Harvest time

With overcast skies and the possibility of rain this morning, I decided that today was the day to cut the wheat down. The grains and stalks were dry enough and I have hung them to continue this drying cycle. A few more days in the sun and I can begin to process them further. Harvest day was certainly memorable. I speculate about the possibility that this is some of the first wheat grown on the Sushine Coast for at least 60 years. I didn't know if it would get to this stage and often imagined having to post pictures showing dying wheat covered in blight or eaten by bugs. If it dosen't work out for baking now, it is a result of post-harvest processing losses. The exploration continues. 124 days after planting, it now hangs drying on my front porch.

Spring Wheat in Roberts Creek #4

We are certainly getting close to harvest time.

Looking to the past for possibilities

Let us not forget that humans were producing grain for thousands of years on a small scale. It is only recently that we have come to imagine grain production taking up hundreds of acres and involving large scale mechanization to make production and processing possible. Small scale grain production is part of our culture, our history, our transformations. Growing grain, even a few square feet in your backyard garden plot is a symbolic statement and makes a contribution as it starts to re-invent the perceptions of grain production. The more people who start to imagine the possibility and throw some seeds in the soil offer hope.

Spring Wheat in Roberts Creek #3

The golden transformation is underway. Running my hands through this local wheat is a wonderful feeling. Maybe another month until threshing.

Spring Wheat in Roberts Creek #2

The previous photo was taken on the 2nd of June but posted on the 27th of July. So, two months and a few days later, here is the wheat.