This spring we planted about two hundred acres of corn, then the rains came. They went away for a day, day and a half, not enough for the ground to dry out. We started using the childhood chant of “rain, rain go away, come again some other day”–it didn’t work. For almost three weeks the rain spigot was not turned off. It reminded us of 1974.

Then the rain stopped. The ground dried. And it became a dash to get the rest of the corn and soybeans planted. We did it with help from a brother-in-law, many thanks to him.

Then the rain didn’t come. And the ground continued to dry, creating a crust that the shoots might not break through. We waited, and waited. Finally, the rains came again.

We’re hoping that this isn’t a repeat of 1974–there was an early frost that year.

With farming, if it isn’t one thing, it’s another.