by Mary Anne
Barton County WIFE

September 2000

Today was one of those days when I wish I had a traffic counter across the driveway! Lots of coming and going but that’s just a typical day around here.

The day started early with a 6:00 AM high school cross-country team practice. Julie just barely had time to come home, shower, and get back to her 7:00 AM Jazz Band class. Wayne’s day started a little later as the school bus doesn’t come to pick him up until after 7:30 AM.

While it was cooler this morning (cooler being a relative term during this record-breaking string of 100 degree + days), Dean and John, our full-time employee, disced around the corn field on the back side of the home place and put electric fence around that corn field.

The field was cut late last night. Corn is a new crop for us. We’re experimenting with it this year but haven’t invested in the additional machinery needed to plant or harvest corn. We farm adjacent to Cheyenne Bottoms, a "Wetlands of International Importance in the Western Hemisphere". One drawback of farming next to Cheyenne Bottoms is the millions of blackbirds that destroy local milo (grain sorghum) crops. By planting corn, we hope to have a fall crop to harvest, esp. on those fields closest to Cheyenne Bottoms.

The cornfield was so hard and dry that the disc would only scratch the surface of the ground. The guys had to work hard to get the fence posts pounded into the ground. Then, the cows were full and wouldn’t come thru the gate when the guys called them. The guys finally gave up and headed home for lunch. Of course, when they drove thru the gate, the cows followed them – in the opposite direction of the cornfield! So, the guys circled around and drove back thru the gate again. This time, the cows followed them out into the cornfield where we hope they find something extra to eat.

The pastures are drying up and it’s been too dry to apply herbicide to the summer fallow wheat stubble, which won’t be planted to a crop this fall but will lay "fallow" until next spring. The guys have electric fences strung out around a couple of the summer fallow fields, letting the cows eat the weeds and volunteer wheat. With only a single strand of wire and temporary posts, it’s easier to put up an electric fence but we really have to keep a close eye on the cows. Deer are notorious for crashing thru electric fences and tearing them out. We sure don’t want the cattle out on the roads or wandering, esp. into the milo fields that haven’t been harvested or where they can eat the alfalfa bales waiting to be sold.

At the house, I spent my time catching up on bookwork in the morning. Vic, our neighbor, pulled in and read the water meter for the rural water district. I serve as the secretary/treasurer of the water district. To hold costs down, we all volunteer our labor for our small water district.

Wayne had a doctor’s appointment so I picked him up from school and went to the doctor. Afterwards, we met Dean for lunch at the local Pizza Hut.

In the afternoon, I did more bookwork and then worked on the computer designing and printing off locker signs for the high school debate kids.

From 3:30 – 6:30 PM, it seemed like all I did was run or answer the doorbell or the radio (business radios). I made 2 trips connecting John with the machinery he needed, took Dean a pop, picked up Wayne from football practice, bought groceries, delivered the debate signs, etc.

Steve, a high school student who works for us mainly in the summer, caught me to check on hunting privileges as dove season opened this morning. Keith stopped by with our copy of the corn harvest scale tickets from the grain elevator (weigh tickets showing the before and after weights of each truckload of corn delivered and dumped at the grain elevator).

Kevin came by selling magazines for the junior class to help fund the high school Junior/Senior Prom next spring. I ordered some non-farm magazines this year. Between Wendy from the cross-country team, Steve who works for us, & Kevin, the junior class did ok at our house. Of course, next year, Julie will go to their houses so it all evens out somewhere, sometime – as is the case with most fundraisers in smaller communities.

Kevin is catching a ride with us to the Kansas State University – Texas Tech football game tomorrow. The kids are each taking a friend so we’ll have a carload. It’s the first K-state home game of the season so it should be fun.

It’s going to make this a busy weekend, though. Hoisington’s big annual celebration is centered around Labor Day. While we’ll miss all the Saturday events this year, we’ll make up for it on Sunday and Monday. Between the church’s United Methodist Women’s flea market (requiring tables and chairs to be moved to and from the city building & church on our hay trailer), the Masonic Lodge’s ham dinner (add baking a cake to Sunday’s schedule), the 4-H float for the Labor Day Parade (built in our machine shed & pulled to town early Monday morning), the float judging (requiring Wayne to be in town by 8:15 AM on Monday), Julie marching with the high school band at the start of the parade (and then rushing back up Main Street to ride the Cross-Country Team’s float – in different clothes, of course!), family home to visit, carnival rides & friends to visit with, etc. --- by the time Julie starts Tuesday off with a 6:00 AM cross-country team practice, today’s mix and match of activities and running will soon be forgotten!