see through his welding helmet and then headed home. There’s at least one more day’s work to be done.
It’s not been a stellar year for farmers in our area. The wheat and soybean crops were poor. It was too wet for the wheat and too dry for the beans. We’re due to sell this year’s crop of calves in just the few weeks, and the cattle prices have been slipping downward. But like all farmers, we plod along. Next year is another year. There are always ups and downs.
After supper, I found a weary Harland resting on the bed. He rarely complains. I stood there thinking about things.
Just then I heard a strange noise out in the front room. I found an empty pop box with a cat who had hopped inside and was hiding. I picked up this box of Muffin, and brought it into the bedroom placing it next to Harland.
A silly cat in a box: the perfect prescription to beat the farmer’s blues.
xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxxo
Yes! The perfect prescription for farmer blues, I totally agree! I hope you have a nice Christmas, and hopes for a better year next year! The farming roller coaster continues for all of us…
Thank you, you too Alica!
LOL that is so cute, Love your quilt did you make that?????
Thanks Aletha. We got it at a discount store years ago. It is all hand quilted but I paid very little for it. One of those deals you don’t come across very often.
Argh! I know Harland had to be exhausted! It is amazing what a little rest and some play time can do for a man though! It’s really hard to be out there doing work like that alone. Love you guys and please have a very Merry Christmas!
thank you. Merry Christmas to you as well!
It certainly has been a rough year. I am so sick of the mud preventing me from doing things. Glad you found something to cheer him up. Here’s to a better 2016 farming year.
I feel so bad — if I could beat it up there and help out, I would. What I’ll do instead is stay right here and pray all that cold, nasty weather somewhere else. I’ve not been paying much attention, since we’re in the 80s right now, and could use something cooler. But January will come, and then I’ll be working out in the cold, and thinking about you and Harland.
I hope your Christmas is a good one: that the chores that have to be done get done, and that the joys that need to be cherished get enjoyed. Merry Christmas!
I enjoyed watching Harland play with Muffin. It doesn’t take much to entertain a cat, it seems, and everyone was happy.
I have followed you for some years. It is so nice to read a blog without ads. They are few and far between. Most of the others have been unable to resist the money. I personally think ads have ruined the blog world.
Thank you for inviting us into your life.
Cats are so funny! When we had our cats it was so much fun to give them a big paper shopping bag to play in. They would tear around in there like wild ones! I loved your video!
Have a blessed Christmas! We’ll pray for a better year for you in 2016!
Thank you so very much for letting us visit. I enjoyed your video! Playing with Muffin is like playing with a cactus. Man he is fast too. My cat had a ball unwrapping her present and playing with the paper until she fell asleep in it. I think she liked it better than the balls and mice she got. It’s the little things that make us happy. I hope and pray you have a happy and sucessfull 2016. We all could use one. Merry Christmas and God Bless!
Good prescription for farmer blues. I am so sick of the mud preventing me from doing things.