Wednesday, August 20, 2008

2 Paths through the Meadow

Richard was down in the North Woods today. When he came up into the Meadow, he noted 2 Paths through the Meadow. Those Paths were side by side and they made a straight line to the Sweet Corn in the Big Garden.

Sure enough, the 'Coons found the Corn. They made a mess of it. But they did leave some behind, which we quickly gathered.

We like to think we really want to share. But losing Sweet Corn to the 'Coons is a test of our practice. We are grateful we have had several meals of Sweet Corn before this day when the 2 Paths made their way to the Meadow.

When you look at this picture, check out the Soil. This year, the Soil has been hard and densely packed. We think it has come from the pounding of the abnormally huge amounts of Rain we have had. Plus, for the days following those heavy Rains, the Soil was waterlogged. As the Water drained, you could almost hear a sucking sound. That action seemed to compress the Soil.

I can imagine that Roots suffered from this. They were water-logged over long periods. Plus, to grow and be healthy, their Roots need to extend into the Soil. Dense Soils would make that difficult.

You will note that the ears of Corn are on the small side. Those Corn Plants have had quite the Summer. The 1st Heavy Rain came with high Winds which laid the Plants down. We Humans thought we had lost the Corn. But within a few days, the Corn was back on its feet again, looking up to the Sun. We were amazed.

I can just imagine those Corn Plants are pretty proud of what they produced this year. We 3 Humans are too. I can also imagine those 'Coons coming up out of those 2 Paths are pretty proud too. We can see them smiling.

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