This hail fell a few weeks ago, in a scary afternoon that started out sunny and hot, but quickly turned to a green-sky, almost-horizontal rain, and strong winds. Nick & I rushed around the farm, closing barn doors, dashing to shelter as large clods of ice started falling from the sky and we could feel the electricity of the lightning striking nearby. I stood at the window, watching the quarter-sized ice pellets bouncing off the ground. Quickly I thought about how each crop would be affected: the tender lettuce leaves would be crushed, the tomatoes, potatoes, and eggplants would be damaged & then more susceptible to disease, the small seedlings just planted would be obliterated. I had heard horror stories from farmers who lost all their crops, buried in 2 inches of hail. I am not a very religious person, but with a hand over my heart, I whispered something close to a prayer. Tears started welling up.
The hail stopped a few seconds after it started. I had had my first genuine "farmer" experience of feeling completely helpless as the weather decided the fate of my entire livelihood. Humbled, we remember that we are not really in control after all.
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