The diary game. Work, Weather, and the Orchard Life

The winter here in the valley has ended, and now the spring season has arrived. It is actually the season when farming activities start, and for that reason all the farmers are on their toes these days, engaged in different agricultural tasks. More significantly, these days involve spraying pesticides over the crops, mainly the apple trees, to safeguard them from pests and to curb these pests before they can grow in the orchards and later destroy the crop. Farmers spray pesticides over these apple trees as recommended by experts and researchers, considering the temperature, moisture content in the air, and the amount of rainfall. These factors in the valley these days help keep a check on the growth of pests. Acting at this stage is quite important; for that, we need to be vigilant and quick in spraying these pesticides within time.

For that reason, I had to go to the distant farm today along with my uncles and other neighbours who also own farming land there. However, due to the recent rainfall, the streams contained turbid water which was not fit for spraying pesticides when mixed with it. For that reason, I had to wait till the afternoon. Until then, I went to my office, as I did not want to neglect my duty. After making arrangements with my uncle early in the day, I went to the office to perform my duties, and only in the late afternoon did I return home.

After getting something to eat, I, along with my uncles, went to the store. First, we had to fill water into the containers already placed on the trolley of the tractor. It took some time to fill all these containers, after which we started our journey towards the orchard located at one of the highest places in that area, about 10 km from our village, along a hilly track. On reaching there, I was the first to spray as it was my turn. I mixed the pesticides with water and got help from my uncle, as he was also spraying from another side. The tractor was equipped with a number of hose pipes operated by several men at a time, which helped us finish the job quickly.

After finishing, another uncle who was with us started spraying in his orchard, and after some time, we were done with our work. Then it was time to help our neighbour who had come alone for the same task. We stayed there, checking the free movement of the hose pipes and releasing them whenever they got stuck in the orchard. It is quite an exhausting job, as one has to run across the orchard continuously to manage the hose pipes.

By evening, we were done with all the work and returned home. It was at the time when the call for prayer was being announced from the mosque that I reached home. I freshened up, performed ablution, and offered the evening prayers before having something to eat.

Later, I went out to spend some time with my friends in the main market of the village. As rainfall had occurred over the past few days, the temperature had dropped significantly, and I could feel the cold outside. After spending some time there, I returned home. We had dinner, and then I went to my room. Only a few pages of history were read by me, as I was feeling quite sleepy. With another early morning ahead, I went to sleep and called it a day.

Thank you.