It’s so dry.
It rained last night. . . finally. . . and it’s still so dry.
Spots that are crunchy when you walk.
Brown, where there should be green.
Dry river banks where there should be water.
And I can feel the fear trying to creep in.
We’re known as the “Green Mountain” State.
Yet, in some areas, the green is hard to see.
Today, as I walk this farm I am discouraged.
Being without a barn all last winter caused us many difficult issues with the cows.
Teat ends that froze, now oozing mastitis.
Volatile Somatic Cell Counts, PI Counts. . .
Heifers that are smaller than usual.
A myriad of back lashes from a storm that destroyed our barns.
A barn we still don’t know what to do with.
Psalm 63:1
You, God, are my God, earnestly I seek you;
I thirst for you, my whole being longs for you,in a dry and parched land where there is no water.
2I have seen you in the sanctuary and beheld your power and your glory.
3Because your love is better than life, my lips will glorify you.
4I will praise you as long as I live, and in your name I will lift up my hands.
5I will be fully satisfied as with the richest of foods; with singing lips my mouth will praise you.
I stand in the sunshine and I look out over the fields.
I let the warmth of the sun wash over me.
Soon these temperatures will dive and winter will creep in.
I swore this year would be different.
I swore we would have all our wood in and cut.
We would be prepared.
Yet all I feel is behind, hot, and unprepared.
The pastures are not growing back.
This dry spell has far reaching consequences.
We’re not even finished with our first cut.
First cut was late and not very good.
And I can’t help but wonder.
What are we doing?
Why are we doing this?
I watch as developments go up around us.
Beautiful farmland now dotted with Multifamily housing.
And I wonder.
Who am I doing this for?
Why are we still farming?
The future looks bleaker than before.
We can’t seem to get ahead.
I walk further into the field.
I’ve never seen it like this.
So dry.
Crunch.
Everywhere I look there is dried up grass.
Some of our pastures are still green, but lack of rain has inhibited their growth.
I don’t know what all this means.
Once again I come with more questions than answers.
I walk back to the house.
The house that needs painting, the house that hardly has a room down stairs without ceiling water damage.
I can hear the giggles before I get there.
The college girl and the dancer girl have gone running.
They are in the back yard stretching.
There is a cool breeze.
Relief from the day of heat.
Upstairs the Fireman is studying the roads of Burlington.
The youngest farm girl is at the Farmer’s Market selling her baked goods.
The Farm boy is off to check out more equipment.
My farmer is working on a tire so that we can get back to second cut.
Mike and Gabe are milking.
The ebb and flow of life is continuing.
Despite the unsettled feelings, I am content.
The earth may be dry, but my spirit remains watered and lush.
Pslam 63:1 says:
I thirst for you, my whole being longs for you,in a dry and parched land where there is no water.
I don’t know what the future holds.
But I know who holds the future.
I can’t let the things of this world drag me down.
God knows each of our needs.
He knows the condition of my fragile heart.
I head to the house to make a cup of coffee.
I have been out of hot water since Sunday, and last night we had a new water heater installed.
Such a luxury to not have to boil water in the heat.
Such a luxury that it was only the water heater that went. . . we still had water.
We will ride this storm of low milk prices, lack of feed as we have been doing for years.
Through it all there will be a deep satisfaction at the end of the day, that even though things are perfect they are as they should be.
The sun is beginning to set.
My front porch beckons me.
The heat has been so oppressive that sitting in the blazing sun in the afternoon has been impossible.
Today though, it is glorious.
I fill my coffee cup again.
The rich aroma flows through the house.
I have done all I can for today.
Tomorrow is a new day.
May each step you take be one in hope.
This song ministers to my heart in so many ways.
I pray that you will hear the words and live a life where fear is known as a liar.
