fodder's in the bale

"When the frost is on the punkin and the fodder's in the shock" is the first line of a James Whitcomb Riley poem from America's era between the Civil War and WWI. In Monterey nowadays the fodder's in the bale. What I see today is almost the same as this photo I snapped two years ago.

corn harvest

Farmers get out all the horses, the picker, a wagon, and, in this case, a daughter and march into the corn fields on days like today. The ears drop with a thud. The horses look interested and up for the challenge.

not a tobacco ad

It's a pretty picture, but not an ad. In the day, tobacco was harvested green and only wheat gave us a golden color in the fields. This year I'm seeing lots of yellow tobacco. This from within a one-mile radius. The sticks are laths.

fodder's not in the shock

There's this poem I'm learning, "When the Frost is on the Punkin and the Fodder's in the Shock." Outside my window, still tons of fodder, but shocks are out, bales are in. I still like the James Whitcomb Riley lines.

harvest by the wheelbarrow

Neck pumpkins just harvested from Joel and Stephanie's patch. From three original plants, here's about three-quarters of the total. From garden to wheelbarrow to kitchen to pie to oven to stomach. You know what makes America helpful to the world? Here's one thing that started here.

corn harvest

Most of the corn around Monterey is still on the stalk and in the field. But harvest has begun around the edges of the fields. The first cuts are being made and bundled and tied and then picked up on wagons such as this one.