B4~LaMwtar Farming,- Saturday, August 15,. 1 *s. -*C i*| On being * ** a farm -And other hazards Joyce Bupp Multiple alternatives had been considered. I could pretend that no one had told me the com was ready. Or, I could just make out that I’d forgot ten about this patch of com having been planted. Other jobs could be deemed more important than put ting away com. Besides, there was still com in the freezer from last year. The “squirrel-ly” genes in my makeup took over. “How would you like to help me pull that com?” I sweetly smiled to the farmer shortly before lunch on yet another of those sticky, humid, no-breeze days which have typi fied this stifling summer. “How about if I pull the com while you get lunch ready?” he countered, offering the proposal I’d been hoping for. Lunch was to be what else? com-on-lhe cob, from a small batch which had been yanked from the patch the evening before to check how soon it would reach harvest peak. What we keep forgetting is how the heat has hastened ripening of all the vegetable crops. Not only was the sweet com ready, it had reached the panic point for pulling. “Don’t over do it,” I hollered as he headed toward the pickup. Experience has taught me that his pickings of com which look small on a truck bed grow instantly from a mole hill into a mountain when dumped by the porch for processing. “Gee, that’s more than I thought it was,” was his comment soon after, as a stream of green flashed from th.e truck bed to the back yard. A “see ya’ later” floated back from the cloud of dust as he headed out for the hayfield, leaving me to do battle in solitude with the umpteen dozen ears. Maybe not such solitude. With in moments of yanking back the first leaves and exposing tender, young, creamy kernels, at least a dozen flies arrived. Monkey, mother of seven lively offspring, took refuge from the rigors of kit ten raising, sprawling out inches from my elbow. And a flock of four timid, nearly-grown, addition to the chicken population edged their way toward the scent of com. One side benefit of “doing” com is that it busies the hands, but leaves the mind free to wander. Through the shimmering haze hanging over the meadow came part of the heifer herd, puttering their way through the straggly grass of the dry pasture. Overhead, a scattering of barn pigeons debated the worth of foraging through the dusty ground of the new sod waterway. Third cutting of hay in the bottom ground hinted at purple blooms, and the rose bed poked healthy mid-season growth and blooms above the border of impatiens and wax begonias. Several more dozen flies arrived by the time a credible dent showed in the pile and containers bulged with fat ears. Not a breath of air stirred in this spot sheltered by the house. Ah, but up on the front porch, a breeze nearly always floats through. Leaving the husks, the cat and, hopefully, the flies, I relo cated this com processing proce dure to finish the brushing and cut ting from the cob steps. Small wafts of warm, but wel come, air stirred. A couple of fat, old roosters sized up the operation, sneaking into peck at stray kernels each time I left to check com already simmering. A few flies tracked down the new location. Our faithful paper delivery boy cruised in on his bike, departing with a dozen ears of com I conned him into taking home. One more dozen disposed of. A chorus of summer insects hummed from the trees. The farmstead was silent, save for an occasional bawling calf, and time seemed to stand still. As I lopped off the last kernels from the last ear, one brave rooster chattered over a stray cob. Just as the last kettle full was ATTENTION DAIRY & CATTLE FARMERS Let Us Design Your Feed Lots To Best Meet Your Needs ATES SELF LOCKING PANELS USTOM BUILT * Heavy Hinges & Spring Latch * Posts Free From Sharp Edges *2” ODII ga. Tubing * 1 pr' Vertical And Slanted Bars R.D.3 Manhelm, PA emptied, time came to put the cows in for milking. Containers of com filled every spare niche in the freezer. And the flies scattered from the party. One more messy summer chore was history. What looks like mundane plas- fenci THRI ROPE IN SOME EXTRA #« jfi CASH! Advertise With A I) H 2 Lancaster Farming 1 li 1 CLASSIFIED AD .. JM '' Phone 717-394-3047 jf| or 717-626-1164 / l|^ © O ®