The vernal equinox arrived to the accompaniment of rain snare-drumming on the roofs and eaves of old farmhouses across much of Wisconsin. While it works to pull green into the grasses, that rain doubles as an eraser of snow where it exists.
Though the day’s sunrise might have been muted by clouds, the fact remains that spring is here.
Those of the land can feel a certain electricity — that of the countdown when the soil will have absorbed enough of spring’s warmth to massage seeds into this year’s crops. Those of the land again are reviewing long-range forecasts, maturity rates and get itchy about the want to shove a thermometer into the soil.
The winter meeting season, abbreviated is it might have been, is winding to a close, and what we’ve come to know about the importance of social distancing will be scoffed at by many farmers: During spring, farmers have forever been practicing social distancing on the revered sanctuaries of tractor seats.
We go forth, waiting for the rain to stop and the sun to do its spring chores of preparing the land for what it’s about to provide. Patience isn’t ours this time of the year, but those of experience remind us otherwise.
Perhaps, then, it’s best to celebrate the equinox by stealing a few extra minutes to listen to the rain’s rat-a-tat on that old farmhouse roof. The excitement and anticipation of the new planting season will arrive soon enough.
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