Kansas - Land of Feast or Famine

It's been raining here. A lot. Not enough to cause major flooding concerns as in Iowa, thank heavens, but more than enough to saturate the soil.

Normally, saturated soil wouldn't be that big a deal. But right now the wheat has ripened and, for the second year in a row, the farmers can't get into the fields to harvest it. If the rain stops for a few days, they may be all right overall, but some of the wheat is beginning to turn from beautiful golden to sickly grayish brown. My heart just cries as I look at those fields.

My heart cries, too, as I think of the farmers having to stand and watch and wait, unable to do anything else for now but pray and keep their fingers crossed.

It's a reminder, once again, that the prairie is a hard environment. Even when it's "soft" with rain, the prairie often runs to extremes that test the endurance of man, beast and plant. Last year, for example, after raining like this for months during the spring and the first part of the summer, the rain suddenly quit in early July and there was no rain at all for over 2 months. At the same time the temperatures went from 70's and 80's to the upper 90's and stayed there for most of the dry spell.

I'm loath to wish for the rain to stop in Kansas. (I always keep in mind to be careful what I ask for, especially around here.) That said, I hope for the farmers' sake that the rain slows down for a while to allow them to harvest the crop they've so carefully planted and tended.