I’ve heard and read about the “dust bowl” years here on the prairie, about hoppers that could clean off a 160-acre field in a day, about horses and cows forced to eat the prickly Russian thistles because they were the only green thing growing anywhere, about the farmers who took jobs in the northern “parkland” part of the province to earn enough to get by for another year. So I made up this diary.
Prairie Farm Girl’s Diary — Summer 1934
A west wind blew the hoppers in
two days ago.
They cleaned the wheat crop
clear down to the ground
yesterday.
Dad went north to a lumber camp
after seeding
so we can afford our grub and heat
next winter
and feed for the horses and cow –
unless it rains.
A stream of clouds went over
last night
on their way to rain somewhere else,
maybe tomorrow.
Tom and I are minding the place
all summer
while Dad’s away and Mom’s in a dither
about all the dust.
She says we’re leaving this drought-deviled land
soon as Dad gets back.
.
Christine's Collection 
I remember my mother talking about the dirty thirties. I hope a drought years never gets that bad again!
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We can’t control the rainfall, but we’ve learned a few things about soil conservation since then. 🙂
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Yes. I saw a documentary that said the excessive use of disc harrows to break up the soil was one of the culprits in the dust bowl story.
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True. And also the deep fall plowing that the early ag-reps encouraged works well in most wetter climates, but dried out prairie soil.
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Beautiful blog
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Thank you. 🙂
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