On Being a
Farm Wife
(and other
hazards)
Joyce Bupp
The glory is fading fast.
A day before the chilly show
ers swept through last week,
maple leaves piled around the
house echoed the bright yellow
of the paper-husk bow on the
front door wreath. But
overnight, the brief bout of mois
ture faded the pliable, cheery
golden leaves - last in the neigh
borhood to let loose of the trees -
to crackly brown ghosts of sum
mer past.
In the brilliant sunshine that
followed and poured across the
fading glory of fall, it was appar
ent why certain colors have
become the classic “autumn”
decorators shades of the season.
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Electronic
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HERNLEY’ S FARM STANLEYS LEBANON VALLEY
EQUIPMENT, INC. FARM SERVICE IMPLEMENT CO., INC.
2095 S MarketSt RD 1 - Off Rte 125 700 E Linden St
Elizabethtown, PA Klmgerstown, PA Roland, PA.
717-367-8867 717-648-2088 717-866-7518
WITMER’S INC. MILLER EQUIPMENT CO. J & M MACHINERY CO.
Box 368 - PD 1 Route 22 & 819
Columbiana, OH 44408 Bechtelsville> PA Greensburg, PA
330-427-2147 610-845-2911 412-668-2276
For beyond every window, the
freshly-washed landscape was
garbed in muted browns and
beiges, traces of oranges, with a
few lingering flashes of tired
maroon chrysanthemums.
Now the woodlot has slipped
into its dormant, gray-black
hues, accented at intervals with
clusters of leathery-brown, dried
oak leaves. Though their glory,
too, is past, the dead leaves of
these oaks cling with fierce
tenacity to their home twigs,
enduring the blustery breezes
that sweep across the meadow
as winter approaches.
Our contoured field strips,'
which curl out around the hill-
Large comfortable
cab with armrest
control console
sides, have likewise settled into
their somber post-harvest col
orations. Most of them are a
tweedy-texture of green and
beige, dead brown grass stems
interspersed with fresh green
growth. We’ve been grazing the
“girls” over them for both exer
cise and their munching harvest
of the remaining fresh forage.
Rye, sown for cover crop and
grazing, and the fifth-cutting of
alfalfa, which never grew tall"
enough to justify harvesting
with the haying equipment,
combine to yield tasty forage
direct-cut by the cows them
selves.
Rows of pudgy round-bales of
hay are lined up outside the
temporary pasture walkway,
each with a dead-brown outer
layer forming a rain-resistant
roof for the nutritious forage
wrapped within. Frost forming
on the bales periodically in the
last weeks have bleached their
curving tops an un-autumn-like
whitish shade, constant
reminder that less pleasant tem
peratures are a mere weather
Standard Quadrashift'
transmission with 18 speed
Powershift option
njjTl WHITE
necessary
I AOCOI touihness
'V/ ,"
Clean burning
Lancaster Farming, Saturday, December 5, 1998-B5
whim away.
The rows of big bales provide
unique opportunities to wildlife,
quick to take advantage of favor
able environments. Mice which
set up housekeeping among the
bales add to the attraction for
other species, including a couple
of the barn cats which make reg
ular patrols around the hay
stash. Hawks sharp-shinned
and an occasional redtail
sometimes check-out the bales,
as well. On a few occasions,
we’ve even spotted a fox
stretched out over the top of a
bale, enjoying the soft, dry bed
with a high-rise view of poten
tial prey.
In dramatic contrast to the
fading shades of autumn is the
brilliant green of the grass,
thriving in the cool nights and
unseasonably warm days of this
fading, but lingering fall.
Sections of the rye cover-crop
outside the fenced grazing pas
ture tempt the cows to explore
beyond the fence where the
grass really is greener at the
moment.
steering
Ided
nhty
And in concession to the lush
grass, I made yet another (and
hopefully last!) round of the
lawn with the mower, trimming
the growth while chopping the
leaves that littered every square
foot of yard. A split-second
before shredding one particular
clump of leaves, I realized that
the maple droppings concealed a
stack of canna roots I’d dug up
some days before and left to dry.
Those would have to wait for
another balmy afternoon,
because there were dahlia roots
to clean and store away, tulip
bulbs, which The Farmer found
on sale, while purchasing repair
parts, to pot for forcing, numer
ous houseplants desperately in
need of repotting, and some
hardy annuals to be dug, potted,
and moved to the greenhouse for
winter color
The canna roots eventually
worked their way up to the top
of the “jobs to do now” list.
But not until they’d been dug
out from under several more
accumulations of fading fall-out.
Thank goodness it was leaves
that fell. And not a snowdrift.
Men’s Health
WILLIAMSPORT (Lycoming
Co.) A program that reviews
health and chronic diseases that
pertains to men is available
through the Lycoming Extension
Office.
Called “Spare Parts-Are Hard
To Find,” the program offers
decision-making strategies to
make lifestyle changes or ways to
cope with situations.
For more information, call the
Lycoming Extension office at
(717) 327-2350.
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HI Announcing a new history...
The Ford at the Scbaytklll
A Glimpse of Reading, Penna
from Lenapehoking to Frontier Outpost
Eyewitness accounts by Wm. Penn,
Thomas Penn, Conrad Weiser,
Teedyuscung, early tourists, historians.
Discover; ■
• Indian rock shelters & villages
• Willow Finney’s-where/what it was
• The last Lenape in Reading
• First 400 settlers, family anecdotes
• Log Churches and Schools
• Taverns, farms, first industries
• Kidnappings and murders in the French
and Indian War
u Snippets featured in Lancaster Farming
Hardbound, 144 pages. $29.95. Avail at
, Weiser Homestead,
Reifsnyder’s Ag Center,
Berks Conservancy,
or call 610-678-0200