Our farmhouse was built in 1900. The City of Omaha hadn’t yet spread the next 20 miles to border our town of Bennington, and the Ford Model T was introduced in 1908. At that time, our farm was truly rural.
The first modern air conditioner was invented in 1902. In the pre-AC days, temperature control meant planting trees to shade the house, plenty of windows to create cross-breezes and cold baths. Well, not much has changed.
Today’s high temperature is 97F. We’ve been experiencing a long stretch of hot and humid weather, and this has made life difficult on the farm. Morning temps in the kitchen are usually 80F, and the nights haven’t been providing much relief. We have a couple of portable or window air conditioning units to help us sleep, but the heat is still a major factor in our daily lives.
Farming is a lifestyle, and it can mean that you make sacrifices. Heck, it’s a completely different life altogether. In my city life, I left my air conditioned house, hopped into my air conditioned car and drove 15 minutes to my air conditioned office. Now, I drive 22 miles one way while my family sweats out their day. I plan my nights and weekends around weeds, fallen trees, hungry pigs, fences, escaping dogs and, right now, sweating and showering.
If you are considering farming, sleep with the windows open tonight. We can talk in the morning.
-Brian
Grant Stanley
/ August 11, 2010Brian, This is a great post. Thanks! My grandparents live on a farm in Southeast NE in a house built in 1900. They have the same situation. I spent a summer there and it wasn’t too bad, you get used to it after a while. Spain, Taiwan and China were also the same. My dorm in Taiwan had AC but it cost an arm and a leg to run, so we just sweated it out. Hope life is treating you well, and I will see you around. Thank you, Grant
Liz Konstantinov
/ August 16, 2010Very good! Love the last line. Like anything, one gets used to it, after a while. Here's a trick we do at our farm — take a regular fan and aim it OUT the door. It takes the hot air out and leaves cool air in its wake.