84-Lancaster Faming, Saturday, September 9, 1995 On Being a Farm Wife (and other hazards) . Joyce Bupp Record rainfall. Record cool temperatures. Record hot and dry? We pearly drowned on the Fourth of July here in parts of York County Mother Nature’s own fireworks that soggy after noon washed out the planned ones with five inches of rain over some areas. Only an inch-and-a-half tumbled onto us that particular storm, but it added to the ongoing inch-plus rainfalls that kept June and July some of the dampest summer months we’ve had in ages. And kept the lawn mowers busy and the weeds growing like there was no tomorrow. Then, extremist that she can be. Mother Nature did an about-face and left us sweating in the dust. Dust Covering my car, parked in the garage with the door closed. Dust, blanketing the pepper plants in the garden and the marigolds in the border, some of the few things still thriving despite late summer’s choking heat and dryness. Dust, stirring in little puffs behind the cows’ feet as they plod toward the bam in the late afternoon sun. Dust, rising in clouds in the dis tance with every pass of the trac tors and forage wagons hauling in loads of chopped com silage. Be cause the weather extremes re sponsible for the billowing dust have hastened the fall harvest After mid-August’s stretch of near-100-degrees heat and drying breezes, the lower leaves of the cornstalks began turning brown, almost overnight. Day to day, you could see them shriveling, curling, the ears turning downward. While that’s normal for the season, the intenseness of the fumace-like at mosphere greatly “hurried it up.” From nearly a half-mile across the meadow, the dust puffs mark the convoy of the harvest, from field to silo, load by load, packing away winter cow-chow for the “girls” in the dairy and heifer bams. They hustle past the house too fast, I sometimes worry to beat the weather that has (hied the forage so quickly. And if it*s too dry, quality starts slipping the moment the chopper gobbles the stalks from the field, because it won’t store and cure just the way it should. But while the desert environ ment has hastened the usual har vest hurry-up, it’s slowed other parts of our routine. The lawn mower also cover- ed with dust is suffering from that lonely, unneeded feeling. My watermelon stalks succumbed to heat stroke about 10 days before the fruits were completely ripe. And the lush growth of the canta loupes developed some ailment as well, just as the bulk of the nicest lopes were nearly ready. Nor are there the usual lima beans to pick. They’re a real em barrassment to my red-faced, green thumb. Those few small rows of lima beans germinated nicely, developed a thick stand of well-leafed plants then vanish ed to bugs in a few days during the worst of the heat Gone. I’m not GOOD FOOD OUTLET STORES See Our Original Line Of Golden Barrel Products Plus All Kinds Of Beans, Candies, Dried Fruit, Snack Mixes, Etc. At Reduced Prices * BAKING MOLASSES * MAPLE SYRUP A BARBADOS MOLASSES A PANCAKE A WAFFLE A BLACKSTRAP SYRUPS MOLASSES A SORGHUM SYRUP A CORN SYRUPS A LIQUID A DRY SUGAR A HIGH FRUCTOSE A PANCAKE A WAFFLE '■ SYRUPS SYRUPS / _ A CANOLA OIL 1/ I I A COCONUT OIL A CORN OIL | A COTTONSEED OIL A OLIVE OIL A PEANUT OIL A VEGETABLE OIL A SHOO-FLY PIE MIX Processors Of Syrups, Molasses, Cooking Oils, Funnel Cake Mix. Pancake ft Waffle Mix ft Shoofly Pie Mix GOOD FOOD OUTLET Located At Good Food, Inc. W. Main St., Box 160, Honey Brook, PA 19344 610-273-3776 1-800-327-4406 Located At L & S Sweeteners 388 E. Main St., Leola, PA 17540 717-686-3486 1-800-633-2676 - WE UPS DAILY - even sure what did ’em in, prob ably those squishy, yellow bean beetle larvae. Something even nibbled at some of the weeds. Imagine that But the sweet com was plentiful and delicious and tomatoes still ripen. A slow-running hose to the new strawberry plants has reju venated their cactus-like look, just as watering has freshened-up the dusty peppers and a tiny row of Learn To Resolve Conflict FLEMINGTON, NJ. Rut gers Cooperative Extension will be offering a program on “Conflict Management” on September 18, 7-9 p.m., at the Extension Center, Route 31, Flemington. The prog ram will be presented by Daryl Minch, extension home economist of Somerset County. This educational program will provide participants with positive methods to resolve conflict so that there is a win-win situation, and CLOSED SUNDAYS, NEW YEAR, ragCJ EASTER MONDAY, ASCENSION DAY, WHIT MONDAY, OCT. 11, THANKSGIVING, rll aim ( CHRISTMAS a December 2sth FISHER’S FURNITURE, INC. NEW AND USED FURNITURE USED COAL & WOOD HEATERS COUNTRY FURNITURE A ANTIQUES BUS. HRS. BOX ST MON.-THURS. 8-5 1129 GEORGETOWN RD. FRI, H, SAT. 1-12 BART, PA 17503 " (717) 687-8262 * Spray on and Brush 3 in Painting B If your local t tore doe* not htva it, SEND FOR FREE BROCHURE late string beans, “All you farmers do is complain about the weather,’' I’ve been told. Ah, yes, we do. But so does most everyone, it seems. Eventually the brown clouds of dust will give way to a dusting of another sort. And the lawn mower will no longer be lonely be cause we’ll be stirring around it for a snowshovel. And then we can complain about the cold. the conflict is resolved fairly. Par ticipants will identify their own style of conflict management, learn new ways of handling them, (adapted from Managing Conflict Creatively. Rose I Ford, extension home economist, Gloucester County.) Preregistration is required and the registraiton deadline is Sep tember 13. The fee is $3, for furth er information call (908) 788-1342. NEED YOUR FARM BUILDINGS PAINTED? Let us give you a price! Write; Daniel’s Painting 637-A Georgetown Rd. Ronks, PA 17572 (or leave message) SPECIALS FOR SEPTEMBER BARBADOBS MOLASSES 1 Quart • Regularly $2.70 itow 62.29 VEGETABLE OIL 1 Gallon Special Price $4.19 MARROW MOUTH BLACKSTRAP 1 Quart Regularly $2.10 Wow $1.49 IMATO PASTA 1 Lb. Wow $1.39 * FUNNEL cake mix * PANCAKE A WAFFLE MIX ★ ASSORTMENT OF CANDIES * DRIED FRUIT * SNACK MIXES A BEANS * HONEY * PEANUT BUTTER * BAUMAN APPLE BUTTERS * KAUFFMAN PRESERVES * SPRING GLEN RELISHES
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