Summertime and the living is easy, or is it?

The farmer worked hard all spring to get the ground prepared and get the crop in the ground. Now if he could just see the crop through summer to harvest without harm, without bugs eating everything, with enough rain but not too much, without devastating wind and hail storms, without locusts and fire and disease and birds and everything else that can spoil a crop.

Summertime was the time to go hunting and live off the land, the spring crops had come and gone, the summer crops hadn't come in.

When a successful crop did come in there was joy all around, and lots of work because food storage was a real concern. Corn could be dried, peas and beans hung in their shells for later, root crops put into the cool root cellar, apples and pears carefully dried in the sun.

In the fall, when it turned cool, the pig took his last long walk and was made into sausages and hams to hang and cure in the smokehouse.

The farm's cow was very important - milk for drinking and making into butter.

And a yard of chickens always provided eggs and meat for the table.