corn away!
hey there yall
so the combine has come....it is sweeping lanes across the field right now, throwing errant corn into my driveway and yard. the dom and i were on the porch for some of it...her eyes wide for a bit and seemingly contemplating going out to "kill" the cobs that landed in our yard: before deciding against it and the big red monster throwing it to retreat into the house.
i sat there for a bit...watching the combine....ive always had this kid-like love of big tractors....its really such a shame the the drought has brought them to such an early harvest. now the corn is only good for sileage, as it didnt mature properly. so off to feed lots it will go...destined for cattle and horse feed, and the odd lot of alpo endings. and ,if they are lucky, and if they can find a vendor; the cobs can be ground for kitty litter if they pass inspection. (yes...the usda inspects cobs for kitty and hampster litter)
i talked to the fellas that own the corn and they have lost (all told) THOUSANDS of dollars....and by thousands, let me explain this. a combine costs upwards of 200,000.00 and thats not the high end. factor in gas, the follow up tractor and rig that scoops it, the dump truck that they pile the corn into (gas for all that and cost of said tactors) taking a day off from their "regular" job (because lets face it, no one can just be a farmer anymore and hope to make it), transfer fees, silo fees..... and these fellows are wayyyy in the red.
so the folks that feed us cant eat.
just sayin........its not a new story.
when deucedeuce was here momma was telling us about a family friend ms. fannie. now ms. fannie and her fella friend planted a garden last year. it was a good crop, so they knew they could eat all winter, and have some to sell for "meat money." with ssi, medicare and all that, rural kentuckians have to supplement their food someway..much like everyone else in the good old usa. last winter ms. fannies freezer went out and she lost EVERTHING. my aunt darlene (mommas sister) mobilized us all and we were all able to help out, but still......
so this year she gets a new feezer, plants her crop, and with 70+ years of farming knowledge babies her veggies so they can eat this winter. the drought hit and she lost everything, she didnt even get so much as a tomato. we picked a lot of winter squash for her that she can store sans freezing or whatnot...but still...that hurts. so she lost the extra money she could get at the farmers market and everything else they could have eaten. my aunt dorsie tells me of more than one meal of butternut squash with some dried beans......its sad that folks work their whole life and spend everything on overpriced medicines and inflated bills.
this makes me more than a bit sad....not only are we losing our rural traditions; but because the way the economy is, we seem to be losing quality of life as well.
ive got to move on before i stay on the soapbox forever......
in other news, momma and pop are leaving on their big adventure two weeks from monday. they are going on a 4 week cross country trek with my uncle junior and mommas sister janet. so, this afternoon has been the tutorial on keeping their books. ...and the farms books....because folks....ive got to take care of alll their stuff while they are gone. heh....pops sweating it. tomorrow i go back to work so ive been oiling my boots, getting my tools back together and finishing all that freaking laundry. there wasnt enough oxy clean on the planet for my socks.....im just going to have to buy some new ones, because the bottoms of the ones i had are forever black.
i guess im back now......ill be leaving soon for the ohio lesbian festival..i get back the day momma and pop leave....so im going to have to wrangle a ride home from the airport....kinda hard since my friends live over the river, in the next county, or in laura and bs case...will be in alaska!
(hey ms morgan...wanna do me a solid...lol)
so theres that. i am more than trepidatious about work tomorrow, wondering what i am going to walk into....but ill be working with chris to build a grid in the river room...so it will be alllll steel....allll day...in the way ups........what a great way to go back to work!!! (ill do my best not to die deucedeuce)
so theres that yall.......
more later
justajenn
so the combine has come....it is sweeping lanes across the field right now, throwing errant corn into my driveway and yard. the dom and i were on the porch for some of it...her eyes wide for a bit and seemingly contemplating going out to "kill" the cobs that landed in our yard: before deciding against it and the big red monster throwing it to retreat into the house.
i sat there for a bit...watching the combine....ive always had this kid-like love of big tractors....its really such a shame the the drought has brought them to such an early harvest. now the corn is only good for sileage, as it didnt mature properly. so off to feed lots it will go...destined for cattle and horse feed, and the odd lot of alpo endings. and ,if they are lucky, and if they can find a vendor; the cobs can be ground for kitty litter if they pass inspection. (yes...the usda inspects cobs for kitty and hampster litter)
i talked to the fellas that own the corn and they have lost (all told) THOUSANDS of dollars....and by thousands, let me explain this. a combine costs upwards of 200,000.00 and thats not the high end. factor in gas, the follow up tractor and rig that scoops it, the dump truck that they pile the corn into (gas for all that and cost of said tactors) taking a day off from their "regular" job (because lets face it, no one can just be a farmer anymore and hope to make it), transfer fees, silo fees..... and these fellows are wayyyy in the red.
so the folks that feed us cant eat.
just sayin........its not a new story.
when deucedeuce was here momma was telling us about a family friend ms. fannie. now ms. fannie and her fella friend planted a garden last year. it was a good crop, so they knew they could eat all winter, and have some to sell for "meat money." with ssi, medicare and all that, rural kentuckians have to supplement their food someway..much like everyone else in the good old usa. last winter ms. fannies freezer went out and she lost EVERTHING. my aunt darlene (mommas sister) mobilized us all and we were all able to help out, but still......
so this year she gets a new feezer, plants her crop, and with 70+ years of farming knowledge babies her veggies so they can eat this winter. the drought hit and she lost everything, she didnt even get so much as a tomato. we picked a lot of winter squash for her that she can store sans freezing or whatnot...but still...that hurts. so she lost the extra money she could get at the farmers market and everything else they could have eaten. my aunt dorsie tells me of more than one meal of butternut squash with some dried beans......its sad that folks work their whole life and spend everything on overpriced medicines and inflated bills.
this makes me more than a bit sad....not only are we losing our rural traditions; but because the way the economy is, we seem to be losing quality of life as well.
ive got to move on before i stay on the soapbox forever......
in other news, momma and pop are leaving on their big adventure two weeks from monday. they are going on a 4 week cross country trek with my uncle junior and mommas sister janet. so, this afternoon has been the tutorial on keeping their books. ...and the farms books....because folks....ive got to take care of alll their stuff while they are gone. heh....pops sweating it. tomorrow i go back to work so ive been oiling my boots, getting my tools back together and finishing all that freaking laundry. there wasnt enough oxy clean on the planet for my socks.....im just going to have to buy some new ones, because the bottoms of the ones i had are forever black.
i guess im back now......ill be leaving soon for the ohio lesbian festival..i get back the day momma and pop leave....so im going to have to wrangle a ride home from the airport....kinda hard since my friends live over the river, in the next county, or in laura and bs case...will be in alaska!
(hey ms morgan...wanna do me a solid...lol)
so theres that. i am more than trepidatious about work tomorrow, wondering what i am going to walk into....but ill be working with chris to build a grid in the river room...so it will be alllll steel....allll day...in the way ups........what a great way to go back to work!!! (ill do my best not to die deucedeuce)
so theres that yall.......
more later
justajenn