Hell is cold. And rainy.

We have managed to harvest 33 acres in 28 days. The whole month has been rainy, and cold and basically, just like the summer.

And I don't want to talk about it anymore. Living in limbo for 4 weeks has been really hell. Or at least purgatory. We can't start winter projects, as we can't put away the fall stuff. The girls have missed two events so far because we couldn't commit without knowing whether we were in the field. We still have activities going on, but every morning that could change. Hasn't yet, so I'm functioning as if it were winter.

Except for the cash flow thing.

The funny thing about farming is that if you have crop in the bin it is inventory. You can borrow money against that to pay for the inputs that went into growing the crop. With the crop lying in the fields...we're not sure. It isn't inventory, we can't get an advance. Can't get crop insurance, it isn't harvested. So we're stuck.

If we can't get the crop off, we will have a cash flow shortage. Hopefully something governmental will kick in, but no guarantees, and it certainly won't be quick -this is a government thing.

If we could get the crop off, we'll still have to dry it. That will cost money. We may have to hire custom guys too (or at least pay neighbours) - that won't come cheap either. And it all takes time - to dry the crop means at least two more trips with the grain truck for each 500 bushel load.

We can't go away anywhere, just in case we get some drying days. Or freezing days - if the crop freeze dries, that would be fine too.

But snow is no good. And rain is no good. I'm thinking I should petition both the Weather Network and Environment Canada for a "dislike" button. It doesn't have to do anything, but it sure would feel good to punch it every time a new forecast comes along. Dale thinks that maybe he could make something like an "easy" button for weather and sell it - so far that's our best farm diversification strategy.

So, this is our own little hell here. I have always believed that hell was cold, I just didn't know that it was rainy too. I really don't like this climate change, if that is what this is!

Anyway, I'll let you know if this interminable harvest is ever finished. In the meantime, I will be grouchy. I apologize, but my best coping mechanisms include being reclusive and grumpy.