I Think My Corn is Dead

We got hit with a major blow this afternoon. Most of the neighbors are without power right now because we live on the edge of two different power companies and as it so happens the little rural coop we are hooked into never seems to go out. The neighbors who went with the Big Ameren guys, well they all bought generators long before I did. I think I can count on one hand the number of times our power has went out and it never lasted very long. I have always been ready for one though.

We were caught in a major down draft of wind. The storm came out of the South more or less. I know this because I was in the barn shoveling more sheep manure filled garden mulch with the neighbor dog (who still won't go home) when it hit. The wind was blowing so hard the rain was coming in the open South facing door almost horizontal so we retreated to the North side of the barn to watch it pour. I had a good view of my poor corn giving in to the wind and laying itself down.

Usually our storms are out of the West and I positioned the corn to be protected from that direction but this one came in more South and bypassed my wind blocks. At this point I hope it rights itself but I have never had good luck with my corn doing that. Four out of the last six years my corn has suffered the same fate. One year it survived and one year I just didn't plant any.

The rain gauge tells me we got over an inch of rain in about an hour period. I had also just finished mowing once again which was good as I got it done before the rain but bad in that another batch of grass clippings has been wasted. I try to leave them out to dry before raking them up and putting them on the garden but if they get rained on the game is up for that batch. Maybe I should just bag em up as I mow since my traditional method doesn't seem to be working this year.

I just hope the rain didn't wash any of my freshly planted seeds out. I am also really glad I didn't cut the hay this morning. I saw several locals around here cutting earlier so if it rains tomorrow now they have likely lost this cutting. If we get some sun the freshly cut hay might have time to dry before any mold sets in.

My guess is I won't be doing much garden work tomorrow or the day after while I let it dry out again. That's OK though I have plenty of bee stuff needing attention to work on and all the grass duties are taken care of not to mention the new field is sown.

Take that rain!!!

I also have a baby snapping turtle living in a tractor rut that runs through the North gate into the horse pasture. I actually put him there myself because I was afraid I would run over him and he looked awfully dried out struggling across the hay field. This is the time when the snappers travel to new ponds so it isn't uncommon to have one crawling around the place but when I do have one I always like to keep tabs on where they are.

Keep Prepping Everyone!!!