Last Week of June

Last week the first of the grain was harvested. The field I have been following was combined the day before I went to photograph progress. Now, I know that I cannot say with certainty whether or not the field was wheat or not I do know that it is a grain and I pretty sure that it wheat. The photos below are of an adjacent field being mowed. I am in awe of how close everything seems here.

The folks at our local farm stand say that the sweet corn will be ready in a few days. That is wonderful. I believe that the corn we get from local farms here in Sussex County Delaware is the best I have ever had. The same holds true for the local tomatoes. It is believed that this should be an excellent year for the farmers and consumers (good product) alike. Let's just hope that drought conditions like last summer do not raise their ugly heads.

Just across the road from the above crops is this field. I am pretty sure that it is barley. I love the color this grain is at this time.

While I was out taking these pictures a rain storm came into the area. As I was crossing the pond I was able to capture a turtle in rain and a couple waning cattails.

I have to admit that I enjoy going out and following the progress of the crops. Oh, I know that a lot of you are saying, "Get a life."

Not Much Happening Here

Life here has been pretty quiet the past few weeks. It has been as many say, LSD (Lower, Slower Delaware). Sunday was Father's Day and Erica came over on Saturday so she could fix her dad a special breakfast. Of course, Bill really took it all in and gushed about the pancakes which were from a recipe she got while on vacation earlier this year in the California Wine Country. Another highlight of the morning was when we saw a young beaver scamper, or whatever beaver do, across the backyard and into the adjoining field. That was a first!

We have experienced a few severe thunderstorms recently. This poor maple in the front yard was the victim of a wind shear about ten days ago. We thought we might be able to save it but then on Monday a similar gust caught it. We will probably take it out and replace it this weekend.

I had reason to be out and about yesterday and got a couple of pictures of the progress of some of the local crops. Here is the same grain field as in the last post but one week later. I love how the color changes.

This photo is of the same corn field as in the last post. It is amazing to me how fast the corn grows once it takes root.

From Pleasant to Stifling

Weather is always a favorite topic of conversation. It has been a favorite of mine in this blog. In the past few weeks I have posted that we have had some glorious days and that temperatures have been cool. Well, that was then and this is now. IT HOT! IT IS HUMID! IT IS HOT AND HUMID!! AND, THE A/C IS NOT WORKING PROPERLY. Ok, said that. It has been very uncomfortable for the past four days. We have been in major heat advisories. I secretly wished this morning to be on Snoqualmie Pass where it was snowing.

A couple of projects have kept me busy the past week. They are finished now and it is time to move onto others. One of my favorite things to do here is to drive around the countryside and take pictures of the crops. I did a lot of that last year and so far this year with the price of gas I have not ventured out as much. But, I did manage to capture some grain (one corn) shots while on a couple errand trips.

This picture, taken yesterday, shows a ripening crop. I was particularly drawn to this field because of the differences in the colors of the field. You can almost tell by the haze that it was a very hot morning (9:10 a.m.). It is good to know that the field stood well against a very strong storm that passed through last week.

This is a different angle on the same field but taken six days earlier. The grain was just starting to show signs of ripening and had stood up well to some drenching rains.

The corn is coming right along. This picture was taken last week. The corn is quite a bit higher and quite a bit fuller this week.