BlB—Lancaster Farming, Saturday, May 12,1984
Onbein
a farm w:
-And ot
hazard
Joyce B
Velvety black presses to the
windowpanes, kept safely at bay
by the cozy golden glow of the
living room lamps.
Dark. Late. A slight breeze
ruffles the branches against the
porch roof of the quiet farmhouse.
Upstairs, only the soft breathing
of children settled in for the night.
They slumber through the muted
background downstairs noises of
TV or stereo, the only other sound
the soft rustling of the sheets of the
newspaper periodically turning.
On the braided rug a cat snoozes
in curled repose. Just outside the
door dozes the family’s dog, one
ear cocked for sounds so small only
he can hear to sound an alert.
Still, an emptiness pervades this
scene of domestic tranquility and
peace.
Absent from the couch is the
usual slumbering figure, stretched
in weariness, still in faded jeans
and dusty plaid shirt.
The farmers are planting late
tonight.
Chafing over moisture-mushy
fields, they’ve watched the land
grow colorful with the thick growth
of eager grass and dandelion
volunteers.
Finally, a day dawns with the
splash of sunrays instead of
raindrops. Farmers pace their
shops, grease guns in hand, re
preparing equipment long in
readiness.
Pickups creak under balanced
stacks of seed, fertilizer, assorted
sized planter rings, extra fuel
containers and miscellaneous
tools.
All is waiting for that afternoon
hour when the rising wind brings
the announcement that maybe -
just maybe - the top inches of soil
have dried enough not to im
mediately plug the planter with
fingers of mud.
Berks Dairy Princess
(Continued from Page B 17)
Award given by the Kiwanis Club
of Reading. Tammy plans to at
tend school to become a veterinary
technician and work with animals
the rest of her life.
“We could pick anyone of them
and have an excellent dairy
princess," Donald Duncan, Berks
County Farmers Association
president, stated, of the other
contestants. The other contestants
included: Tammy Moll, Rl,
Hamburg; Cathleen Ohlinger, Rl,
Mohrsville; and Rose Steinly, Rl,
Mohrsville. Each contestant
Series offers childcare tips
STATE COLLEGE - To be
classified as a daycare giver, you
do not need special training or a
degree in early childhood
education. People who provide
regular care for children under the
age of 16 and who are not related to
these children are daycare givers.
This title brings with it many
responsibilities, both to yourself
and to the children you are taking
care of. To help with these needs,
Penn State Cooperative Extension
Service is producing a series of
learn-at-home packets entitled
‘Children in Your Care, in Your
Home.”
Then, into the dark night they
roll, the drone of throbbing engines
and shining specks of light
disappearing as contoured fields
curl around distant curving strips,
to appear later as soundless pin
points of lights floationg out in the
blackness.
Soon, silence and endless dark,
as men and machines move away
to more isolated fields, out of sight
- but not out of mind.
Late. Too late.
Where are they? Why haven’t
they returned yet? What broke?
What jammed? Bogged down in a
wet spot in bottomground? An
accident 9 A rollover?
The imensity of the imagined
disaster grows as the minutes tick
off on the kitchen clock.
Calm yourself, farm wives and
mothers order their jagged nerves.
They know these fields, this
equipment. This is exactly where
they want to be - they live for it
from year to year.
Still, within the mind of waiting
women, the uneasy knot tanghng
the peace of mind persistently
duels with the years of experience
that say all is well.
Just as you debate mentally the
sensibility of just going to bed
against the desire to jump in the
car and take a quick run out
through the field road to check, a
hum of motors punctures your
concern and the prickly, nagging
worries instantly vanish.
Few sounds are more reassuring
than the roar of machines retur
ning from the fields late, late at
night.
It isn’t easy returning to the
fields to plant late, after already
putting in a double shift-worth of
hours farming.
Sometimes, it isn’t easy waiting
for them to come back, either.
received gifts from the Berks
County Dairy Holstein
Associations and received gift
certificates from Brown’s Inc.,
Sinking Spring.
The 1984 Princess and her
alternate also received gifts
sponsored by the local businesses.
Dick Bailey, Bucks County
extention director, served as the
Toastmaster for the evening. The
judges included: Charlene Rank,
former state dairy princess, Ed
Arnold, Lebanon County Com
missioner, and Dieter Kneg,
Farmshine Editor.
Each of the nine installments
also discusses various
organizations and support groups
available to daycare givers.
The senes gives tips on running
a business in your home so that you
can continue to provide quality
care without financial difficulties
as well as some of the more serious
aspects of child care such as how to
tell if a child is being abused.
The packets, which also give
advice on how to feed children .nd
how to keep them amused, arc free
and available through your count}
home economist Call Jackie t ook
at 253-5970 ext. 114
For many
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