Country Roads

Being a long time farm wife, I’ve learned to recognize signs or signals given by my farmer as to what he really is feeling or wanting. The minute he walks through the door and asks if I have time to make a quick trip to town, I know he is in need of something that will require me to either go gather a machinery part, go to the vets to pick up some medicine for the pigs, or to pay a bill he forgot about. If he begins to talk about his parents and if we’d heard from them lately, I realize it’s time for me to have them over for a family dinner soon.

When he hears thunder off in the distance, and goes quickly out to check on the clouds, I know with the dry spell we are having he’s hoping a good rain will come to help the fall crops, and I begin to pray for rain to fall. I know when he comes in and heads for the medicine cabinet to get an aspirin he isn’t having a good day and this is not the time to ask if he’d like to go to a movie in the evening. When he’s trying to do bookwork and balance the check book with a wrinkled look on his face, I know it’s not the time to ask him if there are enough funds to go shopping for some school clothes for the boys. There will be a better day to do it.

I know when he’s worn out doing extra farm work that right after supper he will sit in his favorite chair and soon fall to sleep. When a happy look is on his face, I know farm things and matters are going well. If I know it’s the day he’s chosen to move cattle, I best not have scheduled plans and to keep that day free to give a helping hand where needed.

If there is a major machinery break down, I can soon know by the painful and discouraged look on his face as he tries to figure out the problem.

When he asks me if I’d like to ride along to check on the cattle in the pasture, I jump at the chance, and note his love and pride as he looks at the livestock and even stops to give his pet cow a pat. I know he loves what he’s doing and he didn’t mean what I heard him say a few days ago when things weren’t going so well, “Why in the world would anyone care to be a farmer?” There is no other lifestyle my farmer would have ever chosen.