Down on the Farm, November 6, 2002

  At last the rain has stopped. We got over 20 inches of rain in less than eight hours. The entire farm was under from 7 to 12 inches of water. Cabbages I had set out were not even showing above the water and that was with them on an 8 inch raised bed! I have farmed and gardened long enough to know that sometimes these things just happen. There is nothing we can do about them and so the best thing is to take the bitter with the sweet. I also know that if we do not get the rain now and get the moisture in the soil, we may not get it later. Lose one cabbage, and gain maybe 10 tomatoes later on. Every cloud has a silver lining or is it every silver lining has a cloud. So what have I been doing while all of the rain has kept me from farming? What else but reading books and fighting mosquitoes. We have mosquitoes so large that I have been considering bringing out the 20 gauge shotgun to defend us with.

  Even our dog and cat do not want to go outside. They are afraid they will be carried off to a secret place by the mosquitoes and be eaten. My dad told me one time we had a cow that had strayed from the farm. He went looking for her and when he reached a marsh, he heard the cow's bell ringing. He slipped through the grass to keep from spooking her and her calf. When he parted the last bit of grass and brush in front of him, he saw the cow. Imagine his surprise when he saw that mosquitoes had eaten the cow and one of them was ringing her bell hoping to lure the calf out of the brush so they could eat him also. 

  Jeff the local blacksmith swears he was attacked by mosquitoes so large the other day he had to hide under a 55 gallon drum. He said though that the mosquitoes started sticking their bills through the steel side of the drum. Having his hammer with him he proceeded to bend over every bill that came through the drum. The only bad thing was the mosquitoes flew away with his best 55 gallon drum. He said the last time he saw it, it passed a 747 passenger plane that had to take evasive action to keep from being hit by that darn thing.