Growth ~ slowly but surely

The fields had been brown for almost nine months.  The landscape had been drab and depressing (except for the days right after a snow).

And then in early May I started noticing ground that had been worked, and then lines in the smooth brown surface of the field.

Later I could see little specks of green poking their way out of the soil.  And, as the days went by, those specks were taller and taller, and some fields started to show more green than brown as I drove by.

Since each field is planted at a different time (and may have different conditions of drainage, fertilizer, and other things, not to mention the type of seed), each field displays a different vista on any given day, especially in the early weeks.

The beans out my back window are planted in both horizontal and vertical rows.  The horizontal section looks like a carpet of green.  The vertical section is still two-thirds brown.  But it's changing everyday.

The corn is getting taller and more willowy, the beans are short and filling out.  And in the bean fields which were no-till, the beans are still shorter than the long-dead foot-high remnants of the cornstalks from last year's corn crop.

The growth is steady but slow, almost imperceptible, as the plants continue to inch on up (literally).  Soon the crops will be so high, Lord willing, that driving down the road, I will feel boxed in, like I'm in a maze, and unable to see the buildings and windmills and elevators on the horizon.