by Carissa
Republic County WIFE

August 1, 2002
Horse Creek Ranch

We are into a hard season. The rains have been too few and too little to keep the grass growing. Our prairie is brown and withered. Cattle would prefer nice green forage, but have eaten baled hay for a month now. It’s all they can do to fend off the heat. They can’t gain weight under the stress of such weather. Day after day, heat waves dance over the land, making it hard to breathe. Wind blows harshly, kicking up dust clouds.
Snow-on-the-mountain and ironweed add some color, white and purple. Soon the butterfly weed will bloom deep orange. My favorite heron flies overhead.

Brome fields yielded one third less bales than last year. We cut earlier in the season to ensure the grass was at optimum quality. Less than three inches of rain have fallen all summer. Some areas are worse off, but it still is a worry for us. It’s like the game of Simon Says where you end up stepping two paces back for each time you go forward. Poor grass and forbs now will make it harder for next spring’s prairie and meadows
to develop.

Selling cattle is an option to relieve pressure on native grasses. But prices are not good when too many head of cattle hit the market at once. It also can mean that next year, prices will be high on replacement cattle. Many decisions to be made with no clear advantage.

Ponds and springs are still supplying enough water, but if drought continues, that may change. Good water and grass are two necessities of cattle ranching.

If it’s not grasshoppers eating the tomato plants it’s the hornworms stripping them down to stems. Where do they come from, these hordes of insects? My garden is pared down this year anyway, but now these small creatures are denying us even a few ripe tomatoes. I am understanding the impact early settlers faced watching locusts eat everything in their path. In the late1800’s, you couldn’t just drive to the grocery store for food. But if my ancestors could live through hardship, I am determined to manage as well.

A repairman is finally out to work on Greg’s tractor. The shop kept sending their man to fix riding mowers and other easy jobs in town. Greg was able to persuade them with the importance of getting our equipment running again. Machinery tends to break down when you need it most. After long periods of inactivity, there is always stress on parts once you run the equipment again. Not unlike human beings. Try running a mile just out of the blue.

Greg has the hay shed filled. Bales are now lining up beside the building. These bales will be fed first. In our part of the world, there usually is enough moisture to cause bales to rot faster if left outdoors. Up in the northern states, winters are drier, so many ranchers just stack bales at the end of fields or pastures. These are often rectangular bales resembling enormous loaves of bread. We bale large rounds that are easy to stack in the hay shed. It takes machinery to move them. Some people prefer small square bales that a human can pick up and toss. A few folks even bale small rounds. It’s a personal choice. Machinery depends on which kind you want. Or perhaps the kind of machinery you have determines what type bales you make. We don’t own baling equipment, but contract with others to bale hay for us. Sometimes this is done for cash, sometimes for shares of hay. Ranch life sure has a lot of repetition. But we must always be prepared for the out of ordinary as well.

This afternoon I mailed my advance ballot. Since I wouldn’t be near the precinct on Election Day, I acquired a ballot by mail. Some of the positions were easy to select candidates for, while others were extremely difficult. A number of the better known candidates were not people I wanted in offices of power, but their opponents were not known to me. That always makes voting difficult. You have to make choices based on too little information. They may disappoint once in office even when they sound good on the campaign trail. Our district boundaries for state representation changed earlier this year. Wabaunsee County is now divided among three districts. This bodes poorly for us. Politicians won’t really care about us rural folks since our population is small compared to the remainder of their district. Democracy means one man, one vote. Unfortunately, a large block of voting population can sway the outcome of elections in ways disadvantageous to us. Our federal district remains the same even though the representative picked up additional counties. The First District covers about two-thirds of Kansas, the less populated areas.

Today is the day of civic duty. Place my election ballot in the mail and receive notice of jury duty. A simple questionnaire to fill out and return to the county office. In two weeks, I go to the courthouse. Never know what kind of case will be waiting. I have served on jury twice so far. Both cases were criminal in nature - one murder, one armed robbery. I was jury foreman in the first trial. I may get a civil case this time. Jurors receive ten dollars and mileage each day of duty.

I finished writing a news article for a regional publication. Easy to send work via e-mail. My story was about organic agriculture production and marketing. A short version was used earlier this year for my WIFE radio spot. But the editor wanted more on Kansas producers rather than a basic recounting of the Organic Trade Association’s trade show and conference in Austin, Texas. That meant background research and interviewing more people. A lot of digging is involved, but I am rewarded by meeting interesting people and uncovering facts. My next project will be based on the Air Force usage of earthworms to recycle garbage into compost.

Time to put dinner on. Home raised beef for the grill. No tomatoes for the salad though.