the beauty of dawn....

On the ride into work this morning on the vanpool, my eyes were drawn away from my book by the stunning dawn bursting on the horizon.  Lately I've been feeling gloomy in the mornings because it's no longer light when I wake up.  While I am enjoying the weather at the moment, I'm not anxious to jump into winter, and having it be dark in the morning is the first sign that summer is ending and we're heading into cooler temps then into winter not too long afterwards.  But I have to admit, I get to see some spectacular dawns at this time of year.  If I'd had a paintbrush, I wouldn't have been able to resist capturing it on canvas.  I had my camera, but the van has tinted windows and I knew it wouldn't be a good picture.  A picture would never be able to do it justice anyway.  In absence of all other media, I can only attempt the art of words to give it justice.

 

The cornfields stretched out before me in perfect uniformity of marching rows of stalks and tassels.  The sheer linearity of a planted field is mesmerizing and I find myself looking for those stray weeds or stalks that break the pattern, but by this time of year the corn is too tall for other plants to be seen. Soon it will be time to harvest.  Dusk lies over the stalks in a soft gauzy blanket, lulling the land to stay asleep for a short while longer, while sunrays shine in uneven beams over the far horizon, their fingertips brushing ever so gently across the fields.  It's time to wake up.  Rose and periwinkle blue clouds float across the sky, lit up from behind by sunrays.  Their gold gilded edges burn with a light almost too bright to look at.  Sunrays fill the upper sky as they fight to clear the clouds and shine down in all their glory.  It's time to wake up.  Dark shapes dotting the fields are slowly defined to become farmhouses, silos and barns.  It's only 7:00 am, but you know the farmer has been up for nearly an hour and is heading out to do the day's work.  It's time to test the field corn for moisture content and gauge how long you have to tune up the combine for harvesting.  You know you still have some time to cut and bale more hay for winter storage.  You'll be thinking of your livestock and how many of your cattle will be birthing calves this winter.  The circle of life is contained in the palm of your hand.  You are the guardian and the servant at the whim of Mother Nature.  It's a hard life, but one filled with simple rewards --  the delight in seeing a young calf stumbling through its first steps and later running and kicking up its feet in play....the satisfaction in seeing a newly planted field prosper....the joy in nurturing a garden to fruition and knowing your children are being provided good nutritious food... 

 

Unfortunately modern economy is the demise of the true small-scale farmer and is paving the way for large farming corporations.  I have to wonder if those who operate large farm corporations ever take the time to simply enjoy the life that surrounds them.