Checking In
We've been in Beaver Dam a little over a week now. No post to the Journal would be complete without some mention of the extraordinarily hot and dry summer this portion of Wisconsin has endured so far this year. Most farmers and growers seem to reference 1988 as the last memorable hot dry year... but this one is far worse according to experts who watch these things.
It seems once an area gets into one of these patterns it's tough to get out. Unsettling as it is, we've repeatedly watched approaching storms... seemingly aimed right at us... dissipate completely as they move closer. One local farmer told me they now consider the corn crop a failure and will begin chopping it up and feeding it to their cows... to help stretch the hay crop a little further in the next few months. Hay is suffering too.
Other parts of the Central USA are experiencing similar conditions... we're not alone in this. But for the farmers, growers, and consumers of food (pretty much everybody), the sooner this pattern changes the better.
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Other than that, we've been visiting family, enjoying our "down time", and working on various chores. In the next week the big tasks will be the annual oil change and filter for the bus-house diesel (and the genny too) and a lube job of it's chassis. If we can come up with a good cloudy day we're also ready to give the bus-house a good scrubbin'... top to bottom.
It seems once an area gets into one of these patterns it's tough to get out. Unsettling as it is, we've repeatedly watched approaching storms... seemingly aimed right at us... dissipate completely as they move closer. One local farmer told me they now consider the corn crop a failure and will begin chopping it up and feeding it to their cows... to help stretch the hay crop a little further in the next few months. Hay is suffering too.
Other parts of the Central USA are experiencing similar conditions... we're not alone in this. But for the farmers, growers, and consumers of food (pretty much everybody), the sooner this pattern changes the better.
=====
Other than that, we've been visiting family, enjoying our "down time", and working on various chores. In the next week the big tasks will be the annual oil change and filter for the bus-house diesel (and the genny too) and a lube job of it's chassis. If we can come up with a good cloudy day we're also ready to give the bus-house a good scrubbin'... top to bottom.
