Monday 15 August 2011

Breath back...

So there we are.
That time of year again.

Fields of gold everywhere and combine harvesters and tractors laden with black round bales of straw slowing the traffic, making the world wait as they bring in their precious loads.

Straw is such a useful by-product, although I’m never really sure of what. Is it wheat, or barley, or rye, or is it all and any of them?

I remember angular straw bales stacked high in the fields. You don’t see that so much any more. These days the straw is collected into huge round wheels, like the rollers of old steam engines, then poly-wrapped in black or light blue plastic.

I like the round bales on the landscape, although I’m not so keen when they are stacked in their plastic like a dark spreading spot.

I sometimes find it hard to breathe. I’m not talking simply physically, sometimes I feel enclosed as if there’s no space around me. Not wrapped in black plastic like a bale of straw, but not at all free either. I’m not particularly claustrophobic but if I were I imagine it’d feel like that hard to breathe feeling. I don’t like it and I’m always relieved when it passes.

It was on me as I wandered through the close cropped field, trespassing but up to no harm, trying to lose myself in the straw and the day for a few moments, trying to get my breath back. Nothing much happened.

I breathed in.
Nothing much happened.
I breathed out.
Nothing much happened.

Enclosed and heavy until some crows in the distance of the hill flapped their way slowly up into the warm air catching my attention as a breeze blew a whistle around my legs, the stumps of the straw scratching at my bare ankles whilst the wind turbines far away turned and whirled and turned until my breath came back.

Better, I stood breathing in the air for a few moments then decided not to trespass any longer and walked back to the lane.

Just a bit breathless, nothing to worry about.

7 comments:

  1. Straw is an agricultural by-product - the dry stalks of cereal plants, after the grain and chaff have been removed.

    Straw makes up about half of the yield of cereal crops such as barley, oats, rice, rye and wheat.

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  2. Richard Shore on Facebook:
    I took Hannah to the Yorkshire Scuplture Park on Saturday, and there is obe that from a distance looks like black plastic wrapped bales of hay. When you get up close they are giant drums cast drom asphalt. Absolutely fantastic. http://www.ysp.co.uk/whats​-on/open-air/michael-zwing​mann

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  3. Vicky Sutcliffe on Facebook:
    Those rectangular bales.... Horses... Hay... And sore arms and back from hurling them up to the hayloft...

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  4. Vicky Sutcliffe on Facebook:
    Those rectangular bales.... Horses... Hay... And sore arms and back from hurling them up to the hayloft...

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  5. Sarah Rawden on Facebook:
    I love this time of the year! The farmers are so busy here at the moment. In the evening I can hear the Combines drone in the distance I still get a little pang of excitement when I hear them. Just like I did as a kid. :o)

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  6. I love this time of year also although it seems to herald on on set of Autumn. I think I like hay making more though.

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  7. A company of Swans flew over the house this morning. 'V' Shaped and honking, calling the autumn in.

    I shivered: 'where has summer gone?' I thought.

    But all I heard was the honk, honk, honk and the flap, whoosh, flap of white down wings.

    So, looking up as I sipped my coffee, I watched them as they passed over grey slate roof and red brick wall on their way to who knows where.

    Paradise?

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