OFI 690: Frost Is On The Pumpkin And I Don’t Have To Irrigate For Six Months!

Snow In The Rockies

Well, it is that time of year, possibly my favorite time of year, and it is a bit early.  For the last two mornings I have been crunching ice under foot when I go out to feed and irrigate.  Our lows are already down at freezing, and so begins 5 to 6 of the most glorious weeks of the year in Southwest Idaho.  Crisp mornings, beautiful clear days with bright blue skies and cool evenings.  October is really spectacular here.

But, we are a little bit ahead of schedule this year.  On social media this weekend pictures were pouring in of different mountain tops with snow on them all around our area.  There are plenty of people out either bow hunting or scouting for rifle season right now so those shots are easy to come by.

Not too far from us in Eastern Idaho and Northwestern Montana they were measuring snow by the foot over the past couple of days.  It reminds me of my days living in Bozeman, where we were always looking for a snow flurry on or around the first day of classes.  This is a fantastic time of year.

End Of Irrigation

This morning I was out feeding the pigs.  The pig pen happens to be right by our irrigation pump.  Our irrigation water will be officially shut off in seven days, but I ended the irrigation season this morning.  I got across our alfalfa field and all of our pastures one more time before we were done.  The shorter days and cooler temperatures have me feeling pretty good about finishing up now, even though I could continue to irrigate for another week.

Last week I submitted an irrigation card to our ditch rider indicating that he could shut off the water coming to my pump from the New York Canal this morning.  Yesterday I made sure to set the pump to “auto” so if there was any change in the pressure the pump would automatically shut off.

Our ditch rider usually gets to our head gate around 6:30 am.  Today he was a little late and got there about 6:45 am.  I was out feeding the pigs at the same time, and the timing worked out just right.

I got through the gate that keeps the goats and cattle away from our pig pen area and set the pig food down, which the goats think is delectable.  Symbolically, I started walking towards the pump to go shut if off, and right at that moment I could hear the pitch of the pump change as it started to pump air rather than water out of the bubbler.  Then the automatic shut off worked just as designed as the pressure fell, and the pump shut off.  Standing there in the cold, dark mist with my head lamp showing the slight fog, irrigation season came to an audible end.

I stood there for a moment in the silence listing to the bubbling of the creek, the pigs rustling as they were getting up to get their feed and our rooster crowing off in the distance.  I stood still and enjoyed it for a moment and soaked it all in.

A Shift From Active Farming

One of the greatest things about farming is that things change all around you at different times of the year.  You work outside in a seasonally changing landscape that marks time.  There is something that I love about every season: feeding hay on snow in the winter, calves in tall grass in the spring, an 80 degree twilight at 10:30 pm in the summer and the transition from active farming to more of a maintenance type of farming in the fall.

I still have several projects I want to get done before the ground freezes this winter, but the final day of irrigation is a significant marker of the transition we go through every fall.  Our focus now shifts to bedding and feeding animals for the winter.  Our slow cooker comes out and dinner becomes heavier with soups, stews, roasts and fresh baked bread.  And you can find us gathered in front of our fire in the evenings watching television, reading or playing games together.

Somehow, the seasons are timed out perfectly.  Just when you start to grow tired of one season you seem to break into the next.  Or maybe its thousands of years of living outside and being in tune with the seasons that makes it feel that way.  Either way, it always an exciting transition for those of us in agriculture because like nobody else in the world, we stay in close touch with the outside world.

For the next several weeks I get to focus just on projects that I had not seemed able to get done over the past few months.  Working outside during our glorious fall days is invigorating.  Having work to do outside is its own reward.

Living In The Intermountain West

When I am not working on the farm I will be taking advantage of the special opportunities that living in the Intermountain West offers.  My annual trip to Yellowstone National Park with my daughter takes place this month.  After that we will be chasing mule deer for her down on the Nevada border.  And just a few nights ago we enjoyed a beautiful Friday evening and great Oktoberfest celebration with many of our fellow community members at Das Alpenhaus Deli in Boise.

Places like the high desert, the Intermountain West, Yellowstone National Park and Boise are dream destinations for so many people during the vacation season which runs from Memorial Day to Labor Day.  They come to see the natural wonders, to find adventure on a dusty road or walk along the Boise River during the day and enjoy the energy of Downtown Boise during the night.

All of these places are beautiful during the summer, and that is what brings people from all over the world to our region.  But those of us that get to live here love the fall.  Yellowstone is never better than it is in Autumn.  The animals are more active during the day because the temperatures are cooler and they feel winter setting in.  The aspen and other deciduous trees turn gold against a background of green conifers.  The people visiting the park become a special fraternity, confronting the cold mornings and occasional snowfall together, just so they can feel alone inside one of the greatest natural wonders on Earth.

To come to Yellowstone in October is to be strategic.  It is to have planned your trip so that you can avoid the hoards of tourists you would face if you had come in July.  It is to maximize the amount of wildlife you will see.  It is to recognize other vehicles on the road after you have been there a couple of days and wave as you know they also recognize you.  It is to get a feel of what it must have been like for people to have visited this remote park in the 1940’s when it was much harder to get reach.

Being in Idaho during the fall means finding yourself at one of Boise’s outdoor parties, like the Das Alpenhaus Oktoberfest Festival, on a gorgeous evening.  It is to be among a group of people who are all of like mind when it comes to how they want to live, who were either lucky enough to be born here or wise enough to choose quality of life over the size of a paycheck and have moved here.  All of us have chosen this life, and that is what bonds us.  After the tourists have gone home for the season we get to enjoy Boise amongst our neighbors at the most beautiful time of the year.

Climbing into the high desert or mountains of Idaho during the fall in pursuit of big game reminds you of traditions that are centuries to millenniums old.  If you hunt with a traditional bow you can feel a connection with the Shoshone, Bannock or Paiute that walked this ground long before you.  If you hunt with a rifle you feel the nostalgia and are reminded of your grandparents who saw hunting that you cannot imagine.

As a hunter in the Intermountain West you are part of a special subculture and this is your annual convention.  You find yourself talking about deer or elk from driver’s window to driver’s window while stopped side by side on a dirt road.  You sit in front of a campfire, transfixed by the flames as the World Series fades in and out on an A.M. radio.  You get to meet new people while sipping on an evening whiskey at a bar in a town like Idaho City, Fairfield or Pine well after shooting light has passed.  And you get to celebrate with fellow hunters when you come across their camp and see what they have bagged and hanging from the meat pole.

In the fall, after kids go back to school and the tourists leave, we are left to enjoy an Idaho that only locals know about.   The entire West becomes our playground until the next Memorial Day and summer vacation allows people their dream vacations in our back yard.  Having this beautiful landscape to ourselves is the reward for choosing this life.

It is by far my favorite time of year, and it is when Idaho becomes Idaho again.

Where Off-Farm Income And Matt Brechwald Can Be Heard:

Member Of The National Association Of Farm Broadcasters