Life: Idiotropic

30 Aug 06 -- The last of the wheat has been harvested with only a few small patches of miscolored wheat remaining. Last week I drove to Schinnen as the final bales were loaded up and carried off. Now I see the potato harvesters sitting in the middle of muddy fields with kids sorting through them as they come up the conveyer belt and spill into the big bin. And the corn should be next. I'm waiting to see it in the market. I've heard that corn is only grown for the livestock here which would be sad. There are fields of it everywhere. Makes me want to grill.
Fields where wheat once grew are now growing something green. It's amazing how quickly the ground can turn up something new. I guess I shoudn't be amazed. The weeds in my garden once had a contest to see which could reach the top of the fence the fastest and it ended in an all-around tie. In my limited agricultural experience, weeds have been the only thing to grow quickly and reliably, but here, it seems these farmer folks know a thing or two and literally overnight it seems a plot of earth will go from a rich chocolatey brown to an almost chartreuse green.

So, there is no trace of the bright yellow flowers that grew here in May nor of the wheat that seemed to be everywhere. The corn is even disappearing now, to my dismay, without even the slightest trace except may be a few more fattened pigs somewhere around here. We were surrounded everywhere we drove by fields upon fields of bright beautiful corn. Now, one by one, the corn is disappearing leaving only stubby 2" stalks behind. Big trucks haul off the remains, completely chopped up into bits, stalks, leaves, corn, and all, to be fed to the livestock around here. There is no corn in the market or the grocery stores. Germans don't eat corn. They think it's bizaare that we do. Corn is pig food.