Country Chatter

I keep thinking I am going to write a post and then come up blank with nothing to write about!!! That is bad news for a writer. Either you have writer’s block, nothing worthwhile left to say or life is humdrum!

Life is not exactly humdrum right now but neither is there anything very exciting happening except for….. rain, rain and more rain.  There is a farmer mathematical formula for this.  Lots of rain+animals=mud.  Mud on the farm is anything but exciting. It is downright discouraging and has a huge tendency to make one grumble and complain!  It sticks to your boots, tractor tires,  and tracks into the laundry room. The cattle sink up to their knees in the  deep, sloppy muddy areas where they gather to eat and drink. The tractor ruts up the access driveways in the fields while feeding hay and the lane is full of mud puddles.

The other day I was reminded of the song “Count Your Blessings” penned by Johnson Oatman Jr.  and have been humming it all week.

Don’t you wonder what Johnson was facing when he penned those words in 1897?  I did some looking on the internet but could not find a story, just bits of a biography about Mr. Oatman.  He was born in Medford, New Jersey on April 21, 1856 and grew up singing hymns with his father.  When he was 19, he joined the Methodist church and years later was granted a license to preach in the local Methodist  congregations. By trade he was in the mercantile business and later became administrator for a large insurance company in New Jersey.  Either one of those trades would be enough to make one have to stop and count their blessings. He wrote over 5,000 hymns and “Count Your Many Blessings” is considered to be one of the most beloved and finest of his writings.

So now I need to count my blessings AND name them….

• It could be snow, snow, snow and that is worse, worse, worse!  (Remember 1 inch of rain is equal to 10 inches of snow).
• The frigid, cold, zero degree temperatures that we had 2 days last week could have lasted all month.
• We did not have any pipes to freeze or break.
• In between the rainy days the sun shines.
• I have a warm house to live in, food to eat, clothes to wear and electricity.
• I have a husband who loves me, children and grandchildren.
• We are healthy.
• We live in a land that still allows religious freedom.
• We enjoy life in the country and on the farm.
• We have friends and a wonderful church family.

…..and my list could go on and on.

Hey, what is a little mud?  It just means that God is putting moisture in the ground, filling up the streams, rivers, and wells.  It means that going into the spring there will be plenty of moisture for the pastures, hay fields and gardens.  Living in an area that can very quickly turn dry, this is vital for a farmer.

I am reminded that February often brings snow but then the drying March winds are just around the corner.  So for now, I will just count my blessings and dream of May flowers. I will skip the April showers…just for now.  It may not be long and who knows, we will be praying for rain again!!!