So far this year, our crop is off to a pretty good start.

We finished planting our soybeans earlier than ever and finished planting corn in an average time frame. We have been catching rain showers off and on for the past month. We are miles ahead of where we were last year at this time. 

This is the second summer at our new place. Last year, our yard was surrounded by some pretty low-yielding, drought-stressed corn. This year, the crop that surrounds our house is soybeans. The beans were planted May 2. They are off to a great start except for the big circular bare spots in the fields in perfect view from the house in the backyard. Groundhogs are back! 

Mike: I couldn’t believe my eyes. I thought for sure the planter wasn’t working over that spot. No, the beans were there, just being constantly eaten off. We haven’t seen groundhog damage like this in 10 years.  

Sheilah: I couldn’t help myself. “Well, what did you expect?” I asked. All spring, while Mike was busy working on the grain bins across the road, the groundhogs were busy running around our yard and the edge of the field. I told him lots of times that he needed to take care of them, and he never got around to it. 

The boys would both yell at them, “Get out of our soybean field!!!” The groundhogs didn’t care; they just kept eating.

Mike: The next thing I knew, Sheilah was telling me that the groundhog now had eight babies. Just great. Of course, it didn’t take long for the neighbors to start noticing the spot as well. They got to ribbing me, too, and my wife didn’t let them take it easy on me. “I think he’s going soft,” and “his aim needs a little practice,” were just some of the jokes I have heard lately!

Geez. A man can’t get away with anything around here! At least not where groundhogs are concerned. Needless to say, the groundhogs are on their way out, and the beans have been replanted in the bare spots.

Sheilah: Hopefully, the rain will continue this summer, so we have a decent crop to put in our new grain system. Things have been moving right along with it, but there are still lots of little things that need finished. Now we just need to find a little down time and enjoy some fun things this summer.

Mike and Sheilah Reskovac and their sons farm near Uniontown, Pa. Check out all of their "Two Hearts, One Harvest" blogs.