Alfalfa is a short green bushy plant, maybe knee-high. When it blooms, the flowers are a deep purple. If you're looking at it from a distance you can't see the flowers; it just looks like a rich green field. You have to get closer to see the purple tops.
Picture a big green field spread out in front of you, lush and thick, with popcorn popping above it! It's a funny sight! It looks like popcorn, but really, it's hundreds of white butterflies, dancing as they pollinate. Watching them is like watching a fire; you could just stare and stare and lose all track of time.
Horses love fresh alfalfa. We used to have a fence lining our property, and the other side had horses. I'd go outside seeking quiet, and I'd approach the fence. This one horse would see me and silently make his way to our usual spot. He was tan with a black mane and tail, and he knew what I was there for. He knew I would give him a treat. I'd pick bunches of alfalfa (this was before my parents landscaped) and rub his nose as he chomped away. Have you ever had a horse look you in the eyes like he knew you? Like he and you were connected? It's amazing.
Anyway, back to alfalfa. So then the farmer comes and harvests the crop, leaving it in cut pile lines. After it dries, a baler comes and bales it. And then it's hay. Weird, huh?
11 comments:
That took me back to days in northern Utah and the fields around Tremonton and Logan.
I learned to ride on a horse named "Dynamite". He was chestnut colored and had the most intense eyes.
I'm craving a picnic in a field.
Gorgeous post!
I can smell the cut alfalfa. I've always wanted to paint those green hay bales.
:)
I'm craving a picnic and something else in a field...:)
DAMN, Amy. You and I think alike.
:)
Did you know in Iowa they outlawed those big round bales of hay?
I like Alfalfa, but I've always been partial to Buckweat. Aren't the Little Rascals great! I never get tired of watching that movie! The alfalfa that makes hay is cool too.
Why, AE? Because the cows weren't getting a square meal??
Ha. Ha. Ha. My husband actually did that joke on me and I fell for it. More than once.
Yes, I'm blonde.
Simeon, my son dressed up at school last year (7th grade) as Alfalfa for Halloween. He looked just like him! We put gelatin in his hair to make it stay standing.
I didn't know hay was alfalfa. Hm. Interesting. But not as interesting as gum!
Yes SML that is the reason. A geography professor of mine in Wisconsin told that joke over-and-over. It's just one of those dumb things that has stuck in my little brain.
PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE, come to Texas!!!
Post a Comment