84-lancastei Farming, Saturday, May 20, 1995 On Being a Farm Wife (and other hazards) i Joyce Bupp Who would have ever dreamed it? At this stage of my life, I’m suf fering an identity crisis. Or, maybe, identification crisis would be more accurate. We arrived home from an over night stay with friends two weeks ago to discover about a tractor trailer load of stuff we can’t iden tify unloaded all over the place. Our basement couch was piled toward the ceiling with boxes. One head-high box semi-blocked the path to the first floor. In the spare bedroom were assorted computer system components, and the living room boasted a soft, cushioned office chair which the cat promptly claimed. A pickup-truck load which followed later now shares the garage with trash cans, the car, a canoe and my flat-tired bike. And one whole bam floor, the one which I use (make that used) daily as a staging point for the movement of calf feed, hay and bedding is shoulder-heighth with the neatly-stacked contents of a life. Well, not a whole life, but a cou ple years’ worth. Mahoning Outdoor Furnaces Cut Your Heating Costs With Our Outdoor Furnace • Standard Model Burns Wood, Coal or dT Wood by-products I • Multi-Fuel Model Burns Wood, Coal, Oil y* *// or Gas • Corning Catalytic Combustor Option Available on all Models Clyde K. Alderfer I mr / Box 246, RD #1 . " J Mt. Pleasant Mills, PA 17853 Adapts to any existing heat system (717) 539-8456 Installation & Accessories Available HEAVY DUTY HOOF TRIMMING TABLES —!■ * tube • 2 10-inch lift belts • tool box for D.C. pump and battery protection • 3500 lb. axle with or without • manure grate to keep work brakes area clean I • fold away side gate • removable head board International Hoof Trimming School of Canada Delivery Available THREE MODELS TO CHOOSE 1. PORTABLE 2. STATIONARY 3.3 POINT HITCH Berkelmans Welding RR 7, AYLMER, ONTARIO, CANADA NSH 2R6 (519) 765-4230 u - - ■■ ■ Our son has moved home. Now officially a Penn State gra duate, The Farmer II has returned to join The Farmer in our dairy and crops operation. With him came everything from his collection of kayaks to miscellaneous computer games. Those I can identify. Con tents of the stacks of boxes in the basement, lumpy plastic garbage bags, and miscellaneous bumps protruding from the pyramid on the bam floor, however, are any one’s guess. File cabinets, glimpses of cor ners of a braided mg are obvious. A long metal pole looks like it might have something to do with a television antennae installation. And the hard, round object which rolled over my foot when I set out the trash for pickup was identifi able as a helmet for one of his sports. Beyond that, the contents remain intact in their storage spots and largely unidentified. Too much field work to be done for such mundane things as unpacking. One identifiable new arrival is his dog which came home with him. Large dog. Large white dog with long, shaggy hair. A hundred pound Great Pyrenees named Chessie. Make that a large white and black dog. Chessie takes short cuts on her walks around the farm through a belly-deep comer of the manure pit. Then she scratches at the door to come in the house, to nap in front of the kitchen sink. Chessie’s been nicknamed The Manure Queen. Or, the Great White Tomato Stomper, another honor she earned while keeping me company in the garden. Fortu nately the tomato stems ate still young, flexible and bounce back up after being flattened by dog paws. This newcomer has also left Sol omon, our Sheltie, and Monk the housecat with their own identity crises. They’re not sure who the king pet on the farm is anymore, though each of the three squabbles with the others at various times try ing to claim the title. My identity crisis really hit home the afternoon I stood at the wash line, trying to identify who owned the half-dozen-plus pairs of jeans dry and ready for folding. The Farmer’s and mine are two obviously different sizes. Now we have added entries in a size between the two; it requites paying attention to get them all sorted on the right piles. Same with the colored cotton tee-shirts they both favor for work during nice weather. Also sweat shirts, quilted flannel shirts, and socks. We may have to resort to color coding. Think I’ll stock up on pink stuff. MILK.IT DOES A BODY GOOD. KING CONSTRUCTION CO. - Specializing In Free-Stall Bams! Heifer Bams And Parlors 6 Row Freestall Barn Heifer & Beef Barn Featuring Ventilated Curtains 3 Row Freestall Barn KING CONSTRUCTION CO. 601 Overly Grove Rd., New Holland, PA 17557 (717) 354-4740 • Phil Van Lieu Home: (717) 259-9077 The Farmer’s Decoy DOVER, Del.—The Delaware Agricultural Museum and Village is proud to display its new exhibit. The Farmer's Decay. This special month-long exhibit will feature working decoys, decorative de coys, items relating to the hunt such as rifles and advertisements, and'photographs picturing scenes related to waterfowl hunting and decoy carving. Items on display date before 1950 and include artifacts from the Museum’s collection as well Cows And Caring (Continued from Page B 3) “You’d think environmentalists would be working with the far mers. instead they are making so many regulations that don’t make sense at all.” Joe said that he previously used a pesticide on his com that is no longer allowed but is allowed to be sprayed three times stronger on alfalfa than what he had used on com. The reason it is not allowed on com is because it isn’t printed on the label. The company said that it costs too much to go through all the hazzle and expense of incor porating it on the label. Now it costs the Lusbys three times as much money to purchase an approved pesticide. “It doesn’t make sense that it can be used on one crop and not on WE BUILD IN PA, MD, DE & NJ as items on loan from private col lectors. The Farmer’s Decoy opened May 1 and runs through May 31. The Delaware Agricultural Mu seum and Village, a private, non profit organization, is located just south of Delaware State Univer sity on Rt. 13 in Dover. Admis sion is charged. Information on this exhibit and other events at the Museum is available by calling (302) 734-1618. another. It all goes to cow feed,” Joe said. “Government restrictions are putting us (farmers) out of business.” The family laments the plight of many family farms. Sandy said, “Sometimes we wonder whether or not we should sell building rights to keep the farm in agriculture. But then, we fear that it would give the govern ment more control over farming.” The Lusbys try not to let govern ment restrictions infringe on farm ing’s enjoyment Sandy said, “Sometimes I get tired at die end of the day. but I still think the dairy farm is a good place to raise children they are never out of a job.” And neither are the parents. 8 ft. Deep Pit with Waffle Slats & Rubber Dust Mattresses.
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