On Being a Farm Wife (and other hazard Joyce Bupp A welcome dampness eases in on the early-morning air. The earthy smell of fresh soil floats up from a small patch of field beyond the lawn. While we do not plow. The Farmer has slic ed deep-knife grooves in the field ahead of planting, to loosen soil in a narrow band so any moisture can readily seep through and seedling roots can easily go deep in search of more. Even that min imal opening of soil stirs its musky fragrance. As dawn’s light begins to nudge at the starry sky, it smells like spring. The soft, damp breeze feels like spring. And, before another week is past, it will officially be spring. Not that most of us need a cal endar square to tell us that. Evi dence abounds just beyond our doors. "W RAM'S HORN SOFA AND* N *3 LOVESEAT | ■ s2*!ibo.oo I J Our Price -Jgt $799&5 1 P DRAWER"DRESSER \ JESI In Pecan Oak Finish Sffßfrrfj | Our Price I CLOSEOUT 5 39 04 < “You Don’t Need The “Luck of the Irish” To Find A Great Deal Here” inOWAL SLEEPER \ Reclmers, Sofa * Factory Liquidation w/Hide-a-Bed I Reg. Ret. $2,589.95 CLOSEOUT | Our Cash Price $O/1088 . ,289.95 I / 4 DRAWER CHEST" \ I Pine Finish I Reg. Ret. $149.95 I FACTORY . SPECIAL fp7feH.ll 1 L $39 ° 4 1 / 5 PC. DINING KM. " \ PINE SET , Pine Table w/4 Spindleback Chairs | $ 209 95 / ‘Sofa’and loveseat Reg. Reg. Our Price $989 95 CLOSEOUT $ 589 04 J MAGAZINE END TABLE W/LAMP Reg. Ret. $149.95 Our Price $49.95 CLOSEOUT $ 39 95 | Just in case we’d missed the signs, a robin had been warbling a chorus about them from high in the treetops over the house, even before dawn began streaking the eastern sky. Seagulls scream and circle the meadow, their amazing agricul ture-radar enabling them to zoom in on any field in the region where a farmer pilots a tractor out across a stretch of ground. Opportunist birds, they seem to find it much easier to scavenge from fast-food parking lots and fields which might have worms stirred up, than to go fishing for their own lunch. That’s spring. A few crocus blooms linger at the southwest corner of the house, most of them having poked up their purple and yellow noses through leaf cover several f 7 PC. DINING ' \ ROOM SET , LJ . In Buttermilk aafaggyaS-H H Honey Table w/61 BrritLllTOfeLT? Ladderback Chairs, fp Tnll ffpl Reg. Ret. $799 95* Cash Price $439.951 CLOSEOUT ( 7 PC. DINING ROOM" N I DW Pedestal Table, Wagon Wheel Chairs i I 2 Atm and 4 Side ft fflriuJL/ii Reg - Ret - 1 MJmjmKmu $1999.95 . IRMMI Our Price ffPfw $849 - 95 I CLOSEOUT $ 599 95 ' r SECTIONAL SPECIAL \ 'Available in 3 Colors | Reg. Ret. $2100.00 CLOSEOUT $649.88 I _ HllTry ill for I CLOSEOUT ofl 559 904 / GLIDER ROCKER N Available in Blue, I Beige, Green / p ij . Reg. Ret. $159.95 Cash Price $129.95 JLJjSaj I Special | $ 79 04 ® / /S~PC. DINING RM SET' I Harvest Oak Rectangular Table i I 36x48 and 4 Arrowback Chairs I «Ims | Our Price rf\l /TT¥ $259.95 I r" 1 $ 229 95 v CLOSI LcT-tv. RECUNER "®P tc * al * Reg. Ret. $329.95 I yF. i,.. » Our Reg. \||{ [| Price $129.95 CLOSEOUT *89 M j 3 PC. END TABLE SET' IN OAK rtfl fffl Reg. Ret. U IT $209.95 Our Price sB9.9s CLOSEOUT $ 79 9 > $25988/ •Glass Top . cj_ Reg. Ret. $269.95 1 \&J Our Price __ I * $139 - 95 M i® CLOSEOUT J* j J y V *i29 M >■■■ ■■■«■■• ' 7 PC. DINING ROOM \ Cherry Finish w/36x60 Table . JTJn 4 Side Chairs and 2 Arm Chairs 1 »Reg. Ret. | c-, s3o99s9 9s j ’ 3 PC. - ENb TABLE SET w/Chrome Base *SSb peaa», Re 9- Ret - 1 vP \£P $369.95 . * Cash Price 1 c£Z, $209.95 | CLOSEOUT I <3Ro ' $ 98 95 , Z ' TWIN/DOCBLE N cafea FUTON BUNK , in Black Red, zL Vl *rt White, w/8' InK f —fl Futon Mattress ■“v er-- ll Reg. Ret. JB, r « fl $898.95 I T «279 95 3019 Hempland Road, Lancaster 717-397-6241 ( Stores in: LANCASTER • YORK • CARLISLE STORE HOURS: Mon.-Fri.S-9 • Sat. 9-6; Sunday 12 to 5 PM 99 •No Refunds For purchases wHh e check, bring FINANCING final driv * rs Hctnst and phone nurture AVAILABLE LNol responsible for typographical errors We reserve the nght to substitute gitt items weeks ago during our stretch of balmy groundhog-shadow weath er. Nearby, another prime site for spring bulbs, early to warm and conveniently facing a kitchen window, is dotted with multiple clumps of husky bulb foliage. They were yellowish and pale when the winter leaf cover was first raked away. Now. the robust clusters of green promise bou quets of bright tulips, dainty, red rimmed narcissus and the heady perfume of hyacinths. That’s spring. This year’s flock of geese and mallard ducks come and go on the pond, sometimes a couple of dozen, then again only a pair or two. Their seasonal squabbling over nesting sites has become a classic part of our spring scene. We’ll watch to see if they winnow down as usual to a mere two pairs at separate ends of the meadow. Two pairs is actually plenty, since they usually raise at least a half-dozen babies per nest. That’s spring. Furry gray buds wave at the top of the pussywillow tree, too high off the ground to cut bou quets of the nicest stems without benefit of a ladder and heavy pruning shears. More convenient are the forsythia bushes, their twigs covered in fat buds begin ning to show signs of yellow. Coupled with a few bulbs coaxed into early bloom and plunked 6 PC. BEDROOM SET \ Black and Brass w/2 Nightstands | (I » Reg. Ret. , tLJ Jj]J $1229.95 1 Our Price I *449.95 | $ 369 04 / CLOSEOUT 3 PC. END TABLE SET~ \ into a vase, they make a cheery picture of freshness and promise. They, too, are spring. Most seasonally entertaining, though, is the sudden conversion of our resident turkey from a staid and serious overseer of the guinea trio to a noisy show-off. Carrying buckets of milk to the calves one morning last week, 1 rounded the corner of the nursery to the surprise sight of this big guy all fluffed up, his wings out curved and dragging on the ground, bronze-burnished feath ers gleaming in the sun, his head the bright blue of the amorous season. And gobbling at the top of his lungs. “A sure sign of spring,” 1 fig ured. mentally noting that it was time to acquire him a mate. Mere minutes later, she showed up, having arrived as a surprise a day before while 1 was away at a meeting. Smaller, demure, a love ly, feminine friend, Ms. Turkey seems to have hen-packed our big-feathered farm mascot over night. She isn't quite as smitten with him. Yet. He faithfully arrived early every morning at the calf barn, for a drink of water and corn snitched from the calves buckets. This morning neither he nor his new friend were anywhere in sight. Guess I’ve been jilted. That's all part of “the birds and the bees." In spring. $ 4 % % $ Easily improve the vitality of your turf. • Available in 4', 5’ & 6’ widths • 3/4" Hardened steel spoons • Grease zerks on each spoon gang y fl • Each gang is mounted independently • Storage stand on each corner for stability • Optional water tanks for additional weight Deerfield Ag & Turf Center, Inc. RR 2 Box 212 Watsontown, PA 17777 570-538-3557 | Detlan Equipment, Inc. 141 East Mam St Silverdale, PA 18962 215-257-5177 Thomas L. Dunlap Rt 220, Mam St Exit Jersey Shore, PA 17740 570-398-1391 Eckroth Bros £fo m p Eq ,T- M.S. Yearsley Rd 2, Box 24A • e nn c New Rmgold, PA 17960 D . A7n oii oiii West Chester, PA U J