this?” That was the plaintive
plea posed recently by a perspir
ing newcomer to the area, experi
encing a first taste of south-cen
tral Pennsylvania’s July weather.
“How do you stand this?”
groaned another friend, stepping
from a meeting in an air-condi
tioned room out into one of our
steamy, sauna-like, summer
afternoons.
Both of these comments came
from folks originating from more
northern regions and not accus
tomed to living in the “three
H’s” which personify our York
County summers: heat...ha
ze...humidity.
It’s that trio of uncomfortable
“H” words that has always made
mid-July my least favorite time
of the year.
Well, in some ways.
But in others, July explodes
into this star-spangled season,
ushered in by our collective na
tional birthday we just cele
brated. (And which is apparently
JULY 29, 2000
A Special Section Recognizing
The Northeast Dairy Farm
Beautification Annual Winners
For 2000
\
JJ|KA \
X v ‘<'
our
neighborhood by the sound of an
occasional, leftover, noisy fire
cracker.)
Just a year ago, July rolled out
a continuous string of desert-dry
days, earmarked on our area
farms by parched, cracking soil,
curling cornstalks and livestock
packing into the deepest shady
spot they could find, panting to
cool off. We could make gor
geous dry alfalfa hay. There was
just precious little of it. Despite
the dry soil, we still had July’s
trialsome trio: heat, haze, humid
ity.
Nature, we’ve always heard,
abhors a vacuum. And thus far
into this new century, she seems
bent on filling the moisture defi
cit which plagued us in the fad
ing months of the last one. Drips
and drizzles, downpours and
gully-washers, cloudbursts, thun
der-lighting-fireworks, hail,
wrapped up with the occasional
cheery, upside-down heavenly
smile in the form of a rainbow.
SPECIAL SUMMER ISSUES
%
AG PROGRESS DAYS
Pre-Show Exhibitors
And Dairy Features
AUGUST 12, 2000
''' 1 ;’K :
July’s explosive response to
this “monsoon moisture”
which often seems to come on
the heels of a dry season is a
veritable jungle of greenery, lush
both where it’s supposed to be as
well as lots of places we’d prefer
not to have foliage. Like in rain
gutters, building foundation
cracks, poking out of walls,
creeping up the side of our brick
house, even on machinery nooks
and crannies where small collec
tions of field dust have accumu
lated.
She’s also thrown in a few
“critters.” Around her, if you
stood still for more than a mo
ment after the sun set, or on a
cloudy day, you might have
found slugs oozing up your an
kles. Slimy, squishy, ever-hun
gry, plant-chewing, rusty-brown
slugs.
We’ve found slugs in flower
pots and under buckets left park
ed outside. Slugs oozing up
weeds and sliming their way over
wet sidewalks. Slugs on dahlias
and slugs on string beans, slugs
under black plastic, and residing
under grass mulch. The Farmer
replanted some slug-chewed
blank spot in the soybean fields,
while I replaced some garden
veggie stalks.
The little slimers have a spe
cial affinity for honeydew melon
stalks, though goodness knows
why. After repeatedly sprinkling
them with an organic, anti-slug
powder (which kept getting rain-
n mii
ed off), a few days of breezy sun
shine probably did more than
anything to combat the spineless
pests.
More than making up for the
super slugs is the stunning beau
ty of farm country responding to
sun and rain: thick alfalfa
growth (if we can get it dry!),
com stalking skyward at an al
most visible pace, and fields of
wheat flowing in gentle waves of
dusty gold. Watermelon vines in
the garden sneaking across their
black-plastic beds at the rate of
about a foot a day, flowers have
burst into a paintbox of color all
around us and the often-tired
lawns of mid-summer are still
green, as well, grass.
In answer to the question con
cerning if its getting hotter than
the mid-90’s we’ve already seen
coupled with what somedays
feels like triple-digit-humidity
I assured our newcomer that it
wouldn’t get very much hotter
than that. It just might last long
er at a time.
Still, the oppressive heat, haze
and humidity is easier to tolerate
knowing that, in not too many
weeks, summer’s worst will be
well on it’s way toward “pushing
up daisies.”
For now, we’re plumb tickled
that it’s so busy pushing up com
and hay and beans and tomatoes
and potatoes and melons and
sqliash and cucumbers and...w
hith brings us to another “H”
words.
Hungry
Lancaster Farming, Saturday, July 8, 2000-B3
Spotting
Fad Diets
• Claims to or implies to pro
duce a quick weight loss of more
than one to two pounds per
week. Slow, gradual weight loss
increases the chance of weight
loss success and of keeping
weight off over the long term.
• Promotes magical or mira
cle foods. No foods can undo the
long-term effects of overeating
and not exercising or melt away
fat.
• Restricts or eliminates cer
tain foods, recommends certain
foods in large quantities, insists
on eating specific food combina
tions, or offers rigid, inflexible
menus.
• Implies that weight can be
lost and maintained without
exercise and other lifestyle
changes.
• Relies heavily on undocu
mented case histories, testimoni
als, and anecdotes but has no
scientific research to back
claims.
• Contradicts what most
trusted health professional
groups say, or makes promises
that sound too good to be true.
got mi
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)
(717) 687-8262
Spray on and Brush in Painting
• STOVES • HAMMOCKS • GAS GRILLS
• PATIO FURNITURE & MUCH MORE.
•Wood • Coal '
• Gas
\bmont Castings
TELESCOPE
PATIO FURNITURE
k?
i “(J 1
10fi6 Dimsiod H\\>
122 E.isi
FphiaM PA
www bowmansstove com
(717) 733-4973
1-800-642-0310