Hello. I’m Haratake, a part-time farmer.
I feel like I write this every time, but mornings and evenings have gotten quite cool! While daytime temperatures still regularly exceed 30 degrees Celsius, the mornings and evenings carry a distinct hint of autumn. I vividly remember about 30 years ago, when I was a student, heading to club activities right after Obon holidays ended(around 15th Aug). I recall thinking, “Ah, it’s gotten cooler… I wonder if that scorching gym will cool down too…” Back then, for some reason, pushing through reluctantly was just the norm. Times have changed…
I’ve gotten quite off track, haven’t I? Heading to the field despite the rain forecast, I arrived to find it drizzling, as expected. It’s only natural, I suppose . Still, the weeds are completely overgrown, so I head to the field to cut them with my battery-powered mower, which only lasts 40 minutes on two batteries.
I’ve been told not to enter the field when it rains. The reason given is that the soil hardens. Farmers apparently scrutinize the daily weather forecast and avoid entering the fields before and after rain. So why is hardened soil bad? Of course, walking all over the raised beds where vegetables grow is out of the question, but I wonder if paths and such aren’t really affected? That said, I come up with many answers myself: ① letting grass grow disperses insects that would otherwise target the vegetables, and ② it makes pulling weeds easier. Am I right??
Getting back to the topic, my weed trimmer is a cheap, low-grade product, so unfortunately, the grass usually gets tangled up and stops it immediately. Because of that, I recently bought a sickle, and surprisingly, it worked quite well. Since I can cut the exact grass I want to cut, the work progresses efficiently. Of course, it’s hard work since it’s manual labor. Holding a clump of grass with my left hand and cutting with my right. It must look pretty wild from the outside. I use the mower for short grass and the sickle for tall, thick-stemmed grass. I’ll keep mowing this way for a while.
Now, today’s topic is “Autumn Has Arrived,” and indeed, red spider lilies have started growing along the field paths. Perhaps because of the rain, they’ve grown this much in just three days. Three days ago, they were barely noticeable. I mow around these red spider lilies with the brush cutter. But occasionally, I end up cutting one… An indescribable sense of guilt wells up inside me.
(Photo: Red spider lilies along the field path)
Until next time~
