Showing posts with label farming. Show all posts
Showing posts with label farming. Show all posts

Friday, June 12, 2015

The Ballad of Al Simon

Lincoln Journal Star
Come and listen to the story of a man named Al,
A Cornhusker farmer trying to feed his kids and gal,
And then one day he was growin' him some food,
And up through the ground came a bubblin' crude,

Oil, that is, black gold, Texas tea,

Well, the first thing you know, ol' Al's a millionaire,
Kinfolk said, "Al, move away from there,"
Said "Omaha is the place you ought to be,"
But he said I ain't a goin', a new roof's all I need,

Shingles, that is, tar paper, roofin' nails,

Well, now it's time to say goodbye to Al and all his kin,
And they would like to thank you folks fer kindly droppin' in.
You're all invited back a gain to this locality
To have a heapin' helpin' of their hospitality

Cornhusker that is. Set a spell, Take your shoes off.

Y'all come back now, y'hear?

-- Apologies to Lester Flatt and Earl Scruggs

Wednesday, August 21, 2013

Iowa's state fair is a great state fair


Our State Fair is a great state fair,


Don't miss it, don't even be late!


(Our state fair is great!)


It's dollars to doughnuts at our state fair,


It's the best state fair in the state!


OUR STATE FAIR IS A GREAT STATE FAIR!


IS A GREAT . . .


IS A GREAT . . .


IS A GREAT STATE FAIR, HEY!


Our State Fair is a great state fair,


Don't miss it, don't even be late!


(State fair is great!)


It's dollars to doughnuts at our state fair,


It's the best state fair . . .


in our state!


-- Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein II

Tuesday, July 31, 2012

Dry around here. Real dry.


How dry is it around these parts?

Drier than a Baptist wedding reception, that's how dry. In fact, there's never been a drier July in Omaha.

Is it just me, or have there been a lot of fill-in-the-blank-ever meteorological moments lately? What we could use is a little melting ice sheet to water the parched and cracked earth of the Plains and Midwest.

Then again, climate change rarely does you any favors. As we hear from KETV television in Omaha:
For many farmers, this means giving up on the corn crop.

"The corn has basically stopped," farmer John McNamara said.

McNamara said he's been regularly watering his farm in Plattsmouth, but that it doesn't compare to a good rainfall; McNamara has lost 30 to 40 percent of his annual average production.

"You go to one plant, you have nothing. You go to another, you have nothing, this is happening a lot," McNamara said.
SUCKS, this does. Coastal Americans might be about to get a harsh economic lesson in the importance of "flyover country."

Word to the wise: Buy yourself a big freezer and stock up on beef now, when it's cheap because ranchers are having to sell off the herds they no longer can afford to feed because their pastures dried up and turned to dirt. Thus, the market is glutted.

Next year, however. . . .