Amber Waves of Grain

In one way, it was an America the Beautiful kind of day yesterday. It included the very definition of the "amber waves of grain" Katharine Lee Bates wrote about in her hymn, "America the Beautiful."

In those 50- to 60-mph wind gusts, you could practically get seasick looking out across the rippling waves of wheat. Those "waves" were definitely tidal wave strength as they danced across the fields. I need a video camera instead of a still camera to do it justice.

But the blowing dirt was not so beautiful across Central America yesterday. Farmers were hoping for calmer "seas" to help the newly planted spring crops grow. Those newly established fields of corn, soybeans and milo were fighting the battle to hold on for dear life in the face of gale force winds.

Randy got our milo and silage planted last week. We were thankful to get about 0.30 inches of moisture last week, some of which was coming down as I took this photo last Wednesday.

We got another 0.30 inches overnight last night when a quick-moving thunderstorm moved through Central Kansas. Thankfully, we didn't get the hail to go along with it, though I know others weren't as fortunate.

Farmers weren't the only ones struggling yesterday. We drove to Wichita to say goodbye to Brent and put him on a plane back to South Carolina for summer classes. The semi drivers yesterday couldn't have been out for a leisurely drive. Even with a car, it was a white-knuckle trip, struggling against the wind.

Let's hope for calmer conditions today.

Need more info about milo planting? Check out this earlier post.