Hot Summer Farming Days

I am hunkered down in the house with warm clothes and tea. I looked outside at the brown dead grass and fields as my mind wondered several years back. It is cold out now, but those memories of working on the farms reminded me of how hot it could be!

I remember days when it got close to 100 degrees and the farmers had to continue harvesting their crops. When most are told to stay out of the heat or sun, most farmers don’t have that luxury. The hotter it is, the more hay there is to make, the more produce grows ( providing there is irritating options,) and the harder farmers work.

On those really hot days, our bosses would try to start as early as the sun rose so we would finish the produce hoeing or picking before the mid-day heat was too scorching! One thing you did not forget was the water jug. If it was forgotten on those scorching days, that meant someone had to go back to get it or someone else had to bring it out to the field!

As a youngster, our age group was big on suntanning. It was nothing to see all of us girls wearing tube tops or bathing suit tops with our shirts on our heads Egyptian style. The guys wore the turbine shirts on their heads too.

The mornings would roll along quickly with decent temperatures. But, when it started to heat up, you’d see all of us lining up to drink! We did not have cups but drank the water that was flowing from the water jug spout that was placed higher above our person. We’d reach up and let the water pour in our mouths without getting our mouths on or too near the spout.

It was kind of nice having that set up since when you stood up, the extra water cooled your chin and washed the sweat away. There was one field we dubbed as “hell’s bottom” because the air was so stagnant and you could not breathe on those really bad days. Everyone dreaded those fields!

There were some days it was so hot that some of the produce got cooked. Many had white dead dried up spots or mushy insides. We learned real fast to watch the produce those days since several, including myself, enjoyed throwing a few around to see who we could splash!

Everyone looked forward to lunch! It was usually bologna and tomato sandwiches or peanut butter and jelly sandwiches. The tea was so sweet and welcoming! Many times on weekends, my future mother-in-law to be made soups and desserts for everyone. Sometimes our boss’s wife would make lasagna or something. And there was something special on Birthdays! After lunch, it was nap time! Some had so much energy they played basketball or something! I don’t see how!

I was one of the lucky ones who got to stay in the afternoons and pack the produce. It helped being in the shade. We had a huge fan that helped circulate the air and that was a blessing! But, mostly the guys had to spend the rest of the day time picking up, stacking, hauling, and restocking the barns with either hay or straw.

To work with straw and hay, it is a good idea to wear long clothes. That is actually smart during hot weather even though it does not seem right. The clothes help protect the skin from the sweltering heat as well as from the scrapes and pricks from the hay or straw.

I would count my blessings when they’d bring a load in and the guys were so worn out! After several loads, their energy levels were just spent! Some would be laying flat resting on top of the load. Supper was spent usually going home to eat then some would come back after the hour break and finish the day packing or doing hay or straw.

Years have now passed and my body will no longer allow me to farm like that. Besides, the heat like that would cause me to look like those scaly white burnt produce! I am glad it is winter and am sure those kids currently working as we did are too! Next time you think of farming, say a prayer for those hard working farmers and their workers!