Yesterday

Yesterday was such a dreadful day for anyone who lived in Western Kansas. We were bombarded by very hot and dry winds all day and most of the evening. The warning predicted that they would last until 8:00 p.m., CST. They slowed down to a heavy breeze by 8:00 but THEN, they sped right back up again. It is gorgeous outside today. There is hardly a breeze. Don't be fooled by that though. More strong winds are on the agenda for tomorrow's weather.

For people like us who have planted flowers and grasses in our gardens, we are having a terrible time keeping everything wet enough. I strongly recommend that if you have not already spread mulch out over your flower gardens, you should probably do that NOW. I think that that is the only way our gardens will stand a chance of survival this summer.

More importantly than our flower gardens, are the crops in our area. The dry land crops have had a MAJOR struggle just to stay alive this year. Our 2" rain helped out tremendously last week but we still need more. I don't pretend to be a farmer. My grandparents and all but one of my 7 uncles were. I remember them saying at wheat harvest time that the hot winds would help to mature the wheat to get it ready for harvest. On the weather last week, a meteorologist said that the temperatures and wind that we normally have in July have already arrived. I just wonder if they may be instrumental in putting the final coffin in our area's wheat crop.

People from all around this planet of ours rely on our wheat for their food. Everyone in Western Kansas is basically dependant on our wheat either directly or indirectly. Most of our farmers will tell you that their crops are their livelihood. If they burn up and blow away, they have no money coming in. This drought that we have had now for so many years has already ruined many crops in our area. Our farmers cannot afford any more of this.

When the farmers have no money coming in, they have no money to spend elsewhere, plainly and simply. That means that our local businesses suffer. Everything from automobile dealerships right down to the grocery stores pay the price.

I can already hear some of you snickering because we ALL know that the farmers can purchase crop insurance to safeguard their income. Yes and no. Have you priced out this insurance lately? It is ASTRONOMICAL! Given the fact that many, if not all, of our farmers have had to struggle for so many years, many no longer have the funds to purchase this safeguard. Through the past 5 or so years, many of the crop insurance companies have been forced into bankruptsy and demise because of all of the payments that they had to put out.

They are not the only ones who were destroyed by our drought. So have many family farms. Farms that were owned and survived for many generations, have had to haul their last truckload of grain to the elevator.

Each and every one of us who live in these drought-ridden areas and the ones who do not live out here, need to be praying for the much-needed moisture here. Whether or not you live in Kansas, you probably buy bread, tortillas, cake mixes, crackers, etc that are made of Kansas wheat. When we have poor yields of wheat, you get poorer every time that you walk into the grocery store and buy one of these items. Your price goes up big time.

On behalf of everyone in our drought areas, I thank you for your prayers.

VLE-B