84-Lancaster Farming, Saturday, September 21, 2002
On Being a
Farm Wife
(and other hazard
Joyce Bupp
Where’s the sun?
That thought passes through
my head each morning in the
past few weeks, as I squint
through the 6 a.m. darkness on
the way to the bam to help with
morning chores.
Seems like just yesterday that
bright sunshine washed over the
eastern hill and flooded the bam
with glowing light that made us
wish for sunglasses at that early
hour. Now the light beaming
down is from long fluorescent
tubes overhead, adequate, but of
little ambience. Meanwhile, the
sun hunkers down under the bed
covers for a few more moments
each morning.
Gone, too, is the cheery, early
morning sound of the robins
chirping overhead in the trees.
_ Al _ PENNSYLVANIA’S LARGEST STREET FAIR
EPHRATA FAIR WEDNESDAY, September zb
1-1 J* 1 Li 11,1 GitifSM. 'l Jba4f 10A.M.-2 PM.
OHnO BUS.NESS EXPO
till JT, AT THE ARTWORKS 12:30-1:00 in th. Bingo Tont
§m \0 MP AT J?£" EC .* E,IS Ephrata Fair Parada • 7:00 P.M.
a a m a a TUESDAY
erpT OAOQ THURSDAY, THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER IB
V?LI I* fcT 60 FRIDAY KIDDIES’ DAY ENTERTAINMENT:
OK/STAGE: £njoy ths Actors from ths
Cal—Of Bff fahrata Perform!nq Arts Center
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TUC.APAY -SCPTCMBtR 24 «« they osrform many ocsnse
9:30 A.M. T.R.A.C.K. Bike Sale I TO _ I from cJhUdrsn a classic etorieslll
11 A.M. Midway Openi I AGRICULTURAL I ■mn*MOHinao < M
12 Noon Market Goat iudaina i EXHIBITS I FnIDIIT, SEPTEMBER Z 7
4 P.M. Exhibits Open DUANE SLAYMAKER & HIS BAND
5 P.M. Special Dinner (Tent city) I On The Church Street Stage • 8-9:30 P.M.
6:00 P.M. FMt»t^& n sLrt Judging 2 ®° 2 SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER IS
6:30 P.M. Rides Open Childrens n
7 P.M. Antique factor Games Interactive Area Radio & Recording Artist
« pig ch.se taTeirt CiST CRYSTAL MARIE
94 C i P a C m PAY ALPTt> Agricuhural On The Church Street Stage • 8-9:30 RM.
Demonstrations 46th Annual Baby Parade -1:00 P.M.
I n * u Jx,'Judging will take place at the starting point at
n « MidwayA Exhibits Open 12 Tho p £ rade w| „ move at ?&0 PM
1p „• of?’” *' * In the event of ram, the Parade and Judging
2 p JJ - p p * will be held in the Gram Tent m the Ephrata Park
7 V raraoe at 100 PM For more information
TIiUE-iPAY 6C-PTC-M&C-E. 26 ca || 484-4284 or 733-4451
10 A.M. Midway & Exhibits Open
Dairy Cattle Judging
12-5 P.M. Kiddies'Day
1 P.M. Market Steer Judging
2 P.M. Dairy Beef Judging
6 P.M. Livestock Sale
7 P.M. Rabbit Judging
8 P.M. Tug-Of-War
FEJPAY 6LPTCMECE. 27
10 A.M. Midway & Exhibits Open
4 P.M. Rides Open
7 P.M. Family Fun Contests
Antique Tractor Pull
Entertainment
6ATUE.PAY 6LPTCJ4BC.E, 26
9 A.M. Exhibits Open
8-10 A.M. Exhibits Removed in Park
12 Noon Rides Open
1 P.M. Baby Parade Registration
1 P.M. Baby Parade
7 P.M. Entertainment
When did they leave? Perhaps
earlier than usual, since lack of
moisture has rendered our soils
rock-hard with dusty topping,
sending the robins favorite
wormy-food deep into the
ground.
Annual departure of the robins
is one of those occurrences we
miss through the late summer
time crunch of com silage har
vest and planting of fall grains
and grasses. But suddenly, we
notice the absence of their early
morning greeting and late-eve
ning signoffs to each day.
Even the year-round feathered
residents appear to be pretty
scarce in the backyard, but only
because they are all clustered to
gether, hanging out in the
patches of sunflowers we planted
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I H«MindeWlnH-Fiif Building
lUvMtock • Parte
I Hint-Window Contest ■ 6nki Toot, Pnk
INwdlework* RiHroMd Station
I Scaracrows • Gnrin Tent, Parle
earlier this year. Glowing with
golden-yellow flowers for a few
weeks, the patches matured into
scruffy stands of fading heads
hanging heavy under their seed
loads, surrounded by weeds
thriving and healthy, despite the
drought.
True wildlife comers, these
small patches absolutely teem
with birds feasting on the fresh
black seeds. In fact, many of the
drying heads bending low are al
ready nearly devoid of their nu
tritious and tasty centers.
“Stop!” I want to plead to the
finches and chickadees and
screaming blue jays. “Save some
for later.”
Also hovering around the sun
flower seed feeding stops is our
resident, people-tolerant, mead
ow-raised, red-tail hawk, which
apparently finds the patches to
be productive hunting grounds.
One afternoon last week, I
spied him (her?) sweep
low, right over the sun
flower stand behind the
yard fence, perhaps taking
inventory of the wealth of
sparrows stuffing them
selves.
Other signs point, surely
as the sun dawdles abed
longer each morning, of
the official arriving this
coming week of the au-
FOR INFORMATION: Visit the
EPHRATA FARMERS’ DAY ASSOCIATION OFFICE
at 19 S State St, Ephrata for premium books
or any other questions (717) 733-4451
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tumn equinox. Fall is my favorite
season, with its cool, moonlit eve
nings, bright blue skies and scent
ed with the fragrance of drying
leaves gathering in comers of the
yard. (Please don’t bum them!)
Signs of fall abound already.
Cattails hold fat, velvety
brown heads above tall stems at
the edge of the widening circle of
sticky mud rimming our largest
pond. With only a fraction of its
normal water containment left,
the pond hosts only a few re
maining clusters of our once
thriving stand of this classic wet
lands plant.
Further down in the meadow,
on a steep stream bank (former
stream, now dry), stalks of gold
enrod, taller than my head, are
turning into fluffy bunches of
cheery yellow. It takes some ef
fort to snap the strong stems into
an armful-sized bouquet for the
sf'%-
■%O HI
v* B H
Brushcutters/
>|CM Trimmers /
$ 1 49Irp /
Chain Saws
**L ST,HL ' ! '"~~~-} $269 9 sr P
> u
Available at these servicing dealers
Abbottstown Gap/Quarryville Reamstown
GAP POWER EAGLE
RENTALS » PLUS RENTAL CENTER
Gap: 717-442-8970 Rt. 272, Reamstown Traffic Light
Quarryville; 717-786-2221 717-336-3945
MESSICK’S
7481 Lincoln Hwy. Rte. 30E
Abbottstown, PA17301
717-259-6617 688-285-0225
Allentown
LEHIGH AG EG. INC.
6670 Rupptville Rd.
610-398-2553
1-800-779-3616
Carlisle
TRI-BORO CONSTRUCTION
SUPPLIES
1490 RITNER HWY.
1-800-248-6590
Dallastown
TRI-BORO
CONSTRUCTION
SUPPLIES
435 Locust St.
717-246-3095
1-800-632-9018
East Earl
GOODS LAWN &
GARDEN CENTER
Route 23
717-445-4490
Elizabethtown
MESSICK’S
187 Meets Drive
(Rheems exit of Rt. 283)
www.messicks.com
717-367-1319, 800-222-3373
Ephrata
WES STAUFFER DREXEL AUTO SUPPLY
ENGINES & EQUIPMENT 333 Stemman Farm Road
23 Pleasant Valley Rd. 717-284-2916
717-738-4215
DISTRIBUTED BY NORTHEAST STIHL
front porch, to set beside the
growing pile of seasonal decora
tions of nature: Indian corn in
reds, purples and polka-dotted
ears mingling with a variety of
gourds in interesting shapes and
colors.
If there was any doubt about
fall’s proximity, it would have
been erased by a small tree I
spied standing, alone, in the
grassy median of a stretch of in
terstate highway north of here,
several days ago. Surrounded by
concrete lanes, steel dividers, al
most endless truck-heavy traffic,
this small tree, solidly rooted in
probably poor soil amidst a most
unfriendly setting, was cheerfully
turning lovely shades of red.
So we eagerly embrace the ar
rival of cool, crisp (hopefully wet)
fall.
And offer a boot to summer’s
lingering flies, ticks, and mosqui
toes.
Hummels Wharf
HUMMEL’S TEXACO
Rt. 11 & IS
570-743-7459
Lititz/Lebanon
BOMBERGER'S LAWN
& GARDEN
Lltitz: 717-626-3301
Lebanon: 717-272-4155
Oxford
DEER CREEK
EQUIPMENT, INC.
6600 Limestone Rd.
610-932-8858
Palmyra
HERR’S REPAIR
SHOP
RD 2, Box 11SA
717-838-1549
Palmyra
WEAVER’S LAWN
& GARDEN
740 W. Main St.
717-838-5999
Peach Bottom
A.K. SAW SHOP
214 Peach Bottom Road
Pequea
Ronki
A & B SALES
& SERVICE
370 Newport Road
2 Miles South of Rt. 23
Along 772 Thru Monterey
Schaefferstown
MARTIN'S
EQUIPMENT CO.
Rt. 501 1 1/2 Mil** South of
Schaefferstown, PA
717-949-6817
Shippensburg
CEDAR GROVE FARM
STORE
1120 Ritner Hwy.
717-532-7571
Hagerstown. MD
EBY’S LAWN & GARDEN
16409 Fairvlew Road
301-733-4158
Cockevsville MD
SUBURBAN SALES
10757 York Rd.
410-785-2277
Whil
DEER CREEK
EQUIPMENT, INC.
720 Wheeler School Rd.
301-879-5090
STIHL
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