Well well....are all ya'll full of bbq pork and seeing flashbacks of fireworks? This is my fourth day off so I'm not even sure what day it is. Ummm...Monday, I think. Gotta go back tomorrow for one then off for another two before working the weekend at the sawmill. It's been an adventure filled weekend around here, to say the least. My youngest brother came in from Virginia in the wee hours of July 5th for a short visit. We were sittin' on the porch of the old cabin over on the hill enjoying the breeze and a brew when my phone rang. "You're missing all the excitement!" Daddy exclaimed. We packed into brother's jeep and headed down toward the fire, only to find our father hoofing it down the middle of the road to the scene, smooth leaving Mama on the porch. He hopped in the back seat and away we went.
It took a few minutes to piece together the story but this is how it went. Everybody on that end lost electricity so the trusty rural electric company came out to repair the line that had fallen. Somehow the live wire managed to ignite 30 acres of wheat stubble that had been planted in no- till beans (aka "wheat beans") and it took off like a gas fire with heavy wind fanning it out of control. Though we have city fire coverage, it only applies in the case of a house being threatened which was not the case. Sooooooo....who should come to the rescue but one lone volunteer firefighter from a nearby community. Nobody to pump the water...just this one guy and his truck. The guy who is head of the electric company was the one repairing the line, so he gave that chore a break and pumped water to douse the fire. There were county cops. My other brother was roaming around the edges and through the embers in HIS truck checking things out. Then the farmer and his wife pulled up to see what was going on in his beanfield. By that time all that was left of those baby soybeans was a bunch of ashes.
Farmers can survive all manner of natural disasters but this one was bizarre to say the least. The whole purpose of n0-till farming is to plant OVER what was just harvested so I haven't seen a wheat field burned off out here in many a year. The really ironic thing is that I never go anywhere without my camera, and didn't have it on me for the most exciting thing the farm has seen since the last tornado. Just my luck!
Ya'll be careful out there. And keep the faith ^j^
Ain't that always the way. I used to have a little 3.2 MP Sony digital camera that fit into most of my coat pockets. It went everywhere with me. Got lots of nice pics with it. But now with the new big fancy Canon that Shannon bought when my old one died, it stays in it's case and only comes out for special events. Missed lots of cool photos since then, though the ones we do get are sure a lot better I have to admit.
ReplyDeleteSounds exciting and scary. Hugs and prayers to you and yours.
Well, as Daddy used to say, ain't nobody got hurt, that's the important thing.
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