Birds in the oatfield, knapweed in the meadow

I stop and take pictures of things that I think are beautiful or things that I don’t understand–or both at the same time. Then I try to figure out exactly what it is I’m looking at.  Then I make you a gift of  my discoveries and sit back while you make corrections.  In the absence of a public university within walking distance, it seems like a reasonable approach to learning things.  Here are a couple of examples.

The oatfield

I don’t think we can ever have too many images of amber waves of grain. I had to mouse around to make sure these were oats, as I hate it when I add to the clutter of misinformation widely available on the web (and in the newspapers and on the radio, but I digress). Anyway, oats. Avena sativa. Useful as food for horses and, properly processed, as food for people. Also useful as a cover crop. Do I know which purpose this oatfield will serve? I do not.

As I examined the oats, a cloud of birds rose over the field, swirling above my head, moving in that extraordinary unison birds manage to achieve, the whole cloud turning on a dime and flowing in the opposite direction.

You have watched wedding guests trip all over each other trying to do the hustle. How do you suppose birds manage this feat?  Clearly these birds are bent on stealing quite a large share of the oats. My guess is that they are pesky starlings, a bird I came to loathe when I lived in the city and they selected the maple in front of my house as their roosting place. They make extremely rude neighbors.

The meadow

Driving home from East Jordan I passed this meadow as the sun slanted across it, deepening the purple haze.

Is that a lovely view or what? Get a little closer.  Whole fields blush lavendar. It’s spotted knapweed. The stuff is pretty, but it’s also one of those aggressive non-native plants we’ve been discussing lately.

Everywhere a farmer looks, chores, more chores, and competitors out to steal the profits. Ah, the romance of farming.