Looking Back On a Strange Summer...

As fall has suddenly arrived here, it's interesting to look back on what has been an unusual year...

Let me start by saying, we do have so much to be thankful for.  There are so many people who have dealt with drought, fires, hurricanes and other issues that we need to keep it in perspective. The weird weather has all of us in the same boat.  All we can do is shake our heads, share stories with our farmer friends and hope for a good harvest despite the weather difficulties that were/are 2018.

We saw rain totals this year like I don't ever remember. With the exception of the month of June, I can't say with confidence that we had many long stretches of consecutive days of sunshine all summer long!

Lancaster County averages 43" of rain annually.  This year we surpassed that total by the end of August.  There was a storm that stalled over the county on August 31, that dumped at least 10" on a nearby town in just a few hours, resulting in unprecedented flooding.

The West Lampeter Community Fair saw major mud this year.  I saw tractors pulling 4 X 4's out of the mud on Wednesday morning, as the vendors were trying to set up their booths.  The fair's board of directors "and company" did an amazing job of making it a memorable year despite circumstances that were out of everyone's control.  Trailer loads of mulch were hauled in and spread...they arranged shuttles from satellite locations for fair goers and they patiently dealt with the many headaches that they were handed.  Hats off to them~ it was still a fun community event!

Baling hay was a challenge all summer, but right now Jim is raking up the last of 5th cutting hay, hoping to bale tonight or tomorrow morning.

Here's what the corn and beans look like today...

It sure would be nice if all the beans looked like this!

There are reports of corn sprouting on the ears in the fields.

There are reports of truck loads of soybeans being rejected at the mills because of mold.

It's been that wet.

It's been cool and windy this week, so I went to the basement and dug out the quilted flannels, washed them and hung them out to dry in the breeze. It didn't take them long!  We haven't had to run the big fans in the barn, so it's been blessedly quiet...

...and just for fun, here's a picture I took at a neighborhood auction about a week ago.  Our little Amish neighbors couldn't wait to try out their "new" sled!

I guess they're dreaming of snow a  bit  lot more than I am!

And Then It Rained...Again...

I'm sure there are many of you who are desperately in need of rain, and would be thrilled for a thunderstorm to roll through...but we are totally saturated here, and need some warm sunshine to dry out the fields!

Several weeks ago we had ten or eleven days straight of rain, and this weekend we just had another 4".

Some things are quite happy about it...

The grapes are flourishing...

The basil is quite happy, while the rosemary is tolerant but not thrilled...

The gerbera daisies have mixed feelings.  I have five pots sitting on this bench, and this one isn't very happy.  Too much water in the crown has caused the leaves to rot and fall off.  This one bloom, however, is persevering and trying desperately to open despite it's less than ideal circumstances...

The corn is struggling.  A lot of the corn came up nice, although it was pretty hesitant to poke through during that first week of rain.  Several areas were replanted, and that corn popped up quickly last week, just in time to lay underwater again.  This is mild.  Driving around in the area, some fields look like ponds.  There will be some permanent damage from too much moisture, and it will be interesting to see what kind of yields Lancaster County has this year.  Unlikely a repeat of last year's bumper crop!

The beans that were planted on Monday are starting to pop up...

Down to the garden...

The tomatoes seem really happy after a slow start.  So does the barley that sprouted from the straw I mulched with.  As soon as I can walk in there without sinking in, I'll have to do some weeding.

And...the verdict is in on the four-year-old seeds.

These are the green beans...

...and the limas are trying.  Really trying.  It could be the age of the seeds or all the rain, I'm not sure, but they're trying.

I sure wish I could send some of our moisture to those of you who need it!

Hoping for some sun!

**In regards to the question I asked on this post last week...that's a soybean planter in the pictures.  It's all folded up for transporting on the road, so it's a guess, really, for most people to know what was being planted!