84-Lancaster Farming, Saturday, August 12, 2000 On Being a Farm Wife (and other hazards) Joyce Bupp Overpowering. Almost. The aroma hung in the still, moist air of this mid-Au gust evening. A plane droned overhead, birds twittered late-day gossip in the fading light, and a bunny hopped and paused, hopped and paused down the dirt field road. But it was that heavy, sweetish scent that grabbed my nose. Not a costly concocted blend of chemical fragrances, nor the distilled essence of floral oils. Not a French import or an exotic Ori ental designer perfume. What was tickling my olefac tory senses was Eau de Corn. Hands-down winner of our Au gust “scratch and sniff’ selec tions. The fragrance of Eau de Corn whispers a promise of golden grain pouring into bins and au gers. Of silage bunkers packed full and round with winter stocks of feed. Of forage harvesters chewing noisily through forests of stalks to feed chomping cows and hungry folks. Eau de Corn’s haunting fra grance is an organic and all-nat ural one, noticeable only a fleet ing week or two in August. Its aura drifts across the countryside when corn stalks have almost HEATMOR OUTDOOR WOOD FURNACE Stainless Steel • Wedding Invitations • Brochures • Business Cards • Sale Cards • Catalogs • Newsletters • Newspapers Arl Haas One East Main Street P.O. Box 527, Ephrata, PA 17522 717-733-6397 • Fax 717-733-6058 reached their final height and be gins taking their finals steps to maturity. You can catch a whiff as you drive by a pollinating field on a warm, humid night or 101 l in it with a walk next to a stand of stalks. At pollination, the tassel atop the stalk, which begins as a nee dle-like-being tightly wrapped in thin layers of leaves-to-be at the bottom heart of a corn seedling, has flared wide and pushed out tiny bits of pollen along its edges. (County extension crops special ist Mark Goodson recently cut one of our corn stalks apart dur ing a field visit, showing me how those embryonic tassels are buried deep inside the young plant.) As ears push out of the lower part of the plant, each with a mop-top of pinkish-hued deli cate silks, the pollen bits fall from the tassels over a period of a couple of days, onto the wait ing silks below. Viola! The silks are pollinated. And each pollinated silk begins to slowly dry, as the embryonic kernel to which it was attached swells and matures into a seed capable of generating another en tire corn stalk. Pretty miraculous when you think about it, huh? • Heat Home, Hot Water, Outbuildings • No Fire Danger or Chimney Worries • Forced Air or Hot Water Heating • 3 Sizes -18 Colors • Forced Draft - Ash Auger Clean-out ’• Wood or Coal Grates • High Efficiency - Clean Burning • 10 Year Corrosion Warranty • Financing & Dealerships Available Outback Heating Dist. “ 888-763-8617 During that pollinating stage is when the aroma of com hangs heavy in the still summer air, es pecially during warm, moist, humid weather. Of which we have not had any shortage this summer, just in case you hadn’t noticed. But pollinating com isn’t the only feast for the nose during August. A batch of Red Haven peaches carefully laid out in the basement to ripen enveloped us with the heady aroma of the favorite late summer fruit, a perfume even more enticing than that of the com. I lay almost-ripe peaches out in a single layer on a cush ioning base and cover them until they ripen enough that the flesh slightly “gives” under gentle fin ger pressure. Ditto for fresh FREE SERVICE CUTS YEARS OFF ANY HOME OR FARM MORTGAGE SAVE THOUSANDS WITHOUT RE FINANCING. BUILD EQUITY 300% FASTER No increase in pmts. Free info! Allegheny Resources, RD#3-897 Reynoldsville, PA 15851 Don't delay! "IJYqu Cany Findlt Here, You Won't Findltr 3-SIDED ENTERTAINMENT N BEI)' a CENTER | U I Ret. Ret. $799.95 . I „ Our Price • LECS' R *«- R, «- 1 -$3&S§ I $1039.95 . CLOSEOUT 1 | Cesh Price 1 $289" 1 »H 9.9- > ip OFF_w/CpUPQiL / Li Closeout^ 239^ - ">M r WORKING DRAWER " N 3 PC. END TABLE SET , Your Choice - Light/Dark Pine 1 'J- Our Price $890.95.1 Cash Price $88919$ $25995 ■ /^ECTW^L^mEPER'^ I--N Loveseat, 1 I Center Console, [ : Side by Side I I ni''' Reclmers, Sola . I Factory Liquidation w/Hide-a-Bed [ Reg. Ret. $2,589.95 Special I I Our Cash Price SQAQBB 1 ' 4 DRAWER CHEST ' Pine Finish and Brass I Hardware 1 Reg. Ret. $149.95 m 1 OUR CASH PRICE I 'll 989,86. t v IK, FACTORY SPECIALS’ I j 2 $39 04 f BEDROOM SET \ (Bleached Oak) Plus Chest . Reg Ret Wlth Jewelr y Case Top $3,200 ' r H V-HSTT, ■> Closeout *B99 95 • ' J^mJSHSOF^ABLIT - w/Workmg Drawer | ftßua Light or Dirk Pine DEALER REFUSED ~ m[ Ml|||m 7o«~ N SLEIGH BED IPPUU Save! I “Dark Cherry Finish” Queen Only I Reg. Ret. $699.95 fill lIIHBMw I Our Price W 0.96 Close Out $ 1 69 95 Includesßalls) v ' FIVE PIECE DINETTE ' Table & Four Chairs - Natural, White/Natural, Green/Nalural Swk~w J , | Reg. Ret. $1,029.95 Cash Price $469.95 IRV Special $249 f I *1 ' , pears, which The Farmer loves as a snack to grab on his way through the kitchen. Mixing with the fruity fra grances in the house is a delicate floral one. It wafts across the kitchen each time you pass by the small vase of nasturtiums parked on the appliance cart. Neon orange in color, these two inch blossoms carry a sweet, long-lasting aroma. Told by seed catalogs for years that nastur tiums should grow in hot, dry places to bear flowers instead of foliage, I always put mine in the raised border, which can turn de sert-like during drought years. And got unimpressive results. This year, the nasturtiums went next to the stone-walled runoff settling basin around the bams, where the rich soil rarely /T PC. DINING ROOM SET \ I Oak Table w/6 Double Back Press ■ DINING BOON SET Oak Table ■ 4 Side Chairs I Reg. Retail $1,400.00 IH j .Our Price $549.95' wjdr — b/ Close Out * $ 369 951 / SENSATIONAL \ SOFA » LOVE SEAT | Reg. Ret. $1,299.95 1 SPECIAL $ 549 95 / CORNER NOOK " \ I Oak Verneer Table j jgaßSnEtega Trestle $ Corner ■BmMHMm Bench w/Storage I Ret. $1,169.95 ■ Our Prices9bilc fyW