There was a bit of extra chill in this morning’s air as we crossed farmyards for the morning chores. The thought of it being somewhat cool for May is an easy consideration, backed by charts that show the temperature to be below average.
Average is what it is though and, by definition, the temperature is below average 50 percent of the time and it’s above average 50 percent of the time.
Besides, it’s early May.
Early May is another of those fickle times when our equipment rolls and seeds are sown into the dirt, but when we in this part of the countryside know all-too-well that crops such as corn emerging a bit too early could be damaged by the May frost that occasionally drops onto the land. Almanacs tell us that the average last frost hits this part of the countryside sometime around May 12 — give or take because, well, that definition of being on either side of average again comes to mind.
Old-timers throughout the countryside are happy to repeat their tales about damaging frosts, and even snow, that have arrived around Mothers’ Day. And then, many of them are happy to repeat the wise words of mothers admonishing folks around here to not put tomato or pepper plants into the gardens before Memorial Day, lest a killing frost destroys those plants.
The week’s national and state crop-progress reports tell us the cooler-than-average temperatures this week aren’t major issues on the farms. We’re getting the spring planting under way with the good feeling that we’re far ahead of the 2019 planting schedule.
We’re rejoicing that it isn’t raining too much, and even rejoicing that snow isn’t falling.
The warmth, we know, will follow.
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