I Can Sing a Rainbow

"Red and yellow, And pink and green, Purple and orange and blue." With a thousand apologies to The Dells, TN's roadside was definitely a rainbow of oranges, reds, and green. Because the powers-to-be, in D.C., denuded the city of most of its trees, I would, if in D.C., have to drive along the BW Parkway, Skyline Drive, Suitland Parkway, or in Rock Creek Park in order to see such a dazzling display. Here, it's a daily pleasure as I make the commute to and fro Brownsville. And, there's also beauty to be seen from the backyard because there are trees for miles to the left of me.

The topography of this area has had me puzzled for some time. There are flat surfaces for farmland and then, wham, a person's backyard just drops off and there are the tops of trees where land should be. Is Ripley on a mountain, or what? So I did a search. It seems that the land is comprised of "rolling hills and alluvial plains." That explains it. People are clinging to the sides of hills.

And I finally got the answer as to why the cotton crop is not what it has been in the past--why it is more brown than white. The crop is late (even the non-farmer knew this--good grief, it's almost Thanksgiving) but with all the rain we've received, it didn't receive enough light for the bolls to fully bloom (or whatever they do). I've spotted wheat fields--another disappointment because I grew up on the imagery of "waves of grain." For some reason, I expected it to grow as high as corn. Silly me. And I'm told that the soybean crops received too much water and will not be as productive. I need some lessons in agriculture to understand it all.

Work continues on the square. I understand that they hope to have it completed by Christmas. They're putting in double-time, overtime, and every other kind of time possible to make it happen. Since Ripley has a Christmas parade, I'm sure that the contractors are under a great deal of pressure. A Christmas parade but no 4th of July celebration...go figure.

While trying to figure out the landscape, I came across an aerial shot of "downtown" Ripley and identified my own little acre. My fence is clearly showing.
How exciting. Of course, the boards are starting to disintegrate. SF says they're just rotted. So why isn't the whole fence disintegrating? Unfortunately, replacing the fence is NOT a number one priority. If you zoom in, you can see the lables which I thoughtfully included for you. How's that for being tucked away?