Spring is back – sort of. Yes we’ve had snow and warm weather. It’s a confusing time of year weatherwise.
This time of year always makes me want to be in the fields. While I’m driving back and forth to work, I’m always looking at the fields but in the summer, I feel like there is so much potential. There’s one spot on my route where the fields will flood if we have a lot of snow and rain. I always watch to see how many birds and other critters are there. I also watch to see how flooded it is. As the year goes by, I keep an eye on it because I know the farmer won’t get too much production out of that land.
Obviously when we are having record lows for the start of April, no farmer in their right mind is in the field planting. But I keep an eye on the fields to see what work they are doing.
I see the gray ground, know it will turn black when the farmer’s plow. The rich soil will be revealed and the crops will be thrust into it to grow. The cows, pigs, and other farm animals will use the corn, hay, oats, beans, and other crops to survive. Some of the crops will be sold for other purposes.
I remember walking the fields, picking rocks. When it was cold we wore jeans, shoes, and jackets but as it warmed up, we switched to shorts, barefoot, and bikini tops. We got burned from both the sun and the wind. I remember pain making it hard to sleep because some part of my body rubbed on sheets and it hurt because of the burn. Eventually my skin adjusted to the harsher sun.
It doesn’t matter how old I get, I feel the pull of spring. I feel the need to have my hands in dirt, to feel the cool soil beneath my bare feet, to touch the potential of the new planting season. Will this year the crops flourish or will it be a struggle?