Rain, Sweet Rain!

Most of the High Plains has been in a drought since late 2010.  Our area has experienced extreme wind and heat and very little rain to offset the extreme conditions.  The crop yields in this area have decreased dramatically, and on the livestock side, pastures have dried up.  Feed is hard to come by, and when you find it, it's very expensive. Many cattle producers have sold much, if not all, of their herds.

But Memorial Day weekend, it rained. A lot. It rained again last weekend, and there's a small chance of rain this weekend.  We're not out of the woods yet, but we're praying this is a change in weather pattern.

I do some freelance reporting for AgDay Television on occasion (very occasionally) and did this story about drought and the blessing of rain we have received in the last few weeks.

I pointed out this video in the story above, but I thought it was so precious, that I re-edited the baby calf video and posted it to YouTube.  I just love baby calves, and thought it was really cool that we got to see this little fella take his first steps and eat for the first time.  I was in a pasture with Eddie Griffis, a local farmer, cattle producer, and farm radio reporter.  You can hear some commentary from the two of us about this little guy. It's pretty funny.  However, this video is a little icky, after all, calf birth is not glamorous.  But it's part of life and I wanted to share this cool video.

And if the video isn't enough, here are a couple of my favorite pictures that I took while we were out there.

Lady, put the camera up. I just had a baby.

Finally, since rain is so rare in these parts, I am posting video of rain I shot off my front porch for your viewing pleasure.  Watch closely. This might not happen again for a while (let's hope not!).  You can hear Jett and Scott talking in the background.