Published: May 10, 2008 10:28 pm            

Dirt farming the city way

I have five great-grandsons and one great-granddaughter. She’s in pre-k and lives in the country. She’s picking up some valuable lessons from her environment.

While my two big guys were mowing the lawn the other day, I needed to stay outside with them but I didn’t want her to be around the mowers. We spaded the flower bed, turned dirt and pulled some sand burr plants that had come up. We stripped out the vinca plants that had spread into the bed.

After we’d done that and the bed was about ready for planting, she said, “Gramma, I really like dirt. I like to dig dirt.” As we planted the seeds, she said, “Dirt smells good. It’s fun to work dirt.”

The noise of working cattle scares her. But dirt doesn’t make noise. And seeds don’t bawl. And plants don’t bang the head gate on the chute. I can understand why she likes dirt farming.

When I was a girl, I liked working with cattle. I could count cattle through a gate and never miss a lick. I could guess weights of weaning calves within 15 pounds. I like the cattle business yet today.

I worked also at dirt farming. I could harness a team of horses and operate the walking plow; disk with a riding disk, walk behind a harrow, plant with a riding planter, run a row monitor (I sat on it) and work a walking cultivator pulled by horses. I liked dirt work. The smell of fresh dirt and growing things fascinated me.

I worked in the hay fields with horses. When I was 6 or 7 years old, I urged the horses around and around to furnish power for the hay baler. At 10 or 11, I drove the horses on the sulky rake and worked the pedals. Later, I walked behind a buck rake. In my early teens, I began to backwire bales. Then I began tying the bales and kept that job even after I married Buck.

Baling is all automatic now so I don’t help. I move slower now than when I was young so I don’t work with cattle very often. I don’t farm in the fields anymore since there aren’t any fields on our property.

But I can dig dirt in flower beds and garden. And I do.

Maybe Brandi is going to be a dirt digger, too.

Marjorie Buchanan is a Pawnee resident.

        

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