Wheat Fields

Yet another reminder that summer is over: all of the wheat has been cut leaving acres of unsightly golden stubble. It is the only time that I find the fields to be particularly unattractive. I wonder how many non wheat farmers really take the time to notice all of the different kinds of beauty that can be seen throughout the year in the wheat fields. When the ground is bare, I think it looks a little like a Japanese garden, intricately decorated with parallel grooves that swirl in patterns across the rolling hills. As the wheat seedlings begin to grow, if the sunlight is just right, the fields glow bright green. I think the fields are the most beautiful, though, when the wheat is fully grown and has changed from green to gold.

This year I noticed for the first time how the wheat moves as the wind swoops through the fields. It looks like yellow ocean waves. It was fascinating to be able to "see" the wind in that way and to realize just how unevenly it blows. Of course, for days after that I had the lyrics "Oh beautiful for spacious skies, for amber waves of grain" stuck in my head. How cheesy is that? I must be a music teacher.