Pennine. Saturday, F«b. 14. 1976
1
"All right all right I’m coming
now can’t you guys shut up?" I
mumbled to myself in answer to the
cows' bawling.
I grabbed a hold of the sliding door
in an effort to get out of the bitter
cold outside, and into the comfortable
warmth of the barn. Several good
hard pushes and a few kicks wouldn't
budge it. Like most everything else, it
was frozen solid. Rubbing my
briefly, and blowing into my hands to
warm them, I ran around to the milk
house to enter the barn from there.
Although also held fast by ice and
snow, the door slid open with the aid
of a pitchfork which was kept near
there.
I fumbled for the light switch and
the cows instantly turned their heads
towards me with louder "moos" than
ever. Turning the radio on for
friendlier company, I started the silo
unloader which was just as
reluctant about "waking up" on this
icy morning as I had been. Gradually,
it picked up speed, and feed began to
tumble down the frost-covered chute.
Bosco, one of my favorite cows,
stretched her head out towards me
as I walked past her and let me hear a
“moo” which was almost loud enough
to vibrate my cold bones. She was
promptly slapped, even though she
was a big pet. “Take it easy,” I said,
“you’ll be fed in a minute!” Mean
while, I walked to the grain storage
area. A cold blast of air shot through
"Good morning," the man on the
radio said. His words irritated me a
bit. "Some morning,” I thought, "no
water, 17 degrees outside and a wind
which makes it feel as though it's 30
degrees colder yet.
Checking several water bowls while
the cows continued to bawl and look
at me with big, anxious eyes, there
was no water to be had anywhere.
The pressure gauge on the water
tank, with its “0" reading, looked
more like a thermometer. I dreaded a
broken-down pump and hoped it was
just a frozen pipe somewhere.
Thawing it would be a problem,
unless I could manage to get some
hot water out of the water heater in
the milk house.
“Maybe it’s just a fuse,’’ I thought,
holding on to the idea with lots of
hope. Yanking the switch box open, I
inspected both fuses. They were both
intact “Just my luck,’’ I mumbled,
while 40 cows begged for water with
deafening tones.
Our well was underneath a “small
house" with a roof over it which was
simply slid off the side to get to
controls and pump. The whistling
wind cut right through my jacket Boy,
it was cold, it wasn't my day
the door as I opened it. "There’s got
to be a more comfortable way to make
a living," I thought silently. The wind
whipped down through the cracks
between three small silos and sent
some of the finer particles of gram
into my eyes.
Returning to the dairy barn, I began
to give each cow a heaping forkful of
silage. The wind continued to whistle
outside even managing to lift a
window out of its place and leaving it
dangling and clattering. I stopped
feeding and walked over to put it
back into place, then securing it with
a small wooden wedge driven bet
ween the metal frame and concrete
block wall.
"Seventeen degrees in York and
Lancaster: 15 in Harrisburg," I heard
the radio announcer say. With the
wind-chill factor it was minus 12.
It wasn’t until I was done feeding
silage that I noticed the cows’ bawling
hadn't subsided too much. I guessed
they were complaining about the cold.
Maybe they’ll calm down after they
have their grain.
Then Bosco told me what was
wrong. I should have known. She was
pressing her nose into an empty
drinking bowl as hard as she could.
No water! Feeling badly about having
slapped her earlier, I hugged her
head and told her (and in a way every
other cow in the barn) that I’d work
on it right away to fix it.
C£OpCX?C*7
In my hurry to get things fixed, and
with the bitter cold possibly slowing
the bloodflow to my brain, I had
forgotten to take a flashlight out with
me. Racing back around to the milk
house, disgusted with myself and the
weather, I grabbed it, ran back, and
jumped across the low concrete block
wall. I couldn't have hoped any more
than I did that a fuse would be blown
in the weathered box I was about to
open. I was almost afraid to open it
knowing what it would mean if I did
not find what I wanted.
Aiming my flashlight into the box,
and crouching down low to get a good
look, I discovered that luck was with
me. Another trip to the milk house
followed, but if a fuse is all it took to
get the cows their water, I would have
been willing to walk a couple of miles
for it.
“You'll have your water now,
gang!” I announced happily as I
strolled back into the barn to watch
the pressure gauge creep back to 20
or 30 pounds. Its normal reading was
between 40 and 60, but with a herd of
thirsty cows, it wouldn’t get there for
a while.
WHAT’S A
GREAT FAITH?
I<awn for Februsry 15.1171
Background Scripture:
Matthew 14 through 15.
Devotional Reading:
Hebrews 11; M.
“0 Woman, great is your
faith!”
That is what Jesus said to
the Canaanite woman. Hers,
he said, was a “great” faith.
What did he mean?
To suffer
many things
Before we try to answer
that question, however, we
need to deal with the story
itself, for it is a troubling
story, one that many Bible
readers would prefer to skip
over and ignore.
If we read this story
carefully, we must choose
one of the following alter
natives:
(1) That Jesus was ac
tually prejudiced against
Canaanites (non-Jews) and
the woman had to argue him
into helping her
(2) That the account is not
an accurate rendering of
what really happened
(3) That Jesus’ remarks
reflect, not his own con
victions, but the prejudices
of others, perhaps bis
disciples, and he is using
them simply to shame them
and test the persistence of
the woman.
We cannot prove any of
these three, but the third
interpretation seems to fit so
much more closely the
picture of Jesus we get
elsewhere in the gospels. The
words of Jesus in Matthew
15:21-28 seem totally un
characteristic of Jesus.
Thus, when he initially
responds to the woman’s
request for healing with
silence, he seems to be
waiting to see what will be
the response of his disciples.
He does not have to wait
long: “Send her away,’ they
cry, “for she is crying after
us!” (Matthew 15:33).
Crumbs from
the table
Their motivation is hardly
admirable: “Do something
for her quickly so that she
will stop bothering us!”
(How like the dollar bill
dropped quickly but
reluctantly in a contribution
envelope in order to get rid of
the door-to-door can
vasser!).
Isn’t it their own prejudice
with which he is shaming
them when he says; “I was
sent only to the lost sheep of
the house of Israel”? And
who could believe that Jesus
is speaking for himself when
he says to her: “It is not fair
to take the children’s bread
and throw it to the dogs!”
(Why should we deprive our
own families to help some
stranger far away?)
Jesus would find that “his
people” are still saying
audacious things like that
today. Can’t you just hear
him repeating to us our own
blasphemous cliches:
“Charity begins at home,” -
“God helps those who help
themselves,” etc.?
So what is the “great
faith” that Jesus sees in this
woman?
It is not the arrogant pride
of belonging to the “right”
group, or having the “right”
beliefs - as the disciples did.
It is, however, the humble
NOW IS |
TIME. . J
I
ig Max Smith
•A Telephone nw-tJK'. i
To Establish Soil
Conserving Practices
Early spring is a good time
to correct soil erosion
problems by establishing
contour strips, terraces, or
sod waterways. The con
servation of soil and water is
a national interest and every
land owner should be in
terested in doing his best
possible job of conserving
these natural resources. In
the spring while the ground
is being prepared for the
season’s crop, these prac
tices can be introduced into
the farming program with a
minimum of disturbance.
Fields with any slope should
be either straight shipped or
layed out in contour strips.
Crop terraces can be
established to help carry off
the surplus water without
severe soil losses. We urge
local land owners to give
some attention to these
practices; many have
already accepted these soil
conserving methods with
rewarding results.
To Obtain
Seed Supplies
The middle of February is
too early to be planting farm
or garden seeds in this part
of file country, but it is not
too early to be ordering and
receiving the seeds and
materials needed for spring
planting*. No doubt the
“urban garden boom” will
continue this summer; this
means many more
customers for limited seed
supplies; therefore, those
who wait until planting time
might find seed supplies
very limited. Seeds left over
from last summer may be
used providing they were
stored in a dry place away
from weed lolling chemicals.
The running of a “rag-doll”
test on some of the seeds
might determine the per
centage germination that
can be expected.
To Use
Fertilizer Wisely
Even though fertilizer
prices have moderated all
growers should use com
mercial fertilizer efficiently
and according to a complete
soil test. If the test does not
recommend _ a certain fer
tilizer element, then it should
not be purchased or applied;
the fertilizer dollar can be
saved or put into needed lime
or other elements. Properly
limed soils will make more
efficient use of all fertilizers
and give better chemical
weed control on crops.
Livestock and poultry
manure contain fertilizer
elements (nitrogen,
phosphorus, and potash) and
should be considered when
determining fertilizer needs.
If the complete soil test
reveals the soil to be ex
cessively high in a certain
fertilizer element, then that
ingredient should not be
applied this year.
but persistent trust that God
will not fail to help us if we
dilligently seek him.
(Based on outlines
copyrighted by the Division
of Christian Edncation,
National Council of the
Churches of Christ in the
U.S.A. Released by Com
munity Press Service.)
TnßofWSofl
OifaSlc ifuittcr
As wanner weather turns
our attention to the new
cropping season, many
farmers and gardeners have
the problem of a very heavy
soil; clay-type soils fit into
this group and should get
some attention with ad
ditional organic matter. Any
type of livestock or poultry
manure, sawdust, wood
shavings, or peat moss can
be used to increase organic
matter; this material should
be mixed into the topsoil for
several consecutive years in
order to Improve soil tex- <;
ture. When this is done ad
ditional lime may be needed
in order to prevent the soil
from getting too sour;
however, in the long run
these materials will improve
the yield of nearly all crops.
Heavy soils do not hold
moisture as well and inhibit
normal root development.
Farm
Calendar
Feb. 16
Hie third of three beef cattle
management seminars
for Schuylkill County;
7:30 p.m. at the
Schuylkill campus of
Penn State. Les Burdette
of Penn State will speak. „
Pesticide certificatiojl^ 1
seminars, 1 and 7 p.m. at *
Coatesville Vc-Tecb
School.
Pa.
Md. Roadside
Marketing Conference
continues through the
17th at the Sheraton Inn,
Gettysburg, 9 a.m. to 3:30
p.m.
Com growers clinic, 9 a.m.
to 3 pm. at Founder’s
Hall, Hershey; for
Lebanon-Dauphin County
growers.
Manheim Young Farmers
hold pesticide seminar on
chemicals and labeling.
Feb. 17
Southeast Pa. Soybean Day,
various topics discussed,
9:30 a.m. at Holiday Inn,
Kulpsville.
Farm Partnership Workshop
10:30 a.m. at the Chester
County Extension Office, jr\
West Chester.
Dairy Management meeting
for the Garden Spot
Young Farmers.
Crops and Soils Day, Farm
and Home Center
Auditorium, 9:30 a.m.
Ephrata Area Young Far
mers meet 7:45 p.m. at
High School.
York County Com Clinic,
York 4-H Center, 9:30
a.m.
Manheim Young Fanners
hold pesticide seminar on
equipm e n t and
calibration.
Atlantic Breeders District 1
meeting, 12 noon, in the
Palm - Schwenkfelder
Church.
Feb. 18
Swine management meeting
at the Lancaster Farm
and Home Center, 7:30
Cumberland County Cori©
Growers Clinic, Embers
Restaurant, Carlisle.
(Continued on Page 11]