The Tree

I live in a rural area, my 23 mile commute to work consists of passing a number of Mennonite farms as well as various other planting fields. Right now, I miss those perfectly lined rows of corn and the fields of beans. You see, during the winter when all that remains are the remnants of corn stalks and plowed fields, the snow tends to blow and drift where those empty fields are.

Empty fields...not all the fields are empty. I mean, there are no crops left right now and in their own way, each season of the field is beautiful. Some of you may think I'm weird, but I love smelling the freshly plowed earth in the spring. That smell brings so many things to look forward to! And in the summer, perfectly planted rows of corn that's "knee high by the 4th of July!" I have no idea who started that saying, but it's something that we all know around here. Watching those corn stalks turn brown lets you know that fall is on it's way and soon enough, the combines are in the fields along with the grain wagons and trucks to haul it all away. Then the animals come. I think that they're there all along, but now they are visible to us and we've left them a bounty to feed on to help get them through the winter. So I guess the fields are never really empty.

Which brings me to another thought....did you ever notice how many times you drive by a field and see that one lone tree standing there. Did you ever wonder why it's there? I mean, you have this huge field covering who knows how many acres, sometimes with trees all around and there is just one tree standing smack in the middle of the field. Seems it would be easier to take it out than to plow and plant around it. My mind always goes in odd directions...we can't seem to get enough trees planted on our property and people just keep cutting them down. But here these trees stand. They're not always big trees, some of them are, but not always. Is someone buried there? OK, weird thought I know, but you have to wonder. What else is there? Guess I need to quit stopping by the side of the road to take pictures and just hike on out there to find out why the tree is there. Guess it wouldn't hurt to ask...

Happy New Year everyone!