Rain is a Good Thing, and Gov. Brian on Letterman!

The busy time of spring seeding has come to a halt lately as a major rain event has swept the area. It began raining Thursday night and is still sprinkling and misty yet this morning. While you might think farmers would be annoyed to halt in the middle of seeding activity (those of us who aren't finished seeding yet, anyway), I have learned very quickly that around here, rain is a good thing.

As it stormed Thursday night, thunder and lightening struck all around, and rain battered the windows of our drafty old farmhouse. Our dog, who is frightened of lightning and fire, was hiding in a chair, face buried under some blankets. Jeff, on the other hand, was giddy.  He called me in to the room where he was watching sheets of water streak down the plate glass windows and said, "What do you see out there?"

Rarely one to miss the obvious, I replied, "Um... Rain...?"

Jeff said, "No, that's not rain-- it's dollar signs!" as he painted the dollar symbol on the window with his index finger, smile on his face.

In farming, you can spend any amount of money to try to ensure a gangbuster crop. You can seed and spray and work the fields at all the supposed right times. You can buy as much fertilizer the chemical company will give you.  Every decision made, and every action taken or not taken, is a gamble. You can do everything right, and still not cut a good crop if not for the weather and a few timely rains along the way.

I think there are a lot of farmers in the area who are very happy right now.



And now for a completely unrelated story.

Brian Schweitzer, the current Governor of Montana was on David Letterman a few nights ago.  Yes, Mr. Bolo Tie himself.  He's a great character, caricature even, embodying many of the attitudes of Montanans.  I found the interview on YouTube and posted it below. If you have ten minutes or so, check it out.  He talks about his father's farm, which, *I think* is actually pretty close to this area. He also talks a little about politics and Mitt Romney.

The most important part of the interview, in my opinion, is news about non-stop flights from New York to Bozeman.  And, along those lines, there's also non-stop flights from Chicago to Bozeman, Minneapolis to Bozeman, and from Denver to Great Falls (That last one is only around $200, no less!) So, wherever you are, Montana is not that far away. If you've been trying to get an idea from my blog of what life is like here, come see it in person! What Brian and Dave discuss about Montanans being friendly and hospitable is absolutely true. :)