I’m sure you hear or saw reports of the dust storm across Illinois and Indiana 2 - 3 days ago. We watched that gray/brown cloud ahead of us as we went to a grandson’s baseball game in Macomb, IL. Thursday.
I was caught up wondering about our “ modern” farming and other land use practices that you know so much about as I watched that dust storm.
It was weird to see. High puffy cumulus clouds in an otherwise sunny sky, then this green/brown wall just underneath them. I thought, “ OMG! A dust storm!
When we lived near Mason City there was always one particular field east of there on the Avenue of the Saints that would produce a black impenetrable cloud across that highway whenever the wind was strong from the south. I watched that farmer do nothing to stop it. In fact, all the tillage practices they used encouraged it to happen. I was surprised no one was ever reported as running off the road during those.
The dust is real. I posted a video of a guy planting I caught on the way to the airport a few weeks ago - how can they not see what's going on 3 feet behind them? (There's a joke in here somewhere about having their heads in a place the sun don't shine...) Most days I feel like your hydrangea, but we still gotta keep going, with whatever we've got on any given day...
The dust bowl of the past led to the creation of today’s federal soil conservation programs. I wonder about significant effectiveness after all these years.
I’m sure you hear or saw reports of the dust storm across Illinois and Indiana 2 - 3 days ago. We watched that gray/brown cloud ahead of us as we went to a grandson’s baseball game in Macomb, IL. Thursday.
I was caught up wondering about our “ modern” farming and other land use practices that you know so much about as I watched that dust storm.
I had not heard about the ones 2 or 3 days ago but did hear about the one a month or so ago that caused accidents and killed people - outrageous!
It was weird to see. High puffy cumulus clouds in an otherwise sunny sky, then this green/brown wall just underneath them. I thought, “ OMG! A dust storm!
When we lived near Mason City there was always one particular field east of there on the Avenue of the Saints that would produce a black impenetrable cloud across that highway whenever the wind was strong from the south. I watched that farmer do nothing to stop it. In fact, all the tillage practices they used encouraged it to happen. I was surprised no one was ever reported as running off the road during those.
Grrr…..!
Well said, Denise! Let's listen to the song, gather courage to face the raging winds of destruction, and join together to RESIST! RESIST! RESIST!
The dust is real. I posted a video of a guy planting I caught on the way to the airport a few weeks ago - how can they not see what's going on 3 feet behind them? (There's a joke in here somewhere about having their heads in a place the sun don't shine...) Most days I feel like your hydrangea, but we still gotta keep going, with whatever we've got on any given day...
Beautiful essay, Denise!
Thank you Sarah.
The dust bowl of the past led to the creation of today’s federal soil conservation programs. I wonder about significant effectiveness after all these years.