Keep praying and washing those pickups

Something stirred our seasons with a spoon this year. Starting late last fall things just plain got all mixed up. Our fall lasted way past when it should have, winter was spring until in April we got a short shot of winter weather. Now here it is May when we should be having springish weather but it is acting like full on summer.

Everything is dry as a bone, our irrigation water is very short to non-existent. The grasshoppers are likely to be bad. They usually are on a dry year that follows an open winter. The snakes are getting close to human habitation seeking moisture and rodents, which have moved in closer also seeking moisture and food. The ticks are already horrible, and the wasps… I don’t even want to talk about them, I found wasp nests started in some of my clothes that were on the line drying. I guess they don’t get left out more than a day this year.

There is some hope though, the weathermen are talking about us having a higher than normal chance for precipitation through June, July and August. That would be a miracle, a very appreciated one. Apparently, there are some forces at work in the ocean and the upper atmosphere that could bring monsoonal moisture this way.

We need to do everything we can to ensure that it happens; here are some ideas: The old timers used to hang a rattlesnake on the fence, said it would bring rain. Doing a rain dance. Of course, our first step should be praying for rain. And lastly, washing vehicles.

It has always seemed that after I washed my vehicle, it rains. So, it must follow that if we want it to rain, we must wash our vehicles. Maybe it only seems that way to me because I wash my pickups so infrequently. They might get a good bath twice a year at the most, but when I do, it is very likely to rain shortly after so I must drive on a muddy road.

The Bible says, “God brings rain on the just and the unjust.” So just living right won’t guarantee that we will get rain, but Elijha prayed for the rain to stop, and it did, then 3½ years later he prayed for it to rain and it did, so I am a firm believer in the power of prayer.

I have seen years with lots of rattlesnakes on fences, I can’t say it did a whole lot of good. I would probably do it though, just to get rid of the rattlesnake. I think timing has a whole lot to do with the success of a rain dance, but washing a vehicle? That has the highest success rate in my very unscientific study. So, keep washing those vehicles.

Rhubarb Crunch

4 cups diced rhubarb

1 cup white sugar

3 table spoons flour

1½ cups flour

1 cup packed light brown sugar

1 cup quick cooking oats

1½ teaspoons cinnamon

1 cup butter

Combine rhubarb, white sugar and 3 tablespoons flour in a large bowl. Set aside. Combine the 1½ cups flour, brown sugar and oats in a separate mixing bowl, cut in butter until the mixture is crumbly. Spread the rhubarb mixture in the bottom of a well greased 13x9-inch baking pan, top with crumb mixture and bake in a preheated 375º oven until tope is golden and filling is bubbly, about 40 minutes. Serve warm or cold with whipped cream or vanilla ice cream. For gluten free option, just substitute your favorite gluten free flour blend with the flour. The flour in the filling can be substituted with tapioca and the flour in the top with almond flour also.