Sunday, October 23, 2011

Bringing in the Harvest



For the earth bringeth forth fruit of herself; first the blade, then the ear, after that the full corn in the ear.
But when the fruit is brought forth, immediately he putteth in the sickle, because the harvest is come. --Mark 4:28,29
I love the fall season for many reasons, not the least of which is the bringing in of the harvest. I have lived in an agricultural community for the past fifty-some years, and I am always amazed at the bringing in of the bounty from the fields.

While it is true that "harvest" is much more than the produce grown in this area, it is essentially the corn and the soybeans that capture my attention. They, along with some wheat which is a summer harvest, are the grains grown here.


Tomatoes, yes, we will see many loads of tomatoes on their way to the cannery. Apples are grown in the area, but the orchards are a bit far apart and apples are not a major crop. Well, they are, of course, to the people who have apple orchards.

No longer do we see the "check-rows" in the corn fields, but rather such tightly-woven stands of corn that one wonders how so many plants can thrive in such spaces as are allotted to them. The thrill of seeing the greens disappear from the fields as the plants yellow, then turn beige or brown is enhanced by the knowledge that soon the wagons will be rolling past with their bounty on the way to the terminal.

Truly, the harvest is great.

2 comments:

John Cowart said...

Hi Vanilla,

I've been slack in blog reading and tried to catch up this morning on everything from your eye operation to Little Turtle to this Harvest post.

Can't say your face looks any more handsome after the surgery, but your writing still continues great.

John

vanilla said...

John, I thank you for sticking with me. My wife tried to talk the surgeon into "improving my appearance" when he did the eyelids, but he said that would not be covered by my insurance, and he doubted I could afford it.