The weather right now is wonderful. Moderate, breezy, sunny — June at its best. And since we just came out of unusually stormy, humid weather, the growing season is off and running like the favorite at the greyhound track. My backyard looks like a complete jungle and — of more regional interest — the corn in all the local cornfields has hit its “knee-high by the Fourth of July” mark three weeks early. And yet I know the farmers aren’t happy, because … well, first of all, because farmers are never happy. But second, because now there are other dangers. The crops that shoot up can be weak if the good conditions don’t hold. If the rain continues, the soil will be too dense and they won’t grow well. If it stops, the new growth won’t support the old growth and they’ll collapse. If the rain is perfect, the corn will be heavier and have more moisture than usual, and it’ll tax the machinery.

It’s all really more drama than you can stand. You’re better off not knowing really, just saying grace over the food on the table without knowing all the joy and pain it took to get it there.