On being
a farm wife
w *3R
Joyce Bupp "
-And other
hazards
From a distance, riding faint
breezes through the screened win
dows of the house, the sound
begins as a hum. Slowly, steadily,
drawing nearer, the volume of
sound swells.
Throbbing diesel horses strain
in roaring tandem from the front
end of the International 1206.
Behind, the dusty machine lugs the
clattering windrower, yellow, pad
dlewheel blades mechanically
grazing wide strips of waist-high
oats. As the machine continuously
swallows bites of oats-silage-in
the-making, thundering rollers
bruise and crush the long stems.
Neat, green swaths mark its pass
ing, offset by the pale yellow of
fresh stubble sheltering the alfalfa
seedlings emerging.
As the humming, roaring, clat
tering equipment nears the end of
the field, marked by the sod water
way and lawn fence, its collective
volume diminishes. Through the
thick maple overhang can be seen
the muscled, sun-browned arms of
the operator, spinning the steering
X-,
GSI
AGITATORS
AUGERS
~ X,
FEED BINS ' v
We Cany The Largest
Stock Of GSI Feed Bins
In The Area
aFs
m
60S Evergreen Rd.
Lebanon, PA 17042
(717) 274-5333
*
f -•>
mechanism and adjusting
hydraulics.
With skill honed through acres
of practice, the windrower is neat
ly maneuvered around a first, then
a second, quick turn. Back under
opened throttle, the machinery
sounds quickly hit a crescendo,
then diminish as the equipment
swaths off in the other direction.
As the windrower operation
heads for the distant end of the oats
stand, another tractor chugs past
the house. Behind the John Deere
lumbers a chuckwagon. Their pas
sage over the low spot at the bot
tom of the field road is marked by a
clatter, then a bumping as they
head up the hill.
And, from the top of the con
toured hill above the farmstead
comes yet another roar of slowly
increasing strength. Behind the
humming chopper rumbles
another forage wagon.
This combined symphony of
automatic
farm
systems
Fresh Fruits
in bulk
for canning
Phone first for Info
or listen to
WDAC-FM 94.5 at
6:15 every
Monday, Wed.
& Fri.
Now selling
Apricots and
soon will have
Blueberries and
Sweet and also
Tart Pie Cherries
Thurs. till 8,
Fri. till 9
W.L ZIMMERMAN
& SONS
717-768-8291
Intercourse, PA
Teats
LIGHTNING
Protection
Safeguard Your Personal Property
From Natures Deadliest Weapon
No. 1 Cause Of All Barn & Church Fires,
No. 2 Destroyer Of Rural Residences
- Estimates Without Obligation -
Phone (717) 374-5123
TIM SHAFFER
Freeburg, PA
* ‘ * V V X■y • «
SAFFRON
BULBS
For Sale
Premium & Small
Thursday, June 30th,
6:00 P.M.
At Stone’s Auction
36A East Hummelstown Street
Elizabethtown, PA
x- - . V». » x-„ , *y y* .v •„* -
sounds stills briefly to a mechan
ized whisper, as engines idle.
Momentarily, the chopper pulls
away from the wagon rounded full
of shredded forage, hooks up to the
empty replacement, then whines
off to gobble and shred another
load of the dried windrow.
With the subdued rumble of a
tractor in low gear, holding back a
heavy load, the shuttle creeps
down the sleep grade and rattles as
it pulls from held road onto solid
macadam. Geared and throned up,
is stirs another wave ol dust
through the house as it passcs-a
mere twenty feet from the screen
door.
And, in a half-minute, the muted
motor of a shuttling tractor rises to
a scream, harmonizing in trio with
the tumbling din of the heavy sil
age blower-fan and the rythmic
clanking of the forage wagon’s
unloading chain-gear mechanism.
Picture it: a peaceful, green and
gold landscape, sweet with the fra
grance of wild rose and honey
suckle, still and quiet save bird
songs and an occasional moan of
sky-high jet turbines. Such is the
popular calendar-picture image of
the rural farm scene.
Through much of open-window
season of the year, however,
today’s high-speed, high-tech
farm equipment keeps farmsteads
operating on a high-decibel noise
le.vel.
And, when equipment halts, the
humming of milking system vac
uum pumps and cooling compres
sors, clattering bulk feeding chains
HAND MADE
PICNIC TABLES
Prewure Treated - Built To
Stand Hard Use!
LARGE SELECTION
LOW PRICES
BOWMAN’S
STOVE SHOP
-906 E Mam St
Ephrau, PA 17522
One Mile East of Ephrala
On Rt. 322 Just Off Rt 222
Tues & Wed 10-6, Thurs
& En 10-8, Sat. 10-4,
Closed Mondays
(717) 733-4973
and silage unloadcrs, feed carl
clanking, speeding fan motors, and
high-pitched, hungry bawling
calves alter the lyrics but keep high
the decibel level of the chore
sounds.
The racket offers a mixed bless
mg. With a brief overview o,
chores for the day, a farm wife car
guage progress or problems just b\
listening. Overlong periods of stil
and silence stir uneasiness. Wha
broke? Did a visitor stop by, a heif
er wiggle out, a cow calve? Worst
(we quickly fear the worst) - is
REMOVING GRASS
STAINS
Philadelphia College of
Textiles & Science
to Penn State Cooperative
Extension
First, a few general precautions
that arc best to follow in the
removal of any stain. -Test a small
hidden area of your garment, with
the materials recommended for a
particular treatment. This is to
make sure color loss or fabric
damage will not occur and is espe
cially true if bleach is recom
mended. - Never scrub or rub deli
cate fabrics. Mechanical action
such as this can cause a “bruise"
mark that cannot be removed. - For
any type of stain the quicker you
remove it, the better your chances
for success.
Whether your child is playing an
SOLO Mistblowers
Use less chemicals, cover more ground
SOLO covers up to 10 times more effectively
than conventional sprayers This not only
saves you money, but fine, low-pressure mist
effectively envelops each plant without
damaging tender, young foliage
Designed for long life and optimum per
formance, SOLO Mislblowers give you more
for less money For a low investment and low
upkeep, you get qualify
Prices Start At
$389.95
Cover ground
more efficiently.
Martin’s Repair Shop
28 E. Trout Run Rd. Ephrata, PA 17522
Lancaster Farming, Saturday, June 25, 1988-B5
Ph. 717-733-3015
someone injured?
A steady symphony of tractor
and equipment parading past the
house lends a satisfied feeling of
accomplishment. Down-side of
the equipment dm is the know
ledge that hearing loss continues to
be a career side-effect for many
farmers. Though I hint about car
plugs and similar hearing protec
tive devices, my nagging often
goes unheeded.
And, when silence finally docs
reign, it just makes the birds ’ songs
that much sweeter sounding.
active sport like baseball or wres
tling the dog, your laundry is
bound to see an increase in grass
stains. To remove, sponge the stain
with alcohol.(Always test to make
sure the alcohol won’t hurt the
fabric.) If this doesn’t work, rinse
with vinegar. If this very mild
bleaching agent doesn’t work, and
the fabric is bleachable, try using
bleach. Then wash the garment
If the fabric is nonwashable,
sponge the stained area with white
vinegar, and then with plain water
to rinse.
WARNING: Alcohol is a very
powerful solvent. It is extremely
flammable and can make almost
any dye run. Use pure alcohol
because rubbing alcohol may con
tain other additives that can cause
trouble.
SDID
Outperforms