M&M feedyard cattle

Rain coming down, spirits going up

It was dreary. Cold. Wet.

And quite possibly the most beautiful spring day we’ve had yet.

I had a lot of help planting peas. My three oldest ones like to play in the dirt, regardless of its moisture content.
My three oldest ones like to play in the dirt, regardless of its moisture content.

On Friday, we planted peas in dust. I had to get them watered before the little round, shriveled seeds blew away. Up to that point we’d gotten .20 of an inch of moisture this month, as compared to the usual 2.32 inches for April. But by Sunday night, our luck changed.

Almost every Monday morning we gather up the Black Ink team for a call, and many times as we dial into the conference line we could just as well be pulling up a chair at the coffee shop.

“How was your weekend? What’s the weather like out your way?” Mark might ask.

Just like a bunch of producers, we will whine, brag or get into discussions about the temperature or the amount of precipitation.

This week I could report a skiff of snow and then that glorious rain. Over 1.70 inches in total here in central Nebraska. The Kansas crew talked of weekend showers.snow

Yet, we know others aren’t so lucky. Our concerned thoughts turned toward those in western Kansas, in Oklahoma, in Texas…in places where they need rain like they need….well, there just is no good metaphor.

They need rain, period.

At the grocery store, when I commented on the “beautiful rain” the clerk snickered. I’m certain she thought I was being sarcastic. Friends found humor in my excitement over the April showers that fell on my birthday.

But nobody on our Monday morning call laughed. We know how one weather forecast can inspire optimism and how one rain event can bring real hope for a growing season.Puddles (1 of 1)

The littlest drops can carry so much weight.

May your bottom line be filled with black ink (and your ponds be filled sooner rather than later),

Miranda

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