A Farmer's Prerogative

Sorry, but I'm going to have to invoke one of the unwritten prerogatives to which all farmers are officially entitled:

I'm going to grumble about the weather.

I know, I know, three days of rain is exactly what we've all been yearning for around here as our fields shriveled to a crisp and our topsoil turned to talcum powder and blew away on every breeze.

Three days of rain is exactly what the land needed. That doesn't make it any less of a pain in the butt to deal with. In other words, I'm really, REALLY glad it's here, but I'm exercising my right to whine about it anyway.

As I write this, rain is still falling. Water is standing in pools all over the yard. Paddocks are turning to soup. All the animals are wet and dejected. The sheep's feed dishes have been brimming full of rain each of the past two days, which means that at least 8 inches of rain has fallen in that amount of time.

The horses are muddy. The sheep are bedraggled. The cats keep going outside, getting drenched and filthy, and then coming back in, dragging wet leaves and grass behind them, leaving muddy pawprints everywhere, and expecting to be allowed to sit on my lap until they are warm and dry again. At which point, they go back outside and begin the cycle again.

I wish this could have fallen a month ago, when there still would have been some hay crops to save.

I'm glad it's here. I really am. If only it didn't have to be so darned WET!