A late Fall visit to the farm

CAPTION: Richard Shank takes a spin on an antique Oliver tractor on the Shank farm.

By Richard Shank

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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. 

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

Opinion: All that’s missing from Christmas is snow

Foot-deep ruts in the alley near my house from a snow/ice storm in January 2024 CREDIT/GINA LONG

By Gina Long

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Christmas music, decorations and the second annual Light Up Hutchinson Christmas Parade and Festival helped me get into the holiday mood, but I am still not completely immersed in the season.

We need snow.

We have had none of the white fluffy stuff since spring, and even that capped yet another historically dry winter.

Because I grew up in Western Nebraska, snow was automatic. Snowless Christmas was very unusual. Moving to Kansas and having a white Christmas in, at best, four of the fourteen holiday seasons I have experienced feel incomplete.

We need moisture badly. I prefer rain and not ice, so snow is a decent compromise. The 13 inches of fluffy powder we received after 2023’s Thanksgiving was nice; dry, it didn’t stick or pack down, and it moved nicely with a push broom. Most importantly, it didn’t strand me in my garage.

The cold snap/wet snow/sleet/ice/wind storm that arrived in mid-January brought many problems. It finished off my limping battery, leaving me stranded for several days. I park off an alley, so the city didn’t plow for nearly a week, leaving me to shovel wet heavy snow from the garage to the street.

The 20233-2024 snow season gave us more precipitation than in the past 2-3 winters, but that goodwill disappeared in March. Reno County received less than one-tenth inch of rainfall in April and most of May.

Dry winters lead to dry spring, and the scan moisture we receive in summer usually disappears from October to January.

We need moisture, whether it be rainfall, snowfall or drizzle. As long as it doesn’t freeze and turn into sleet, freezing drizzle or, worse of all, bad ice storms. Remember March 2007?

While writing, I received a weather alert about dense fog through 8 a.m. this morning. Fog is dangerous, and I ask that motorists use fog lights, give themselves extra time and be very cautious at intersections.

So, as I finish holiday errands and prepare to hunker down for colder weather and visits with family and friends, my holiday wish is that we receive a Christmas snowfall. Not enough to snarl travel — just enough to sparkle in Christmas lights, to make snowmen and snow angels, and to make Christmas 2024 feel like a vintage postcard.

Foot-deep ruts in the alley near my house from a snow/ice storm in January 2024 CREDIT/GINA LONG By Gina Long Christmas music, decorations and the second annual Light Up Hutchinson Christmas Parade and Festival helped me get into the holiday mood, but I am still not completely