May

May is the unofficial start of summer in Kentucky. Everything has greened up, bushed out, and bloomed that’s going to and the weather is getting pert near hot, with no chance of frost until sometime this fall. Early corn is planted in April and corn planted now is just corn. The wheat is heading out, tall, and will be turning brown by the end of the month. In times past, if the tobacco farmers didn’t have their tobacco set by the second week of May, it was considered a late crop. It’s not that way nowadays, some are still setting tobacco in late June. I can remember setting tobacco in early May, and getting the first sunburn of the year. Cows are starting to drop their calves and the pasture is about knee high. The old farmers say you can’t count on the weather anymore. It’s not as reliable as it used to be. Everything had its own time and the work you had to do was based on the time of year. That still holds true in the woods. The doe’s bellies are getting heavy in preparation for fawning. You’ll see more solitary does now than earlier in the year. The bucks have the knobs on top of their heads and are pretty visible in the weed fields just before dark. Bass are finishing their spring spawning, the catfish and bluegill are next. A couple of months ago I heard a fellow say, “If there is one constant in life, it’s change.” How true that is. Living a rural life exposes you to many changes. Not only from season to season but from month to month, not only in the weather, but in what we do, how we work, how we live. Over all it’s been a good spring in Western Kentucky. I really hate to see it go, but that means it’s only 4 more months til bow season.