Now that our nation’s birthday has passed, we are truly into the heart of summer. Do you like broiling humidity and drought? How about pulling weeds or mowing grass? Do you like barbecue food, craft beer and country music? What is your definition of a weed?
The simple definition of a weed is a plant out of place. Last summer I grew a 7-acre sunflower patch. Now I have sunflowers growing wild/randomly all over the farm. They are along my corn and hay fields and in several areas still left unmowed for the wildlife. I hand weeded the perimeter of my corn field facing the driveway and did not destroy the sunflowers thriving along the edge of the field that were not hit by the herbicide spray. If this is a weed, it is the first time I have welcomed a weed with open arms to my farm.
I suspect that many of my friends gardens are burdened with weeds. Since we are in a serious dry spell, it always seems like the weeds thrive better than our plants in times of a scarcity of rain. My wife, Cora, who truly loves to mow and maintain a thick lush lawn is on sabbatical until rains return. The recent dry spell has made it easy to make dry hay quickly. Time will tell if rains arrive in time to make my wife’s lawn green and my crops happy before it is too late for the rest of summer.
The recent heat wave helped my farm save a popular Chicago festival. For many years I have supplied straw bales for the Windy City Smokeout hosted each July in Chicago outside the United Center. They use hundreds of bales of straw for decorating and creating a farm/country theme, and this year they wanted delivery by the 7th of July. On the 20th of June my wheat crop was very delayed, and I suspected that harvest would not occur in time to supply the event this year. The sweltering heat and humidity at the end of June accelerated the maturity of the wheat and harvest occurred by July 4th. The straw has now been baled and can be trucked to Chicago. I have saved the festival!
My son lives 67 miles north of the farm he grew up on, and he does his best to stay far away from my straw business. Last summer when he attended the Smokeout Festival in Chicago that advertises craft beer, barbecued food and country music, he posed where they used signage and straw bales to create a photo booth. It turns out he found himself closer to the farm than he realized when I informed him that he was standing on my straw bales for his photo opportunity.
No promotional fee has been received for my plug for the festival in this column; however, I would not turn one down if offered.
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