Wheat in the Furrows

Wind whisks my hair in swirls behind me as we speed along the dirt road the ATV.  Me, my husband and my dog.  My family.

We are on a crop tour.  The recently seeded winter wheat is coming in better than expected.  Its green grassy blades reaching up from the furrows in concentric rows, swirling at the ends where the drills turned to make the next pass.  Roots strive toward moisture in the gray-brown soil while leaves shoot upwards, yearning for sunlight.

With rain headed our way over the next few days, we are feeling optimistic about our winter wheat crop filling in nicely.  Then, we will need a good snowcover to insulate the crop and provide moisture for the plants to re-sprout after a gentle spring melt.

A farmer and his family put everything into raising a crop.  Direct influences could be fertilizer and herbicide, not to mention manpower.  Food, shelter, sleep and happiness are indirect influences that nourish and replenish, allowing for better, focused work.

In the end, however, it all seems to come down to a well-timed rain.