Thanks for this connection to another time. I often wonder how the fundamental changes of technology and cultural shifts would have made life different. I find myself wondering what life would have been like at a time with the starts were not all but washed out by the lights of our modern cities and how that would have affected our lives. It will be interesting to one day visit with past generations and compare notes on things like spring :)
MarjApril 20, 2015
The Amish farmer pictured is spreading manure, not plowing.
JimApril 17, 2015
my father was a farmer and he ALWAYS checked the weather for the day and always knew what the weather was supposed to be like days before that. He had to know if it would be good to mow hay or wait for a few days when it would be better for it to dry and pick up.
kateApril 17, 2015
All this is true, but you left out one important fact that we forget about today--spring was known as the "starving time" in rural areas. The food from the previous fall's harvest was often quite depleted by April, and while the land was greening again, there wasn't anything ripe enough to eat. With our readily available sources of food today we forget that spring meant the hard work of planting, but no new food would be available for a couple of months time (we should also be reminded how important that fall harvest & proper storage were! The more you harvested & stored, the shorter the spring starving would be for your family).
MJHNApril 17, 2015
The Amish farmer is not plowing. He is spreading manure.
Comments | Return to Story
TomApril 20, 2015
Thanks for this connection to another time. I often wonder how the fundamental changes of technology and cultural shifts would have made life different. I find myself wondering what life would have been like at a time with the starts were not all but washed out by the lights of our modern cities and how that would have affected our lives. It will be interesting to one day visit with past generations and compare notes on things like spring :)
MarjApril 20, 2015
The Amish farmer pictured is spreading manure, not plowing.
JimApril 17, 2015
my father was a farmer and he ALWAYS checked the weather for the day and always knew what the weather was supposed to be like days before that. He had to know if it would be good to mow hay or wait for a few days when it would be better for it to dry and pick up.
kateApril 17, 2015
All this is true, but you left out one important fact that we forget about today--spring was known as the "starving time" in rural areas. The food from the previous fall's harvest was often quite depleted by April, and while the land was greening again, there wasn't anything ripe enough to eat. With our readily available sources of food today we forget that spring meant the hard work of planting, but no new food would be available for a couple of months time (we should also be reminded how important that fall harvest & proper storage were! The more you harvested & stored, the shorter the spring starving would be for your family).
MJHNApril 17, 2015
The Amish farmer is not plowing. He is spreading manure.
ADD A COMMENT