Then we see large flocks of geese flying north over our farm heading to Canada. We’re always glad to stop and watch them fly over and welcome them back. In the fall, we’re not so happy to see them head south because we know there’s a long, cold winter ahead.
But it’s springtime now, and all the other birds are coming back that went south several months before. Some years, we have a contest on our farm here: The person who spots the first robin back wins a small prize. Everybody really keeps their eyes and ears open then. We also greatly look forward to seeing our first barn swallows back – that’s big. Why? My grandfather always said, “When the first barn swallows come back and the oak tree’s leaves are the size of a squirrel’s ear, then it’s time to plant corn.” Generally, that’s when we do plant corn here.
It’s a time of new life. The trees start to green up; the birds build their nests in them to raise their young ones. And yes, the raccoons, woodchucks, badgers and even the skunks come out of hibernation. The gophers and moles too, and they start digging in the earth. Everything is digging in the earth. It’s springtime, and everything comes to life.
The farmers and gardeners, with great anticipation, start putting little seeds into the warm ground. We work long, hard days, working the ground and planting all our seeds, but it’s worth it. Then we wait and watch for new plants to spring forth out of the soil.
I’m always amazed at how we can plant tiny little seeds into the ground, and how plants can come forth and yield so abundantly. Each after its own kind. The older I get, the more I realize what a miracle from God this is. Who else could have designed it so? If He hadn’t designed it so, there would be no life on this earth at all.
When I see all the new life around me every spring, it is so obvious that only a loving God could have designed and created all this. I think one of the most wonderful things about farming is that it puts me out in the middle of God’s amazing creation. He most certainly is to be praised. 
Tom Heck, his wife, Joanne, and their two children own and operate a 35-cow dairy farm in Wisconsin. Email Tom Heck or order his book at Tom Heck Farm.
