A Time For Thanks

This has been a week for being thankful. As you may expect, I am thankful for many of the usual things. I am thankful for my family (even that certain character that every family has), the roof over my head, the food on my plate and the opportunity to farm and live close to nature.  Sometimes though, I have been guilty of not appreciating, and even complaining about, things for which I should be very thankful. Case in point, the late winter and spring months this year brought rain after rain that delayed crop production and endangered spring pastures. Grazing livestock would convert pastures to muddy messes if they were turned out before a drier June could arrive, bringing more solid soils. Little did we know that once the rain stopped, it would continue to be stopped for the better part of three months. However, deep rooted forages and crops for the most part, although hindered, continued to grow. Plant growth continued because the subsoil aquifer was so well charged by those frustrating rains of the previous spring. So, as one of countless farmers who depend on nature’s whims for a livelihood, I am thankful for some things that at first seem to be the source of major aggravation but then turn out to be the source of major help.