Stargazing

Harold should have moved to Australia. For those of you who don't know him, my grandfather is a born and bred farmer. He grew up in southwest Saskatchewan, he survived the dirty 30's, he broke land, he built a farm, he adapted and he persevered. He also loved tillage. He has told me about his love of the smell that freshly turned dirt emits. He would brag and boast about the straight lines of his furrows. He challenged modern global positioning systems to match his overlap accuracy. My grandfather is increasingly saddened by the shift in agriculture away from tillage. He understands the reasoning and he enjoys the increased productivity of reduced tillage. But if he could I know he would turn a little dirt tomorrow, just so he could taste the richly scented air and feel the heat wash off of the black lumpy soil.

That is why I wish he was here. Down in this corner of Australia, with their 3 feet of heavy rich topsoil and readily available irrigation, tillage lives on. Tillage is, in my opinion, a dirty word. But here it is the norm. To suggest otherwise would be hearsay. I have found it very interesting because this convention is one that the Australian producer, in this part of the country, vehemently believes in. They believe in tillage almost as strongly as I despise it.

The other strange thing about this corner of Australia is the complete and total lack of drainage. Any slope or incline is completely man made. Every day I look out onto the horizon and I can see three hills. The closest one is but a pimple on the horizon. This land lacks typography. Consequently this land is irrigation heaven. Entire quarters of land have been given incremental slopes that allow the water to gradually flood an entire field. Often the slopes are opposing so you will flood irrigate a field in a North-South-North-South pattern. The slopes are created by bouncing lazer beams in a grid across the entire field and then using a lazer equipped bucket and blade to add the appropriate slope. It is quite the process and a great source of pride for the producers down here.

Until recently the vineyards and citrus groves were also irrigated in this fashion. That has recently changed because the price of water has increased exponentially over the past 5 years. Drip irrigation seems to be the weapon of choice in those applications. It doesn't look like half as much fun as flood irrigation.

I have almost been here for a month. It is strange to think about that. All the things I'm missing from yesterday as I blast around the world in tomorrow. The stars down here are incredible. This farm is almost remote. So when it is clear, the evening sky is filled with glitter. These stars are completely new. There was a time when I loved to stare at the stars but I shared that love with another and when she left she took the stars with her. That love of constellations has been returned to me in evening past. These would also be very good stars to share.