At That Awkward Stage

What do ripening wheat fields and junior high students have in common?
They both go through an awkward stage.

A week ago, I told Randy that the wheat was at that ugly duckling, in between stage. Earlier this spring, the fields were vibrant, verdant green. Soon, they will be a striking golden sea of movement in the Kansas wind.

But, for now, they are a motley mix of green and gold.

On Saturday, against a blue sky, they were already making the transformation. Just like with junior high kids, you think that awkward stage will never end.

Then, all of the sudden, they blossom with newfound maturity. 

Still, the wheat has a little maturing to do. When Randy probed the kernels, they were at a soft dough stage. After a dry winter, we had thought that the harvest would be early. However, abundant spring rains and cooler temperatures have slowed down the march toward harvest in our neck of the woods. It doesn't look like we'll be cutting this week. That's good, since I'm scheduled to go to Nebraska for a church conference later this week.

Even with the mix of green and gold lending a kind of "grungy" look to the wheat head, it was pretty against a stormy sky as I came home from church meetings last Wednesday evening.

It was the very definition of beautiful, don't you think?

Montana isn't the only Big Sky Country!