CAPTION: Richard Shank takes a spin on an antique Oliver tractor on the Shank farm.
By Richard Shank
People often inquire “What is there to do on the Shank farm” in these late fall days, which in 10 days will turn to winter.
The simple answer is, perhaps, not too much as there are no animals to feed on the farm. Still, my farm is not without animals as the security cameras photograph several visitors daily including rabbits, squirrels, raccoons, badgers, coyotes, and deer. Recently, three deer stood along the south side of the house during the middle of the night and looked in, as if to ask if someone might step outside with a bite of food to eat.
Driving down a dusty road leading to the Shank farm brought back a flood of memories from growing up here in a much simpler time. In those days, neighbors had a special bond for each other. News of illness or death in a family resulted in visits from neighbors offering sympathy and assistance, along with several meals of food and always pie. It seemed like everyone was out help each other in good times and bad.
There is a total turnover in neighbors since my formative years, except for a neighbor to the south. Now in her 80s, she mows the road ditches with a small John Deere tractor, with no cab, including summer days when the temperature hovers near 100 degrees. I call her the “fountain of youth” and hope we can all be so fortunate.
During the past several weeks, we have been going through a checklist to complete a process called “putting the farm to bed for the winter.” High on the list is checking the furnace and storing benches and equipment inside buildings for the winter. Also, it is a good time to put rain gauges away for the winter to prevent broken glass by springtime.
This week, we installed a wind chime in the front yard. An old timer once told me that wind chimes are a deterrent to keep wild animals off the property. As the story goes, coyotes, for example, have no appreciation for anything resembling music and will flee in the quickest way possible.
On the other hand, birds, I am told, like to be serenaded, and will want to hang around the farm. So, wind chimes may decrease the population of four-legged critters, but increase the population of birds.
A job that remains constant at the farm is picking up tree limbs, thanks in part to a previous owner who planted more than 70 trees on the farmstead, which always creates a need for piles of limbs on the western edge of the farmstead.
The wheat is approaching dormancy and will not see much life until, perhaps, March, meaning there is no reason to worry about the 2025 crop.
A drive around the area confirmed rural America is changing. Four miles up the road from the Shank farm, the tiny town of Niles, a bustling center of commerce 60 years ago, has been reduced to a 2020 population of 56. Among this town’s claim to fame was being the 1949 Kansas Softball Champion. The town has no businesses but does have an abandoned grain elevator, something not uncommon for many small towns. The former Niles Grade School serves as its Senior Center.
On the other hand, Verdi has lost its status as a town and is now referred to as a settlement. Barely 15 people now call Verdi home and is far outnumbered by as many as 250 trees.
A few more miles up the road, along Highway 18, the story is different in Bennington, a town of 600 which is served by a century-old bank, two bars, multiple dining options, and a growing school district.
So, it is a good time to hunker down for the winter. Time flies and before we know it, it will be spring. Then, it will be time to mow and weed eat and we may be hoping for winter.
Happy Holidays from the Shank farm.
Susan Alexander / December 15, 2024
Richard, I always enjoy reading about your trips to the farm.
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