Spring Must Be Close

Easter is almost here, the bulbs are sending up shoots for the spring flowers and Saint Patrick's Day is over.  We have a thunderstorm rumbling through, the dog is scared and the house is muddy.  We were trying to catch the weather radar on TV when one bolt made the lights flash and the TV screen turned pink.  Thankfully it was not a permanent color.

We carried on our little tradition of a green dinner with some of the grand kids last night.  We had corned beef and roast lamb and green everything else but the potatoes.  The peas turned them green easily enough.  This tradition was started some years ago when one family member had his jaw wired and all the food ran through the blender ended up looking green.  In respect of his green dinner, we all ate green.

Funny how that green from chlorophyll activated by sunlight is our thread of life, isn't it?  Farmers actually plant millions of little green factories we prod and poke and pump to produce good food and a profitable yield.

Just a year ago the planters were rolling in hopes of a good year with record early planting.  That early spring just happened to be the start of a very hot, dry year, one for for the record books.  I learned lessons dad and grandpa taught about the 30's, which they were very happy to survive and watch pass by them.

Today it's 33 degrees here, pouring down rain and it snowed just south of us ahead of this storm.  That's weird, snow south of us.  I am really glad a little nitrogen got spread on my wheat now as most fields haven't and are starting to look nitrogen deficient.

I need to go pull tissue and send half to Midwest Labs and half to CSI Labs.  That's a good modern name, isn't it?  CSI, Crop Science Investigation or diagnosing the smoking, dead plant.  Actually the SAP test should help me observe plant health before it gets so sick it dies.  I should be able to learn what I am doing or wrong or what I can do to keep those little factories perking longer at higher efficiency.

It's too muddy to walk fields now so that will have to wait a week or so but you will be the first to learn of my results here on HyMark High Spots.

Maybe I will be able to learn how to help you grow better crops and gardens.

Sounds like a good deal, doesn't it?  Today's picture was taken on the South Island just over a month ago.

Ed