Every dark cloud has a silver lining. Right? That is an optimist’s viewpoint that bad things can still have their advantages.

A wind storm destroys property, but years later, the property has been rebuilt. The new construction has replaced older buildings that may have been in need of replacement anyway.

Aren’t there also silver clouds with dark linings? Of course, there are. That is another way of saying to be careful what you wish for, because you might get it.

So there are thorns in the roses and roses in the thorns. I bet you have heard that one, too.

Yeah, yeah, yeah. Blah, blah, blah.

I have had these thoughts in recent days, because I believe the last rainfall we had that was of any consequence was about the middle of last August. We are having a drought around here.

Normally, the word drought brings up bad feelings and poor images of lost crops. A drought is not something I want to have.

However, our drought arrived late in the growing season and while it did some damage to yields, it also made for a harvest that was free of delays.

Not only were the fields mud free, but crops dried in the field.

I did not care for delivering soybeans to the elevator at 7 percent moisture, when 13 percent is what I usually deliver; and I can get paid for some water. My loss was the elevator’s gain.

The corn dried in the field and for the second year in a row our dryer sat unused. We didn’t even try to see if it would start.

My gain was a loss of business for my supplier of LP. My quiet grain dryer was of no advantage to them.

My nearly completed house moving project made very good use of the dry weather. There were no days of rain or even mud. Everyday was a day of progress.

A brief shower of about a tenth of an inch showed us that mud can come easily and for a few hours, we walked with muddy shoes. Then the ground was solid again.

So a drought is not necessarily a bad thing. It all has to do with the timing.

Okay, we have had our fun. Harvest is done, tillage is being completed and we are getting prepared for next year’s planting season.

My new garage has a roof and is weather tight. I am in need of some warmer weather that is free of mud so the concrete floor can be poured.

Then it can rain. I hope it rains a lot. Things are powder dry around here.

Oh, wait a minute. It can rain after the siding is installed on the garage. Then it can rain.

Well, maybe not then either. How about after the landscaping is done? Then it can rain.

You would think a person would have learned that whether my crops are ready or not, my garage has a concrete floor, or my shrubbery is in place does not matter. It will rain when it wants to.

A person can make all the plans he wants, but certain things are going to happen no matter how carefully made those plans are.

There must be a worn out phrase that sums up the thoughts of destiny or inevitability. There is one about “best laid plans of mice and men.”

How about, “It will rain when it rains and not a moment before?” I don’t believe that is a common phrase, but I am sure I am not the first person to say it.

I will have to give this some more thought as I wait for it to rain. A rain delay now would be advantageous for next year’s planting.

Planting in dry soil is a necessity, but not when it is bone dry like it is now.

However, I really would like my garage floor to be poured though, mud free with the ready-mix truck parked on solid ground.

Maybe then it can rain. Would that cloud have a silver lining or a dark one?

Rye is a Farm News staff writer and farmer from Hanlontown. Reach him by e-mail at crye@wctatel.net.