Spring rains

After a gorgeous day yesterday, the rains came today. Usually I would grumble about rain on a weekend, but 1)we had the best day yesterday, and 2) we actually need the rain.

Farmers are hardly ever satisfied with the amount of moisture. There is either too much or not enough! The selfish part of me prefers "not enough" in one respect - no mud, less bugs, less mowing. However, it makes the cost of hay astronomical in drought years (less cuttings and lower yields), and it's of less quality. And we have to feed it more often since the pastures get stunted.

On the other hand, too much rain results in... lots of mud, lots of bugs, more mowing the grass, and.... in an exceptionally rainy year, an astronomical cost of decent hay (due to the difficulty of harvesting it without it getting rained on or moldy). The pasture has to be protected so the horses don't beat it into a muddy pulp, but at least we don't have to feed hay in the summer on a wet year. Which is good because we are so busy mowing on the non-rainy days and swatting at bugs, we don't have time. :-) The rare "normal" years are usually in between the other extreme years and result in only semi-astronomical hay prices so the hay farmers can make up for their losses on the other years. We are extremely fortunate to have two great hay suppliers who have made sure we are able to get what we need and don't gauge us.

Mud is a huge consideration for those of us with horses. This area is not blessed with "well drained soil", (my friends here are collapsing with laughter at the thought). It's heavy dense clay under only a few inches of topsoil. Clay so heavy and dense that there are several "clay mines" in the area that are used to create pottery. So yes, I do have an appreciation for the beautiful, black loam of my childhood home! (I remember the first time my husband went back with me in the winter. He noticed the fields turned over and asked me what the farmers put in the soil there to make it so black. :-) )

This year, the weathermen are saying we are already way behind on rain. I was enjoying not spending a spring getting my boots sucked off in the mud, but on the other hand, I would hate for our investment of re-seeding a couple of the paddocks to go to waste, or to have to pay a 50% premium on hay this year.... only time will tell. See how hard it is to please us farmers? :-)

The onion sets are in, and the first batch of spinach and lettuce have been planted. So today I am thankful for rain today and the beautiful day yesterday!