Nature's April Fools Day prank...
Yesterday started off beautifully. At 6:30am, the sky was clear and blue, and the sun was just starting to rise up on the horizen. Gorgeous! Then, less than an hour later, a thick fog came out of nowhere and plunged everything back into cold shades of grey. There were the occasional flakes of snow flittering to the ground, but not enough to even call it a flurry - maybe one flake every 30 seconds or so.
Around noon, Nature decided to end the prank and let the sun back out again. It was wonderful! I'm seriously starting to think that I'm solar-powered or something, as I feel so much more energetic and alive when I'm outside in the sunshine. The rest of the afternoon and the evening were wonderful; Clear skies, warm temperatures, barely a breeze. I was able to walk around outside without a coat (I did have on a warm sweater) and spent at least a couple of hours or more out there. The snow is melting rapidly, but not so rapidly as to cause flooding. For the most part, the ground is thirstily sucking it up, and where there is excess water it's flowing along the ditches like it's supposed to, and filling up the ponds and sloughs. As I look out the window as I type this, I see the fog has returned this morning so I'm hoping it will all burn off by noon like it did yesterday.
The neighbour who rents my cropland finally came by with the second cheque for the 2008 rental. He's five months late with the payment, but at least he finally paid it. Of course, that means that within another month (two at most) he's going to have to cough up another cheque for this year's rent. I don't mind so much if it's late, but I like to know in advance if there's going to be a problem so that I can budget for it. This fellow is well-known in town for being late with payments, but it's easier for townsfolk to stop dealing with him than it is for me. They're not his next-door neighbours, and they don't have to keep on friendly terms with him. He is a very nice fellow overall; easy to get along with, always willing to lend a hand. This is the important part: Out here, you need to be on good terms with your neighbours because helping each other is really the only way you'll get by out here. So that's why I'm not all up-in-arms about his being late with the payment. He was also very apologetic about it, which helps a lot. His reason for being so late (so he says) is that he's also way behind in getting paid for things. We're not talking a hundred, or a couple thousand here, we're talking a hundred thousand or more! Such is the way of things with a large (cattle) operation I guess. Still, he could work a little more on his budgeting. I got paid though, and I got an apology, and he's a good neighbour otherwise, so I'm happy (and my bank account is happier!)
His expenses make mine look like chicken-feed by comparison, but other farmers in the area are even higher. Some of the larger grain operations are going through over $1000 a day just in fuel for their tractors! The tractors themselves cost over a quarter of a million dollars each! I had no idea how expensive farming really was until I moved out here, and I think most city-raised folk don't. I've gained a lot more respect for these folk (I always had respect, I just have more of it now!) since I moved out here, and I'm glad to have them as my friends and neighbours.
The horses, BTW, are shedding like crazy as the weather warms up. Horse-fuzz everywhere!! This is another important thing about being on good terms with your neighbours. We're heading up to Trixstir's parents' place this weekend for the auction, and our neighbours will be looking after the horses for us in our absence. Life is a lot easier when you know there will be people to help when you need it. :)
And.... the Sun has just burned through the fog-layer as I wrap this up! WOW! It's BRIGHT! Looks like it's going to be a good day!