When
spring planting time comes to the farm, it sometimes comes with a
rush. With memories of snow and ice fresh in our minds, it is hard
to believe, but farmers are in the fields. I saw a farmer running an
oats drill up on the ridge near Retreat Saturday evening. If a
farmer has bottom land, it may not be dry and/or it might be strewn
with debris from recent flooding as is the case at Brother Bill's
Grant River bottom lands near Burton, so on Thursday Ellen drove
south to help with clearing brush and rocks from the fields. Who
would have thought that she would drive into a traffic jamb at tiny
(one bar, a couple small churches, a few houses, and Bill's farm)
Burton! She said she was amazed that people had parked diagonally
along Bill's driveway. There were even three coach busses in the
middle of the melee. It turned out that Bill was hosting the
individual judging heat of the 53rd National Collegiate Soils Contest
along with the University of Wisconsin-Platteville. Our nephew Brian
Fure, is a senior at Platteville and on their Soils Judging team. He
was insturmental in bringing the contest to Burton. One his
professors said that Bill's river bottom land was, “. . . like the
Smithsonian of soils.” Twenty-three practice sites were scheduled
over four days prior to the individual contest on Thursday at Burton.
These sites were selected specifically to show the diversity of soils
in the region. Those busses were filled with students from 23
colleges around the US. In the afternoon, the students and teachers
toured up to Vernon County to view the Coon Creek Watershed. The
Coon Creek Watershed, is described as, “One of the world's most
remarkable series of conservation events . . . : The Coon Creek
Watershed is in southwestern Wisconsin. The watershed was first
transformed because of large-scale erosion. Originally a pristine
woodland a century and a half ago, the area suffered ruinous
agricultural degradation through early farming practices. Farm
income failed not only because of the depression, but because
productivity of the land was washed down the Mississippi,”
according to the Land and Conservation Department.
Anyway,
while the college types were playing in the dirt, other people were
helping Bill get ready to do something with it. Ellen said they had
a quite a crew with family and friends and some River Falls turkey
hunters. The ground was too soft to use big machinery – they got
one tractor stuck – so they were using four wheelers with trailers
to haul away and pile the mess. El's dad used to say that “many
hands make light work.” This day they illustrated that adage,
finishing in time for Ellen to make it home by supper.
I
was able to wear shorts this last weekend. (I apologize to all of
God's creatures that were temporarily blinded by the light reflecting
off my legs.) I walked up on our hill and fournd that there are wild
flowers out in force in our woods. There were small bees getting
busy at what bees do with flowers. Ellen told me that she even saw
small purple/dark blue butterflies in the driveway on Saturday. Can
the morels be far behind? El and I cleared downed trees off one of
the logging roads on Saturday afternoon. Things are dry out there.
The fire danger sign in Stoddard read High on Friday.
(Okay,
it is 31 degrees out this morning on May 3!!! Who pissed off Mother
Nature?)
Until
next time, get out – my buddy Bob Bonine and I took in the film, 42
on Friday night. I was familiar with the Branch Rickey/Jackie
Robinson story, but this brought it home again. Good movie. I have
mower blades to sharpen and a dog that needs a walk, so . . . Enjoy.
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