When It Rains, It Pours!

I wish the title of this post was a commentary about the weather, but sadly it is not. Unfortunately, we are in need of rain here in Minnesota, but more about that in a moment. My plan is to post on my blog once or twice a week and as you can see, it has been longer than that, much longer. When it rains, it pours is in reference to the busy, crazy times going on here. In the past 2 weeks I have helped plan and execute a retirement celebration for our Pastor of 31 years, sewed 6 costumes for my son's work and a pirate costume for my daughter, and helped construct a booth and a float for our annual summer festival in town. Whew! All of this on top of the day-to-day duties that continue. I'm not complaining, in fact, I look forward to this kind of additional "busyness." I love working with family and friends to accomplish goals, and we've accomplished a lot in the last 2 week. Now, about the weather...

According to the National Weather Service- Climate Prediction Center, "The drought and heat arrived at a critical time for Midwestern agriculture, especially corn. The combination of heat and dryness has severely reduced the quality and quantity of the corn and soybean crop, with 38 percent of the corn and 30 percent of the soybeans rated as poor or very poor as of July 15 by NASS/USDA. Some states, such as Kentucky, Missouri, and Indiana, had  over 70 percent of their corn adversely rated. Unfortunately,drought is expected to develop, persist, or intensify across  these areas, and temperatures are likely to average above normal."  

Although not as desperate, our area is praying for rain too. We have had some, but not enough to provide the moisture we need. Our farm is fortunate to have mostly irrigated land. Granted this watering system is not free like what Mother Nature provides, but it is a welcome back-up plan for this dry, hot weather. 

My prayer is that rain will be provided and we will see relief from the heat so that farmers can continue to FEED THE NATION that we are so proud to do!

PS- I am still sporting the "Rambo" look. See my previous post for an   explanation.