A sign I'm home

Never has my house felt so welcome.  I noticed straight away that my lawn had just been mown.  Thank you, Heather.  Then I noticed the balloons and smiled to myself.  But then I saw the sign and chuckled and chuckled. I gathered the hawks had been a bother while I was away.  That little Georgia sure knows how to make me feel special!

I set out early this morning for a walk around the farm, happy to get up close to the colours of home.

This afternoon the cows visited the paddock opposite from my house for their daily portion of turnips.

Yes, it's good to be home!

FSO - Local crops and produce

So what are the local crops and produce where I live?  It's just as well that we grow something other than grass here on the farm, as I haven't given the topic a thought all week.  It's that crazy busy time at work and my brain shuts down (from over-use) the minute I leave.  My doctor made a comment that amused me on Tuesday.  He said if I'd stopped work at the same time I'd given up smoking I'd be in better shape now.  I think he may have been trying to tell me it's time to quit. 

On the farm my son grows maize and turnips to feed to the cows.

Maize:

 Turnips:

Georgia, even now as a nearly 10 year old, still calls them turn ups.  She started calling them that when she was three or four years old.  She's as stubborn as a mule, no way can anyone convince her she is wrong and that they aren't turn ups. 

 Turnips in the foreground, maize behind.

That's my lot for this week.

I'm sure the rest of the team will have crops and produce that are a lot more inspiring.  They will be here.

FSO - From the Ground

"There will come soft rains and the smell of the ground" - love that line.  I remember when I first read it and feeling disappointed with the rest of the poem.  I had those words in mind when I went looking for images for this week's topic.  There was rain during the week, most of it heavy but some nice gentle stuff, too but none of my ideas worked.

Here's an image from before the rain, dust rising from the ground, allowing you can trace the vehicle's progress through the pine forest.

 

 Nature's artwork clinging to the ground:

 

New life springing from the ground:

Old life, too.

Homes being built from the ground up:

Emerging from a hole in the ground:

And lift off!

That was a neat topic, I bet there will be as many interpretations of it as there are of us.  They will all be here.  Pop over and have a look.  Or, better yet, why not join us? 

Harvest time

According to the calendar today was the precisely correct day for harvesting the maize.  Unfortunately, the weather has a huge impact on the health of crops and today was actually about three weeks too late.  The maize was well past its best, about three weeks past.  

But the harvesting guys couldn't come until today - farmers have to roll with the punches.

You can see how the maize dries off from the bottom of the plant.  But there was still a little green left in this crop.  Which is surprising when you see the paddock next to it.

The second paddock cut is at the back of my house and I've been watching it go more brown each day.  I'm glad it's now all harvested.

But the thrid paddock to be cut was worse.

There's not much green in that stack, is there?  It was light and fluffy and watching Danny rolling it gave me the heeby jeebys.

About the only thing that seemed the same as any other year were the tyres, standing around waiting to be called to duty to hold the cover on the stack.

What rain?

Three days ago I said the weather forecast was for showers every day until Sunday.  Later that same evening I looked out at this sunset.  That didn't look like a no rain tomorrow sunset to me! 

The colours were even more intense in the direction that I don't have a good view of the sky.

Sure enough, we haven't had any rain since.  Today has been lovely, a little windy but warm, just lovely.  Actually, by the time I'd been walking about 20 minutes it felt quite hot. 

One of the many good things about living on a farm is I can see and appreciate the benefits of lots of rain.  I posted this photo of the maize crop on 18 November just as it was coming up.

Today, it is above my head.  This shot is taken at eye level; love the greens.

Further around the track the turnip crop is also thriving.  You can see the maize on the hill in the background.  They are on a bit on a lean, I didn't notice that the fence post I was using to rest the camera on wasn't even.

And look at the size of this turnip.  Might be past it's best for (human) eating, I think.

Everywhere I looked today everything seemed perfect.  The land, the sky, the cows, even the wildflowers and weeds.

For those who thought it took some nerve to ask the policeman for my Long Arm of the Law photo - I very nearly didn't!

The police station was quite busy, a few people waiting to see each of the two civilians manning the desk.  I caught a glimpse beyond them into the offices behind but couldn't see any police officers in uniform.  Assumed they would all be upstairs in the offices and I figured by the time I asked for a uniformed policeman/woman to take a photo, there would be other people lined up behind me and I would feel like I was wasting everyones time.  So I chickened out.  

But, as I walked out the door I saw just what I wanted on the other side of the road waiting for the lights to change to come towards the station.  And I know a nice face when I see one!  So I waited for him to cross and asked him.  He thought I was trying to pluck up the courage to go in and ask but I told him I'd already been in and come out again.  I think I amused him.

I've only been turned down once when asking people if I can take their photo.  And have no conscience about firing off shots without permission if I don't think they will notice.  And, for some reason, people very rarely notice.  

But the one time I was refused stands out as one of the funniest experiences I've had in years.  It was the winter before last.  Can't remember why but I wanted photos of elderly people.  I'd gone to see a play where there was a dinner beforehand served by theatre volunteers.  An extremely handsome white haired gentleman was serving the wine at our table.  He had a very aristocratic demeanour, was as deaf as a post and was amusing those at my table by serving anything except what was requested.  

When he left the room I followed him and asked could I please have his photo.  He straightened his back, and looked very regal as he suggested the blood red wall in the hall would be a good backdrop.  Perfect, I thought.  That wonderful full head of snowy white hair would look fantastic against the deep red. 

BUT, just as I was about to take my shot, he asked what I was going to do with the photo.  I explained about the Friday Shoot Outs but he only heard "internet" and went off on a bit of a rant.  No, no way, he wasn't going to be on the internet, he knew all about the internet, he had grandchildren (couldn't quite see the connection there), no way was he having any part of the internet.  And every time he said "internet" it was with more venom. 

I thanked him politely and telling myself I never thought I'd see the day that a man that age didn't appreciate my attentions, returned to my friends. 

For the rest of the evening, every time I looked around that man would be somewhere glaring at me.  I felt like he was keeping a very sharp eye on this loose woman who went on the internet and making sure I didn't influence any of the decent people around me. 

I really enjoyed my night of being seen as a wicked woman!