By Amanda Huber, Editor
If you stop to look at the beauty that surrounds you throughout the year, you likely have a favorite “scene” on your farm. It may happen only once a year, as mine does, or it may be a vignette you can look at all year long.
My scene happens in the summer. The drive up to our house passes by my parent’s house, winds through some trees and comes out into an opening at the corner of a hay field, where it travels along the fence line and then turns up to our house. The point that it comes out of the woods is the top of a hill, as much hill as you can find in Florida. Looking from the corner of the field, down the hill, you can see several fields, small groups of trees and my Papa’s barn in the distance.
My picture perfect moment occurs when the hay has been baled. The light brown hay field will be dotted with round hay bales. Surrounding fields are green and dotted with black cows and the rust orange roof of the barn. The sky is a beautiful blue contrast to the earth and seems to go on forever. I’ve tried to capture it with a picture, but it just doesn’t do it justice.
This summer we had another scene that captured our attention. A field directly in front of my parent’s house and one to the side were planted in peanuts. Although pastures are green, nothing compares to the beautiful carpet of dark green peanuts. I get to see it often in my work, but the color of the fields was something my family talked about throughout the summer.
One time we were trying to come up with adjectives adequate for conveying the beauty of the fields. After thinking about it for a while, my oldest daughter finally said, “It’s just the greenest green that ever greened.” Well said.
Right now the fields are the pale green of the rye cover crop, but we look forward to the dark green again. Hopefully sometime this year, you’ll take the time to enjoy your favorite farm “scene” and enjoy talking about it with your family. Let’s have a good 2015.
