AlO-Lancaster Fanning, Saturday, January 14, 1995
OPINION
WHERE THE CHILDREN USED TO PLAY
THE old farm-home is Mother’s yet and mine,
And filled it is with plenty and to spare, —
But we are lonely here in life’s decline.
Though fortune smiles around us everywhere:
We look across the gold
Of the harvests, as of old
The com, the fragrant clover, and the hay;
But most we turn our gaze.
As with eyes of other days,
To the orchard where the children used to play.
O from our life’s full measure
And rich hoard of worldly treasure
We often turn our weary eyes away,
And'hand in hand we wander
Down the old path winding yonder
To the orchard where the children used to play.
Our sloping pasture-lands are filled with herds;
The bam and granary-bins are bulging o’er:
The grove’s a paradise of singing birds
The woodland brook leaps laughing by the door;
Yet lonely, lonely still.
Let us prosper as we will.
Our old hearts seem so empty everyway
We can only through a mist
See the faces we have kissed
In the orchard where the children used to play.
Ofrom our life’s full measure
And rich hoard of worldly treasure
We often turn our weary eyes away,
And hand in hand we wander
Down the old path winding yonder
To the orchard where the children used to play
James Whitcomb Riley,
Published 1883 in Riley Farm Rhymes
Dauphin County Holstein annual
meeting. Western Sizzler
Steakhouse, Harrisburg, 10:45
a.m.
Maple Production School, Brad
ford County Extension Office,
Towanda, 10 a.m.-3 p.m.
Goat Artificial Insemination
Workshop, U. of Md. Eastern
Shore Research and Education
Facility, Princess Anne, 9
a.m.-3 p.m.
Pennsylvania Crops Conference.
Embers Inn, Carlisle, thru Jan.
17.
Bradford County Holstein annual
meeting, Bonanza Steakhouse,
Towanda.
Warren County MFS Workshop,
Warren Extension Office, also
Jan. 23.
Vegetable Growers’ Association
of N.J., Trump Taj Mahal,
Atlantic City, thru Jan. 19.
Lime, Fertilizer, and Pesticide
Conference, Days Inn, Penn
State, thru Jan. 19.
Workshop On Strategic Approach
es to Herd Health, Meadville
Elks Club.
Live Beef Evaluation Workshop,
Leesport Farmers’ Market, ani
mals arrive 7 p.m., live evalua
tion 7:30 p.m., carcass evaula
tion Jan. 19 at Peters Bros.
Meats, Lenhartsville, 7:30 p.m.
Farm Records Workshop, York
County Extension Office, 1
p.m.-3 p.m.
Lancaster Farm and Home Found-
ation annual banquet. Farm and
Home Center, 6:30 p.m.
Solanco Young Fanners pesticide
meeting, Ag Classroom, 7:30
p.m.
Workshop On Strategic Approach-
Dear Editor,
It truly concerns me that a car
wash/laundermat is in serious con
sideration before the zoning board
of Leacock Township. The pro
posed site In Intercourse sits
across the road from the Stoltzfus
Farm Restaurant on Rt. 772 and is
bordered by a lovely residential
area. Currently the property is
beautiful farmland.
We have been supportive of the
beautiful new shops that have
been built in Intercourse and
which have enhanced the charm of
To Plan For
Quality Hay
It is never too soon to prepare
for this summer’s hay crop,
according to the Pennsylvania For
age and Grassland News.
Now is a good time to start the
wheels in motion to make quality
hay. What sort of activities should
you be engaged in now to insure a
smoother and more efficient hay
making this summer?
First, check over your haymak
ing equipment (mower, haybine,
rake, baler, wagons, and elevator)
to make sure they are ready to go.
A lost day in May replacing the
mower knife could cost you a half
percentage point in lower crude
protein and a percentage point in
higher fiber. Have your equipment
in good repair before the sun
shines!
Second, order supplies (extra
knife sections and guards, twine,
shear bolts, and preservatives)
needed to make hay. With fewer
equipment dealerships and lower
inventories being maintained by
manufacturers, this increases the
need for planning ahead and order
ing earlier. Remember, nothing
can be more frustrating than hav
ing a field of hay ready to bale and
having to wait because there is no
twine.
Finally, repair equipment and
order supplies for other spring
activities. Making needed repairs
es to Herd Health, Mercer
Extension Center.
Snyder County MFS Workshop,
Freemont Fire Hall, also Jan.
25.
I hui sd:i\, hiiiii,ii \ I*)
Adams County Cooperative
Extension annual meeeting.
Workshop On Strategic Approach
es to Herd Health, Ford City,
(Turn to Pag* A3l)
the commercial area. But a car
wash and laundermat to me, is
quite the opposite of what we’re
trying to build as a community.
We feel this might have far
reaching effects. For example: on
our water table as 2000 gallons or
more per day are drawn from the
water table. What happens in time
of water shortages? What happens
when the proposed residential
housing is placed across the street
from this with additional water
needs? Have residents in the area
(Turn to Pago A3l)
to the com planter, etc. now could
save you several planting days
next spring. The less time it lakes
to do other spring activities, the
- sooner you will be ready to harvest
that first cutting of hay.
To Protect Animals
From Cold
In cold weather, animals need to
consume more energy to maintain
body temperatures. Thus, it is
important to feed calves more
milk, milk replacer, and grain. Or,
feed higher quality milk replacers
containing more fat and dairy
ingredients or add some milk
replacer powder to milk.
Equally important is the preven
tion of body heat losses. Be sure
calf hutches are very well bedded,
dry. and draft-free. Orient them to
the southeast and place them in a
well-drained, protected area.
Cover, insulate, or heat water
lines and bowls to prevent
freezing.
Cattle need water every day,
including cold days. Be sure heat
ing devices are in good repair to
prevent shocks and fires.
Maintain skid-proof walkways.
j t *
BY l^m^E^^AL^USE
m
©asms
ON OFFENDING
PHARISEES AND
HEALING CANAANTTES
January IS, 1995
Background Scripture:
Matthew 15:1-31
Devotional Reading:
Isaiah 35:5’10
As well as I can remember, I
have rarely offended anyone on
purpose. Of course, I’m probably
doing some selective remember
ing and, whether I meant to or not,
there have certainly been people
who have been offended at me.
Still, I have tried to keep that num
ber just as small as possible.
At the same time, I am also
aware that if you never offend
anyone, you may not be doing
your job. I used to get a fair num
ber of letters from readers of this
column usually complaints and
sometimes outright personal
attacks. One year a woman in Ore
gon said I was responsible for the
drought in the state! But I haven’t
received any letters of complaint
for a long time and I’m beginning
to wonder whether I may not be
doing my job.
It was not Jesus’ mission to
offend the Pharisees, but to pro
claim the Good News of God, and
sometimes God’s Good News is
bad news for some people. They
were and are offended by it. “Why
do your disciples transgress the
tradition of the leaders?” the Phar
isees asked Jesus. The Good News
of Jesus the Christ was bad news
because it undermined their tradi
tion.
TRADITION!
As Tevye proclaimed in Fid
dler on the Roof, “tradition” is an
important glue to the life of a com
munity. But, as Tevye also
learned, human traditions must
give way in the face of God’s will.
Jesus was not condemning tradi
tion per se, but tradition that
thwarts the purpose of God. The
tradition that the Pharisees were
defending in this case, the ceremo
nial washing of hands before eat
ing, was not a bad tradition. But
the tradition was man-made, not
sent from God, and they forgot
that vital fact, just as we do.
Furthermore, by keeping this
To prevent chapped teats, be sure
cows’ teats are dry before they go
out in the cold.
To Watch For
Moldy Hay
Wet weather that was conducive
to heavy hay production last sum
mer may also be responsible for
more mold than usual in the stored
hay crop.
Moldy hay may be infected with
mycotoxins produced by various
molds that thrive in damp forage.
Molds also have spores that may
be inhaled, provoking possible
allergic reactions in livestock.
Young animals are usually
affected more seriously than older
animals, but most cattle will suffer
from extended diets containing
mold.
Symptoms include dull hair
coats, diarrhea, lack of energy, and
reduced weight gain.
Since younger animals are more
susceptible to poor nutrition, they
should be fed the best available
hay.
Feather Prof.’s Footnote:
“Whatever you do in life, give it
your best shot."
tradition some people missed the
real point behind it, cleanliness
without should reflect the clean
liness within. What good is it to
keep the tradition by washing your
hands if you let uncleanliness
come out of your heart and mouth?
It is possible sometimes even
probable to keep the tradition and
miss the point “For out of the
heart,” says Jesus, “come evil
thoughts, murder, adultery, forni
cation, theft, false witness, and
slander. These are what define a
man; but to eat with unwashed
hands does not defile a man”(15:1
9,20). All too often traditions are
concerned with human rather than
Divine agendas.
OFFENDING DISCIPLES
Actually, although Matthew
doesn’t use the word “offend” in
chapter 15, he is showing us that
Jesus offended not only the Phar
isees but also the disciples. And,
as with the Pharisees, the problem
once again is human tradition.
Traditionally, Jews had no dealing
whatsoever with Canaanites.
I believe that the answers Jesus
gives the Canaanite woman in this
passage reflect not his thinking but
that of his disciples. After they
shout, “Send her away for she is
crying after us!” Jesus verbalizes
what surely prompted their anxi
ety. “I was sent only to the lost
sheep of the house of Israel” and
“it is not fair to take the children’s
bread and throw it to the dogs.”
Surely it was the disciples, not
Jesus, who regarded the Canaan
ites as “dogs”!
In these two passages Matthew
illustrates for us that human tradi
tions often operate as human prej
udices that get in the way of God’s
purposes. The Pharisees clung to
their traditions and so did the dis
ciples. Both were quite certain of
their position and both were quite
wrong.
Sometimes, if we are doing
what God want us to do, we have
to risk offending the Pharisees and
healing the Canaanites.
Lancaster Farming
Established 1955
Published Every Saturday
Ephrata Review Building
1 E. Main St.
Ephrata, PA 17522
—by—
Lancaster Fanning, Inc.
A Slamman Enterprise
Robert G. Campbell General Menager
Evaratt R. Nawawangar Managing Editor
Copyright 1995 by Lancaster Farming