Summer Days and Summer Nights

Another busy week on the farm. Summers are like that.

We've been killing weeds and running water in the almonds.
Waiting for the harvester to come and cut wheat.

Killed weeds and ran furrows in the cotton. Pipes are laid and we are ready to start 
water next week. The first bad bugs showed up.
   One field had some aphids last week. Not good. This week all I could find are Lady 
Bugs; they eat aphids. Go Lady Bugs Go!

   For those who are not aware, I reallllly don't like spraying pesticides. On top of your concerns, that stuff is really expensive. Some of these materials are $600/ gallon. That's not a typo, they are six hundred dollars per gallon. We put it on with an eye dropper and only when we reallllly have to.

   We practice Integrated Pest Management, or IPM.  The University of California and others have worked out the methods to decide when the most effective and economical time to treat our fields will be. We don't spray when we see the first bad bug. We let the beneficial bugs like our Lady Bug friends keep them under control as long as possible. We monitor our fields regularly and we learn the growth cycles of our crops and of the pests. Working hard and working smart. It keeps us productive and helps care for the environment. That's the kind of Win-Win I like.

Below is one of this week's radio pieces.

Summer Nights

By Paul H. Betancourt

Copyright June 2012

                I grew up in San Diego. Even though I have lived here over thirty years I still have not gotten used to July weather. So, I gotta tell you, when a friend said he was leaving for law school in LA and he would miss the summer heat I thought he’d been in the sun too long.
That’s crazy talk.

            But, then he clarified himself and said he would miss the warm summer nights. OK, that makes sense. I have enjoyed a lifetime of warm summer evenings: BBQs, weddings, fiestas, wine tastings, and evenings reading on the back patio. Those warm summer evenings are something special. 

            So, when you hear me complaining about the summer heat I want to clarify, I am whimpering about the heat from Noon to six or seven in the evening when it is a hundred bazillion degrees out there. After that I gotta admit summer evenings here are de-lightful.

There's nothing like a summer picnic under Half Dome.

We used to work cattle years ago. I saw a lot of sunsets like this from the saddle.

I hope Y'all have a great week.

P