Reding Update: Feast or Famine

I’ve decided rain is either a stranger or an uninvited, intrusive guest. It’s been feast or famine this year – with a few exceptions. A couple weeks ago I found myself posting “Come on rain!” to my Facebook account. I know I am desperate for rain when I use a social networking site to ask the rain to fall! I’m pretty sure Facebook didn’t have any control over the situation, but the rain did fall and was beautiful music to my ears.

Of course the downside of rain is that my internet connection went out. Which of course reminds me of a story… For the first several years that we lived in Howardstown, the phone line would go out each time we had a significant rain. They finally fixed that issue about a year ago, but our only high-speed internet option is through satellite. (By the way, I find humor in the commercial where the guy is in the middle of the desert and can get internet, but we can’t get it in Howardstown!) So, when the clouds come, the signal goes. Perhaps my next book (after the one about things city girls should know when marrying a farmer) should be entitled “You Might Live in the Country If…”

Speaking of the county, I have included two bird’s-eye view pictures of the countryside. Aaron was invited to take a plan ride to view some of our fields. He graciously accepted the offer and took Josh along with him.

You might see that some of the corn has turned in those pictures. While it seems we just finished planting, harvest has already begun! We began combining last Friday. I have been out of town so I haven’t taken any pictures but will post those next time. It’s so hard to believe fall is here already! Andrew is so excited to get to ride in the combine. He has been asking to farm since we finished planting. It makes Aaron so proud to have a son who loves to farm.

In addition to harvesting corn, soybeans and wheat, we also harvest our own blueberries courtesy of several bushes in our backyard. This year, the harvest has gone on since the end of June and the blueberries are still coming! We have never in ten years had such a long blueberry season, and we just love it. I have included a couple pictures of Adam and Andrew picking blueberries. Andrew works very hard at picking, but won’t eat any. On the other hand, Adam doesn’t work hard and eats all he picks!

Along with fall comes back-to-school. I have included a shot of Kathryn on her first day. Our school began August 5, so we are fully back in the swing of things. In addition to the pictures mentioned, I have also included one example of how our resident-photographer Josh can make a dirty blade look cool (at least if converted to black and white.)

Reding Update: A Fungus Among Us

Well, last week I mentioned Pa Ingalls’ wheat crop being destroyed by grasshoppers. It is amazing how much crop protection has changed since then. Last week we had a helicopter spraying several of our fields with fungicide. These fields were showing signs of a damaging fungus, and the corn was too tall to use our sprayer. So, we had a helicopter come in and do the job. Here is a photo of them refilling. It took just over a minute to fill. Then the pilot could apply product to 30 more acres. It was amazing to watch as he maneuvered around the field and over electrical wires and trees.

I am also including three pictures from the wheat harvest. While this was several weeks ago, I just now received the pictures from our cousin and official farm photographer, Josh Ohde. Josh has worked part time for us for several years, but recently joined us full-time as our Crop Protection Specialist. He has such an eye for capturing great shots like these three and the ones posted last time. He can somehow even make dirty planter parts look cool from the right angle!

We are again thirsting for rain. The crops are beginning to look a bit stressed again, and the temperatures remain in the 90’s. We have been fortunate to get the rain we have gotten. Many of our friends across the state and country are much more desperate than we are…but we’re getting there! We remain thankful for what we receive and hopeful that more is on the way.

Ashley Reding

Ashley Reding's Latest Update From Kentucky

We enjoyed a week away from the farm last week and I am so very happy to report that we got a couple inches of much needed rain while we were gone. If I had charged a dollar for every time Aaron checked the internet or called home for a rain report while we were gone, I could have made a nice profit!

Kathryn (who turns 10 on Tuesday!) has been reading the Little House on the Prairie books this summer. Last week I decided to pick one up and read it myself – for the first time in 25 years. I laughed out loud when I read the following lines from By the Banks of Plum Creek: “It’s only till I harvest the first wheat crop,” said Pa. “Then you’ll have a fine house and I’ll have horses and maybe even a buggy.” I am just wondering if, after the grasshoppers ate his crop, he told his wife, “but NEXT year…” I have a feeling this line has been passed down for many, many generations!

Thinking of my “farmer mentality” topics, I heard a statement again this week that I had heard before, but it causes me to chuckle each time. What’s the only way to get five farmers to agree? Hang four of them. This goes back to the independent mindset that is so ingrained. If you are in a farm family, you know it’s true!

I have only mentioned the crops a little bit lately because there hasn’t been much to report. Before we left town, the corn was really stressed. The field had a white tint to it instead of that lush, beautiful green. We were certainly blessed with rainfall and have a good chance of more rain this week.

Watching the radar and praying for sufficient rain are two big activities on the farm in the summer. Other things we are doing include checking over all of the equipment, cleaning machinery used in spring, putting things away and pulling other things out so that we are ready to go when it’s time to harvest. We are also looking at the logistics for the fall and determining if we need additional drivers to help lead machinery from field to field. We are scouting the crops to keep an eye on weeds and the overall health of the crop. This is a happy thing when it rains, but not such a fun thing when drought is setting in!