The Glebe

The other day on a whim, I took a much-overdue drive down the Glebe.

I rarely go down the Glebe, really, because I don't have any particular reason to.  But when I do, I always stop to take pictures of this soybean field and the little barn in the background.

Well, we all survived Thanksgiving.  My father is home and recovering nicely from all his health woes, although last week he was readmitted for a fever.  Thankfully they were able to control the situation, and he could return home in time for a fabulous Thanksgiving feast.

I completed my third chemo treatment last Wednesday, which means I have nine more to go.  So far, I continue to feel OK relatively speaking.  My hair has started to fall out, but thankfully I have so much of it, there's plenty to go around.  It's possible, although I'm not clinging to the notion, that I won't lose it all.  But if I do, I do. 

Aside from surviving, I've been trying to work when I can, although the commute and the stress of my job make for long days. It's shocking to realize the Christmas season is upon us once again, speaking of stress...I don't have the energy to battle with my huge artificial tree, so I am going to have to do something different this year.  What that is, I've not yet figured out. But it's going to involve a smaller, easier tree.  (Is there such a thing as an easy Christmas tree?)

Anyway, that's about it from my neck of the woods.  I hope all is well with you.

Green

After being away from home all last week, we returned to a lush, green back yard.

That patch of high foliage there near the creek in the shot above makes for some nice pictures up close.

Our front yard is full of life too.

Below, the crape myrtle does her thing.

(Is it crepe or crape?  I can never remember. I thought it was crape but can't find a definitive answer.)

The soybeans that are now growing in our former daffodil field are really beautiful.

I do confess.

Green, green, green.

What's happening outside where you are?

Dirt Lane

The other day, after dropping off Daughter at cross country practice,

I drove down the Glebe for the first time in 

a month of Sundays

a while.

I wanted to check on a soybean field that I adore.

It is still there.

So are the outbuildings adorning its edges.

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Have a fantastic weekend.

Green. Still.

Light is too low here.

Today we continue the theme of lush green fields that abound this muggy month of August.

Also, we have a little exercise in bad photography.  Like this first shot, for example.

While my camera has all the adjustments, gadgets and gizmos to allow more light in if only I would make those adjustments, I've not once taken the time to learn how to adjust the This or the That required. I use only Auto mode natural light when taking pictures and do not know how to edit photos after the fact. Hence images come out too dark or too harsh depending on how the stars, planets, and my spinal cord are aligned.


(Honestly, does anyone use the word "hence" anymore? Hence? It rhymes with Hortence, who probably did use that word on the way to the butter churn or the washboard. Bless her heart.)


The shot below was taken from the exact same car road on the exact same day. There's no issue with the lighting. The sky looks blue instead of drab. Go figure.

OK.  Acceptable.

The next one below is from the road that connects Haven to Aaron's Beach. Although the light is OK, the subject matter could be better. Of course I was driving so beggars can't be choosers. There was actually plenty there to photograph it's just hard to capture from a moving vehicle, I just wasn't quite able to frame everything properly and zoom in as needed. The essence of the field was really all I was after though.

Field is OK.  The house and that one pine tree are out of place (for the picture).

This last one had the elements I was looking for to make things a little more interesting, but the glare is harsh.

Where are my sunglasses?  (Probably on top of my head.)

This concludes CBW's lessons in monotony, can she please move on to another topic besides soybeans? photography.



Please feel free to explain aperture, which CBW has avoided like the plague since numbers seem to be involved--although she likes how close it sounds to rapture.

~  ~  ~  ~

p.s. Very little sleep combined with long hours at work have produced most of this blog post up to and including the words rapture, aperture, hence, Hortence and any third-person references to self.

More Green

In addition to the nightly thunderstorms soybeans,
the corn crops are doing their part to contribute
to all the green we're enjoying around here lately.  

These particular fields live near Freeport Landing in Gloucester.

Just past the corn are some soybeans.

I took these Friday evening on my way to join friends (including her) in hoppin' downtown West Point, Virginia, about 30 minutes away.  A band was playing in their Town Square.  What an enjoyable way to spend a Friday evening. West Point also happens to be home to none other than the paper mill  the crab carnival, which I hope to attend this year for the first time.  Guess which hat I'll be wearing.

And yes, once again, a blog which is supposed to be about Mathews is talking about some other place.

Dear Mathews County, 

I do love you. Really. 

Hugs,
CBW

Green and White

In between errands on Saturday I made my way down to Aaron's Beach and was mesmerized by one of my favorite sights:  a field full of young, lush soybeans.

The color of a soybean field is overwhelmingly beautiful. I always imagine diving headfirst and swimming in this sea of soft green.  

Upon arrival at Aaron's Beach, I was greeted by another sea of green known as marsh grass.

Rest assured marsh grass, while beautiful, is the very last thing you want to dive head first into, unless you like diving into the equivalent of a herd of porcupines.

(Do porcupines gather into herds?  Rather doubtful. But we like to push the envelope here with regards to, well, science grammar everything.)

Someone is lurking in those porcupine quills that grass.

Although he was not exactly rolling out the welcome mat for me,

he didn't care about me as much as he did his next meal which was lurking there in the mud.

How was your weekend?

Outbuilding

These are just different shots of a soybean field and shed near the cemetery on Route 3, Windsor Road.

I don't have a whole lot to say today, because I am trying to keep my head above water even though it feels like my foot is tied to a cinder block pulling me under survive this week, juggling work and the pre-Christmas preparations.

But I am pleased--nay, thrilled--to report that after today I will not have to go to the paying job again until January 3. There's still lots of work to do, but at least it's all at home.

I still do not understand how or why words like nay spring so effortlessly from my mouth. Perhaps I am channeling my grandmother.

Or Captain John Smith.

Either way, I will be so thankful when this workday is over that I might just dance a jig.

A jig*?

Signed,
CBW Captain John Smith


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*About this word jig, Wikipedia says:

"The term jig was probably derived from the French giguer, meaning 'to jump' or the Italian giga. It was known as a dance in sixteenth-century England, often in 2/4 time, and the term was used for a dancing entertainment in sixteenth century plays."


Hello, CBW? Captain John Smith called. He wants his words back.

Nay, he demands them.

Fall Fields

The formerly lush, green soybean fields are now yellow, soon to be brown, soon to be harvested.

These soybean fields are located near North.

North is a place, a location, a spot on the map, a post office (and at one point a store).  North is also the name of a river that runs through here.

The fact that it's also a direction makes things interesting, particularly when conversing to outsiders--such as an editor sitting in South Carolina, for example, who asked me to confirm or correct the location of a place once known as Club 14.  I said it was located on Route 14 at North.  She thought for sure that was a typo.  But Club 14 was located on Route 14 at North. At the spot on the map called North.

No, not a typo, just another little Mathews County quirk.

We do quirky right.

Soybeans II

Continuing with yesterday's theme of soybeans, which are prospering in Mathews right now, here are some more shots taken just last evening from Williams Wharf Road.

I went down there for a plod jog after work since the Chesapeake Bay Children were elsewhere and I had an evening to myself.

What I really wanted to do was fall face first into bed and take a decades-long really long nap.

But I knew if I did that I would be up in the middle of the night.

And since I have to get up at o'dark thirty to go to work, that would not be good.

Speaking of which, I am most displeased to report that at five thirty, when I usually drag myself on hands and knees to the coffeemaker, begging for that first merciful cup wake up, the sun is no longer shining brightly, as it has been all summer.

Now, it's oh so dark at that hour.

This is not good.

CBW does not like waking up before ten o'clock in the dark. In fact, she feels strongly that it goes against all the rules of nature unless she were a raccoon or a possum or some other nocturnal creature, which last she checked she is not.

In conclusion, what all this has to do with soybeans is absolutely nothing, except that CBW thrives in the long days of bright sunshine and beautiful colors of summer and could go swimming in the sea of green that each crop temporarily provides.

And waking up in the dark doesn't amount to a hill o' beans.

Soybean Fields

Soybeans - Town Point Landing Road

Near Glenns

Town Point Landing Road

Near American Legion Hall

Town Point Landing Road

Your Guess Is As Good As Mine

It's time once again for me to recycle recite some facts and figures from the 1962 Mathews County Soil Survey, a must have in anyone's personal collection of outdated books.  


Today's topic is How many photos from Town Point Landing Road can CBW post? soybeans.


To follow along, turn now to page 41 in your hymnal copy of this delightful U.S. Department of Agriculture publication:

"The land in corn declined from 4,226 acres in 1944 to 2,145 acres in 1954.  Soybeans are replacing a substantial part of the acreage formerly used for corn, and in 1954 a total of 3,115 was in soybeans."  

Now, for some data that isn't almost 500 50 years old, we have this from one of the Mathews County websites:

"The largest employers in the county are the county school system and D&P Embroidery, whose principal product is the blue field of stars portion of the United States flag. Retail sales annually total over $21 million.

Agriculture also remains an important part of the economy. There are 61 farms in the county of an average size of 101 acres. The principal crops are corn, wheat and soybeans."

Last but not least, some agricultural facts and figures from this site:

Average value of agricultural products sold per farm: $92,460
Average value of crops sold per acre for harvested cropland: $941.58
The value of livestock, poultry, and their products as a percentage of the total market value of agricultural products sold: 7.42%
Average total farm production expenses per farm: $76,645
Irrigated harvested cropland as a percentage of land in farms: 2.74%
Average market value of all machinery and equipment per farm: $39,665
The percentage of farms operated by a family or individual: 87.23%
Corn for grain: 1179 harvested acres
All wheat for grain: 360 harvested acres
Soybeans for beans: 1,978 harvested acres
Vegetables: 28 harvested acres
Readers Who Are Now Asleep:  Both All


And now CBW must lie down for a while since facts, figures, numbers, details and specifics seem to have brought on a major overheating of her synapses  a mild headache.