Here is an update on “The Seasons of a Farmer.” I mentioned that we are in the transition between Planting and Irrigating here in south central Nebraska. Well, we had a significant weather event (now classified as an EF-2 tornado) here in Edgar, Neb., on Memorial Day evening that will most likely affect Irrigating.

As the tornado sirens were blowing in town, I was sitting in my sunroom watching a ‘tail’ dip out of some ominous looking clouds and wondering why my weather alert siren wasn’t sounding. As I was running for the basement steps, both my husband and the siren (finally!) were telling me to get there fast. I made myself comfortable and listened to the noises above me, feeling quite helpless, but knowing I was where I needed to be. My husband was working on a booster pump quite a distance from home, but texting still worked on our phones so we could remain in contact with each other.

After the storm passed and he got home, we went out to survey the damage. There were quite a lot of power poles and lines down. Water was running across the roads in many places. Broken tree limbs in the yard, a big door blown off a shed, the glass top of a deck table shattered – this was only the beginning. We lost our rain gauge in the storm but heard reports of anywhere from three to five inches of rain.

As the picture shows, we also lost two pivots and one corner system on another pivot. It could have been much worse. Reports from the area indicate approximately 200 pivots are “wheels up.” That will definitely affect Irrigating season.

Until we walk again …