Today's Flowers: How Does Your Garden Grow?

From Jul 12, 2011

This part of North Carolina is very interesting for the contrasts it offers. On the main roads--the ones with numbers for names--are the strip malls and the comfort zones that let people know that as far away from home as they might be, they are not. It's a strange illusion, a variation on "mi casa es tu casa." That is, my box-store, packaged life is your box-store packaged life. We have all emerged from the same cookie cutter. Step off those roads, though, and you find--the same wildflowers you find at home. Like this one--Queen Anne's Lace of wild carrot, depending on your point of view and how you feel about Queen Anne or carrots. 
From Jul 12, 2011

Around that same corner is that marvelous grain we love so much not quite thriving this hot, dry summer. That is corn. In those fields whose farmers can't affort to irrigate, this is the sight. It is a ruined crop and a significant financial loss.

It is a common sight that sits alongside the ruined tomatoes, sadly.

Having seen this and living, for now, alongside the folks who will suffer from a dry summer, I'm okay with paying more than usual for corn. People are struggling to make my dinner happen. What's another dime?

Today's Flowers

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19 Comments

  1. this is painful to see...i know the farmers are really struggling right now with the dry and heat...

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  2. You raise some very interesting points. All too often we don't think of the farmers who have to deal with a failed crop.
    We also enjoy getting away from those main roads so we can see the real country.

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  3. well said.



    Aloha from Waikiki;


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  4. Way of the world today - it seems.
    I really feel for the farmers, its the middle man that makes the money as always.
    Real true true Sandy.

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  5. You are so right about seeing the same places when you travel. It just doesn't seem right to travel hours and hours to "get away" just to find the same ole malls etc. You have to get out into the smaller towns to find anything that looks different. I can never forget my disappointment when I walked down a street in London and ran into a McDonalds. UGH... I love Queen Annes Lace. Beautiufl wildflower.

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  6. Thank you for letting me see through your eyes, another dime is nothing...

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  7. The whole crop thing is sad. The politics and economics of corn, tax credits, and ethanol is very irritating.

    I know people who find comfort when they travel to see the same big box stores and the same restaurant chains etc as what they have at home. I find it somewhat depressing.

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  8. nothing is as constant as change-less rain, more heat or vice versa-we all must adjust.

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  9. Yes we always try to buy from the local farmer.Keep him going.

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  10. lovely of you to point out the price of farming. Farming is a hard job, especially in heat and also when a crop is ruined. So sad.

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  11. If we don't get some rain soon . . . our farmers are going to be in a world of hurt.

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  12. So true about the big box stores!

    I really like the Queen Anne's Lace that grows along the roadside in our area. I really like your close-up of it.

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  13. I have some doubts about our farmers in Belgium. The weather is never right. Or it's too wet or it's too dry. So they ask for support from the European Union and in the end we have to pay for it.

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  14. Being surrounded by fields where I live I understand how hard it can sometimes be for farmers. What I love about your photos is the hydrant in the middle of the field, not something you would see over here. Lovely set of shots.

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  15. SANDY


    in fact you wrote about points that I really never thought about...
    very good..I´ll show your post to my hubby
    nice day, Sandy

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  16. This is a beautiful place with rustic charm.

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  17. Very thoughtful post.

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  18. Very nice, peaceful views.

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