The Rural Voice, 1980-07, Page 33GISELE IRELAND
Farmers
and their spring seeding!
Most farmers are now finished their spring seeding. They
are justly proud of their neat fields and spectacular rows coming
through.
More than one will boast that there isn't a miss in the whole
field even though it was planted in the dark.
At what price? Most of the women on the farm are bloody
grateful that this job is done. They are weeks behind in
everything they planned to do because of bouncing their rumps
on tractors and doing the chores and cooking gigantic meals at all
hours for these tractor cowboys.
I am not particularly enamoured of machinery. In fact, 1 have
trouble telling the brake from the clutch. The stuff seems to get
more complicated every year. When the men file in for tummy
filling all they can discuss is what hydraulic hose is loose and
what bearing is squealing.
All I ever get to do is get the broken parts or run for seed and
stuff that they forget. Not to mention the refreshments they want
at 10 at night in some forsaken back piece of the farm that you
have to take a compass with you to find.
60 EXTRA ACRES
Around here we have a guy who scouts around for more land
to rent when I've just consoled myself that seeding will soon b e
over. He can come up with 60 extra acres in Mosquito Hollow
that would be just great to plant in grain. The last find was 25
acres in some long forgotten swamp that will be just great for
white beans.
We're not losing enough raising hogs so we're going to try to
lose both pants and shirts in beans. The tractor cowboys just grin
and say wait till we get the beans off and watch the money roll in.
What I know about beans is that getting them off is the trick.
I'm making an "I Told You So" sign to have ready when they are
axle deep in muck trying to rake in their fortune.
The old story about the little seeds that push their little heads
through the rich black earth doesn't stir me anymore. All I can
think of is dinner for seven at heavens knows what time and a
pile of ripped pants and shirts that are steadily mount-
ing in the laundry room corner. If he keeps this destruction up
he'll soon be working at planting in his Sunday suit unless I get
some time off to do the mending. Surely this can't go on forever.
IMPROVED TEMPERS?
The late spring didn't do much to improve the tempers of
the seeding crew and luckily they have cabs on the tractors to
keep out the cold and the voracious mosquitoes. Around here
they are waiting, and not patiently either, to get these fantastic
beans into the ground and are mumbling something about how
they shouldn't be up before the first full moon in June.
There used to be a time when the first full moon in June got
them thinking along other directions altogether but they seem to
have lost their attraction completely.
I wonder if I rigged myself up with eight rows and beepers and
corn coming out of my spouts if he'd notice me again.
Those 'save your marriage' manuals have no information
whatsoever telling you how to compete with machinery and
spring sec,ding for attention. Well, maybe once he gets those
darn beans in.
Huron
Feeding Systems
Brussels, Ontario
Sales and Installation
of
WESTEEL-ROSCO
GRAIN BINS
and
MODERN MILL
FEEDING EQUIP.
CaII us soon
and receive early
summer discounts on grain bins
519-887-6289
VANASTRA
FACTORY
OUTLET
Highway 4 - south of Clinton at Vanastra
"The Store That Saves You More"
McCall's and Kwik Sew Patterns
• Mens' • Boys' • Ladies'
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10 a.m. - 6 p.m.
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THE AURAL VOICE/JULY 1980 P0. 31