Kim Baldwin, McPherson County farmer and rancher
There’s something to be said about waking up to the sound of rain on a roof and thunder rumbling in the distance. Add in a dash of lightning momentarily highlighting an otherwise dark sky, and we have the start of a glorious fall day!
It’s no secret I prefer the warm sunlight to awaken me from my slumber. But, after experiencing an incredibly hot and dry year that undoubtedly impacted our crops and attitudes, I jumped out of bed before my alarm clock went off to start my day. After all, it was raining, and it would continue to rain for the duration of the day.
It was a cold and dark morning, which required wool socks and warm coffee as we got the kids moving and prepared for school. Generally, I’m not a fan of feeling cold in the morning, but I threw on a sweatshirt and happily packed the kids’ lunches and then gleefully made their breakfasts because it was raining and it would continue to rain for the remainder of the day.
After getting the kids on the bus, my husband and I decided to make a trip into town to enjoy a warm breakfast together at our local cafe. It’s a tradition we haven’t practiced in a while but enjoy whenever there is a morning rain.
I quickly put my hair up in a ponytail while walking out the door and cheerfully accepted that I’d probably have a bad hair day. But that didn’t matter. It was raining and it would continue to rain for the rest of the day.
Oh, how this morning rain was perfectly timed! After all, we had just wrapped up our fall harvest the day before feeling tired and deflated knowing it wasn’t the greatest of harvests. We gave thanks at the dinner table for the harvest we did have, asked for the rain forecast to hold, and then went to bed.
And in the cold and dark early hours of the morning, the rain indeed arrived. And it remained a steady presence for the rest of the day and into the evening.
The sun remained hidden behind the clouds and the temperature required me to keep my wool socks and sweater on all day. We enjoyed warm soup for lunch and office work that had been neglected because we haven’t had an opportunity to break from fall harvest.
To others it was probably an otherwise no good, dreary and drab November day. A day that one would prefer to avoid for the sake of comfort, morale, or even style.
But for me, it turned out to be a glorious fall day! All because I awoke to the sound of rain.
“Insight” is a weekly column published by Kansas Farm Bureau, the state’s largest farm organization whose mission is to strengthen agriculture and the lives of Kansans through advocacy, education and service.
