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F is for Farm

April 6, 2013 By Talya Tate Boerner 29 Comments

There are four distinct farm seasons. Planting, Growing, Harvest and WaitingRestlesslyToPlant. Today we are at the tail end of WaitingRestlesslyToPlant season. 
During the long cold season of WaitingRestlesslyToPlant, farmers drive along muddy turn rows, staring at black furrows laid out like fans, willing the weather to warm. They wait and plan and watch the sky counting down to the first day of Planting season when collectively all the farmers exhale, along with their wives and children.
Nurturing crops day and night during Growing season, farmers pray for sunshiny days, then pray for rain, then pray for no rain. So do their wives and children.
Finally, the smell of defoliant fills the southern air. Harvest Season. The most wonderful time of the year. The fields are saturated in white, a sea of snowy cotton.  Golden wheat bends and bows to the earth. Rice hang heavy and dry. Dust flies. Combines roar. Blackbirds watch from a safe distance. The end of another year, another cycle.

At the end of Harvest, farmers are content to have a bit of money left over to plow back into the soil next year.

Farmers toil from sunup to sundown, from can to can’t. They do it because they love it. They do it because they can’t not do it.

talya

The grain, which is also golden, will bring me back the thought of you. And I shall love to listen to the wind in the wheat…” 

― Antoine de Saint-Exupéry, The Little Prince

Musical Pairing:
Big Green Tractor, Jason Aldean

Be sure to watch this video above of our farmers from home!
Never A Dull Moment…Fishing for Cotton…
(Senter Farms, Holthouse Farms, Mississippi County, Arkansas)

Filed Under: Arkansas, Farm Tagged With: A to Z April Blog Challenge, farmers, harvest, Mississippi County, Mississippi Delta, Northeast Arkansas

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Comments

  1. Writercat59 says

    April 6, 2013 at 3:40 am

    What a fascinating glimpse into farming down South, Talya. I live in Eastern Ontario in farm country, surrounded by dairy farms mostly so this was interesting to read about. I enjoyed watching the video, too. What a struggle but they finally got the cotton out. I was rooting for them! Hooray!

    Cattitude and Gratitude

    Reply
    • Talya Tate Boerner says

      April 6, 2013 at 3:49 am

      Thank you! I imagine your part of the world is gorgeous!

      Reply
  2. Staci Sandquist says

    April 6, 2013 at 6:03 am

    I love watching that video! I think I need a road trip home soon – it’s been too long.

    Reply
    • Talya Tate Boerner says

      April 6, 2013 at 6:42 am

      I agree!

      Reply
  3. Corinne Rodrigues says

    April 6, 2013 at 7:51 am

    Most interesting, Talya. My views of cotton picking in the South are based on my reading of novels like Gone With the Wind! 😉

    Reply
    • Talya Tate Boerner says

      April 6, 2013 at 1:25 pm

      Corinne, that’s how it was back in the day:)

      Reply
  4. Linda Ann Nickerson says

    April 6, 2013 at 8:16 am

    Intriguing look at farm life.
    And F is for Fayetteville …

    Happy A-Z! Visiting from the GBE 2: Blog On FB group.

    Flier and flyer – Mixed messages and misused words from A to Z

    Reply
    • Talya Tate Boerner says

      April 6, 2013 at 1:25 pm

      Yes! Fayetteville.

      Reply
  5. Mary Purpari says

    April 6, 2013 at 10:25 am

    Farming is the same in Italy, although we usually planted tomatoes, beans and zucchini, with a number of lesser crops, too. Oh, yeah, I knew there was something else: grapes. And right in the fall came the walnuts and chestnuts that tended to fall on our heads as we harvested the grapes. Ah, yes. I loved it and miss it.

    Reply
    • Talya Tate Boerner says

      April 6, 2013 at 1:25 pm

      Yeah I’m quite fond of those grape crops…

      Reply
  6. Paula Martin says

    April 6, 2013 at 11:21 am

    We used to have a static caravan (trailer) in a farmer’s field, and the video reminds me of when my car got stuck in the mud and had to be hauled out by the farmer with his tractor!

    Reply
    • Talya Tate Boerner says

      April 6, 2013 at 1:39 pm

      Farmers are great friends to have!

      Reply
  7. Joyce Lansky says

    April 6, 2013 at 12:30 pm

    The only seasons I know of are football, basketball, baseball, and swim. 🙂

    http://joycelansky.blogspot.com

    Reply
    • Talya Tate Boerner says

      April 6, 2013 at 1:24 pm

      Those coincide with farm seasons:)

      Reply
  8. Angelique Ouellette-Tower says

    April 6, 2013 at 4:30 pm

    Thank you for linking up to The Great Blog Train! [email protected]godsgrowinggarden.com [email protected]stonecottageadventures.com [email protected]blueeyedbeautyblogg.blogspot.com

    Reply
  9. Nan says

    April 6, 2013 at 6:08 pm

    You have a beautiful writing style!

    Reply
    • Talya Tate Boerner says

      April 6, 2013 at 6:31 pm

      thank you!

      Reply
  10. Heidi Mannan says

    April 6, 2013 at 7:28 pm

    I’m watching my baby garlic come up right now! It’s the first year I’ve grown garlic and I’m so excited. Nice post.

    Reply
  11. Brett Minor says

    April 6, 2013 at 8:02 pm

    I didn’t grow up on a farm, but lived in a farming community. Almost everyone I knew had a farmer for a father. It worked the same way there.

    Returning visit from A to Z. Thanks for coming by my blog.

    Brett Minor
    Transformed Nonconformist

    Reply
  12. beachlover says

    April 6, 2013 at 9:10 pm

    I admire farmers and ranchers that have such dedication to their crops and animals. So much work, but you’re right, they can’t imagine doing anything else. It’s in their blood. It’s who they are. Nice, Talya!

    Reply
  13. Manzanita says

    April 7, 2013 at 5:01 am

    Very interesting. I enjoyed the video but why was the cotton in the river? It sounds like farming is a whole lot of praying, too. 🙂
    Manzanita
    Wanna buy a duck

    Reply
  14. Bryan Jones says

    April 7, 2013 at 7:36 am

    People talk about preaching being a calling, I’m pretty sure farming is too! Great post!

    Reply
  15. Kathy says

    April 7, 2013 at 7:54 am

    My grandpa and uncle were both farmers. It seemed they were always praying for some sort of weather and always falling short. Still, they did it all their lives. Great post and glimpse of farming.

    Kathy
    http://gigglingtruckerswife.blogspot.com

    Reply
  16. Border-breaking bound says

    April 7, 2013 at 9:12 am

    I wish farmers got the credit they deserved for feeding everybody.

    Reply
  17. Elisabeth Kauffman says

    April 7, 2013 at 1:23 pm

    Gorgeous. Definitely WaitingRestlesslyToPlant here. My husband and I are talking about starting an organic farm… we really love it!

    Reply
  18. Deb says

    April 7, 2013 at 2:22 pm

    Love your A-Z theme Talya, thanks for visiting my blog earlier and for leaving a comment.
    I have just planted the winter crop in my veggie patch, garlic has surfaced as has the onions and carrots. We dont get snow over winter here so we can grow things like lettuce and spinach.
    I’m looking forward to more of your posts.
    Deb at http://acitrusgroveinthesuburbs.blogspot.com.au/

    Reply
  19. Chris says

    April 7, 2013 at 6:34 pm

    I truly have a great respect for farmers. It is a tough life, I enjoyed reading your post. The climate can be your best friend or your worst enemy.

    Reply
  20. Tim Hardin says

    April 11, 2013 at 9:51 pm

    Fantastic, Talya! Awesome story and Awesome video! You take me home every time I get on here and start reading. Amazing!=)

    Reply
  21. Sunni says

    April 24, 2013 at 9:14 pm

    Sounds like my world growing up on a cotton farm in TX.

    Sunni

    http://sunni-survivinglife.blogspot.com/

    Reply

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Hi! I'm Talya Tate Boerner. Writer, Reader, Arkansas Master Naturalist / Master Gardener, Author of

THE ACCIDENTAL SALVATION OF GRACIE LEE (2016)

GENE, EVERYWHERE: a life-changing visit from my father-in-law (2020)

BERNICE RUNS AWAY (Now Available!)

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