Inside: When lilies are in bloom, talking ’round the pickup, and don’t bug me. Catch up on all the latest around the farm.
When Lilies Are in Bloom
If May was in a footrace with June, I’m not sure which month would have won. Both zoomed past me, leaving me in the dust and wondering where they ran off to. So reflections are sporadic this time around.
In the middle of all this hurry-blurry time, my lilies made a spectacle of themselves. They showed off with their many gorgeous pink and white blooms, saying, “Hey, notice us.” Thankfully I snatched a few moments here and there to do just that. And snapped a few photos along the way.
I’ve come to appreciate my annual lily show. A wonderful way to end spring and begin the long days of summer.
Talking ’Round the Pickup
Growing up on a farm leaves you with many fond memories and also those you take for granted. One such memory that fits neatly into both categories is the sight of farmers talking around their pickups, leaned over the truck bed, discussing the news of the day, corn prices, bovine behavior, and maybe a little gossip about the neighbors. And, if you were really lucky, you’d catch one of those favorite family yarns they’d tell over and over again. So many times I’d see my dad and his brothers, gathered around one of their pickups. Sometimes a feed salesman or neighbor down the road would join the conversation if they happened to stop by. It was such a common sight that I never really thought about it. The sun comes up, farmers stand around their pickups to talk. Just another day in rural America.
Fast forward four decades later. My brother Vince is trying to fix a part on the tractor so he can cut hay. My sister-in-law Lisa is there to help pull the tractor. Mom is at my door, asking if I have an electrical outlet so they can run an extension cord. We’re busy in our efforts to get the tractor going, though to no avail. Meanwhile a friend of my brother’s, who went to school with us, pulls up to help, and the next thing you know we’re gathered around a pickup, listening to Brian tell stories. Soon Bradley, my nephew, drives up and joins us, and we’re laughing and talking. That’s when it hit me. How long it had been since we stood around some pickup like that. Like my uncles and my dad did. How precious and fleeting those moments! And, yet, there we were, doing the same thing. Keeping the custom alive. Bringing it back again.
For as long as there are farmers and pickups, I expect the tradition will live on.
Don’t Bug Me
And with the move into summer another annual event takes place. This time no warm fuzzies. The descent of the Japanese beetles on otherwise healthy vegetation. I’ve been watching them for a few years now, remembering fondly the years when I never had to deal with them. I’m not sure at what point they invaded our lives, but they’ve become a summer occurrence, like baseball and lemonade and swimming—except not because the bug visitation isn’t a good thing.
I’m becoming a student of their habits. (What else are you going to do when you have hundreds—maybe thousands–of them in your trees?) They’re quite picky about what they eat. Unlike the locust of bygone eras—the bane of our forefathers and foremothers—which stripped everything in their path, these delightful creatures prefer to dine selectively on wild grapevine leaves, Chinese Elms, apple tree leaves, wild rose bushes, daisies, and peaches. At least that’s what they’re feasting on in my yard. They leave alone corn, cukes and melons, tomatoes, peppers, silver maples, hackberry trees, and most flowers as well. I know I should be grateful they’re leaving my crops alone. And I am, but, really, enough already!
I caught one in a pan of water today doing the breaststroke, it’s little body merrily paddling in the shallow rainwater. Sometimes you just have to laugh. I’ve got brown lacy grapevine leaves and Chinese Elm leaves littering my yard, yet this little guy is having the time of his life. Club Med for Japanese beetles. My yard is most likely a tourist hotspot in the Japanese beetle world, with a 3-star rating (“exceptional cuisine, worth a special journey”) in the Japanese Beetle Michelin Guide.
Sigh.
They’ll be gone soon. I’m not sure if they just up and leave or come to the end of their life cycle. Guessing the former because my yard isn’t blanketed with a thick coating of dead beetles.
Or maybe they leave when they’ve used up all of their vacation days.
What’s happening in your neck of the woods? Tell us about it in the comments.
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Hackberry Trees, Family Visits, and Other News Fresh From the Farm
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