Ashes

"The Church emphasizes the penitential nature of Ash Wednesday by calling us to fast and abstain from meat. Catholics who are over the age of 18 and under the age of 60 are required to fast, which means that they can eat only one complete meal and two smaller ones during the day, with no food in between. Catholics who are over the age of 14 are required to refrain from eating any meat, or any food made with meat, on Ash Wednesday."

The ashes are soaked this Ash Wednesday. What a rainfall event that moved across the country yesterday and it is sucking up water from the lakes and oceans and dropping it all on us.

I wanted to see what my total rainfall has been since July 1 when the spigot turned off and holy cow we have had a lot of water in the last two months! No wonder we have some water damage to the house.

I think Mother Nature is trying to kill my wheat. She already took millions of tons of the neighbors topsoil where they didn't plant anything or even fall tilled. How can you build soil when you are losing it faster than you can build it?

The scariest part here is water pours through our east brick basement wall in a stream in high rain events. Sump pump goes off and you got water a foot deep in no time. That time the last pump died was when LuAnn was in DC and the water got above my chore boots.

All the lime, tile and cover crop improvemnts are really showing, holding our soil in place very well. If this keeps up though that 100 ac of rye will be feet high in no time. I wonder how this relates to our summertime moisture? I would sure take this in July this year instead of the piddly amount we got last year.

I see farmers are restless. You can read it in their words. This is where the farms with good shops and mechanics pass up everyone else. The planter is tore apart in a million pieces here right now. That will make us money all year long.

Me, I will just dream of July, corn over my head and the beans up to my waist while thinking about my son's 706.

many don't understand the basics of farming even if they can't paint a tractor so I just posted RTB, READ THE BOOK. It is a very thorough agronomy manual from my folks at Midwest Labs. When I was in college we left the r and m out of agronomy and called it agony. It still is for many farmers. Now it is pleasure to me that makes me money every day.

So let it rain, let 'em fret, this thing ain't over yet.

Ashes to ashes dust to dust, this proves Christ is a must.

Ed