Chapter 21

While I was communing with the spirits, Bud had jerked out the fence between the airfield and the new property. Just sorta hooked on with the airport grader and rolled it up ... fence, T-bar posts and the roses that grew along the fence. Made a compact mashed flat mess and loaded it in the airport dump truck. The fence never did make it to the river. The church wasn’t running cows.

Bud was fixing to do the same to the cross fences ... tear ‘em out.

“I’m pulling the irrigation pipe.” he said.

“Might as well ... the pump house is shot,” said my aircrew. You know ... Mr. Neuport, Mr. SPAD, and Mr. Camel. Yeah ... them. This was their idea ... I just wanted a place to land without raising a dust.

Evidence revealed that the live-in pastor was raising grass hay ... alfalfa horse hay ... not clover. Alfalfa hay is high-protein legume hay from the ‘pea’ family. Horses love it. Clover hay is the other legume hay suitable for horses but not as popular with horse owners.

Clover makes a great lawn though. (Personal experience.)

The few parishioners that still attended supplied the muscle, gas and equipment to grow the five cuttings a year. The ‘labor’ was ‘tithe.’

The pastor had about 35 acres under irrigation. He was careful. Didn’t over water ... didn’t under water. He dug out the leafy spurge and patrolled for other weeds. He checked the sugar content regularly ... might get to be 40 inches tall for the first cut. One hundred sixty five bales per acre. 2.00 to 3.00 dollars a bale to family horse riders. No commercial sales. No shipping. Drive up to the church and load your own pickup. Most farm pickups will haul 25 eighty five pound bales. Seventy five bucks a load for first cut... 50 for the rest. I didn’t know any of this ... I don’t do horsey things.

Seventeen thousand bucks first cut. He wasn’t paying for labor. Makes for a decent paycheck. About 63 thou a year. Not bad for irrigating. Not grand but walking around money.

While I was in the shower, sauna, hot tub, the three guys called their phone tree and almost all the pilots and planes showed. I didn’t hear a thing. Aircraft over head? all the time. I zoned them out.

The pedestrian gawkers? I can only assume they started noticing the trailer planes and followed along, Then it was cellphone city.

During the Great War picking a place for a runway was easy. If the farmer objects ... take him out and shoot him. All it takes is reasonable grass ... not wheat ... grass. Wheat stubble is sharp and damn hard on tires.

The early war aircraft had landing SKIDS! Wheat land worked fine. If one can find an abandoned mansion with a big back yard? In the teens of the 20th sheep were the mower of choice ... sheep; meat, wool and fertilizer.

I had 2500 feet from the highway to the river. Most Airdrome aircraft need 200 feet to take off and 300 feet to land. From Blue Bluff Road to Bud Field is 1200 hundred feet. Plenty wide to scramble a Jastra ... or an Escadrille.