It's Not So Bad

It rained. Neither a gully washer, nor a sprinkle, but just enough to keep the guys out of the field for yesterday and today. However, because they have been able to knock out a few fields in four really good days, no one is in hysterics.

Thanks to these couple days of showers, my dad has been able to keep up with the downloading of the yield information from the combine. Although experts were predicting not-so-great yields this year, and the guys were bracing themselves for what could have been low yields, the results of the fields we have completed are surprisingly good. Again, no one is in hysterics.

Is there something wrong with this picture? Where are the farmers who were so forlorn looking last year as the rain poured and poured and poured? Where are these fields that the experts predicted as being disappointing? How was it that I was able to go out to dinner with my husband and friends last night, and not have to worry about the cost of the meal (thank you, grain check!!) or worry about whether I would have to go stag?

Is something going on here? Is there some sort of crop circle forming? When is the other shoe going to drop?

The answer is: It's not so bad.

Farmers are ultimate pessimists, and even though my husband is the proud owner of the book, How to Be an Up Person in a Down World, once he became a full time farmer, his optimistic attitude was and is often times over-shadowed by pessimism. That's a defense mechanism of farmers. Because factors are 99% of the time left to God and Mother Nature, farmers have to be mentally prepared for bad news. Everyone around my farmstead started out with kind of a hesitant attitude, and now that the results are in, we're all pleasantly surprised! The crops aren't that bad! The weather is actually cooperating! We're getting a few days rest, thanks to the rain, so that the guys don't become zombie like behind the tractor's steering wheel.

There are still hundreds and hundreds and hundreds of acres and days and days and days of dry, sunny weather we need, so I am feeling a bit nervous about posting these optimistic thoughts, but I am going to break the cycle of seeing the glass half empty!

Optimists UNITE! Harvest is going to be great!

If only the sun would come out. . .

And the grain market would continue to cooperate. . .

And the combine will not have a breakdown. . .

And I'm able to go to the Trivia Night in town next weekend, with a date. . .

Here's to hoping!