A Symphony in Green!

Last Saturday was our rice planting day--we were mesmerized watching a tradition centuries old, repeated in our very own back yard.  We have two large fields we have planted in rice--we were to plant four, but one will become the leach field for the septic system, and part of the other one will have a bit of the new school wing interfering.  It's still a big area, and will provide us with rice for a year and some to sell in the market.  

The day began with a snake--auspicious or not??  Not sure, but the guys got in the power box near the water pump and there he was.  They promptly disposed of it--they're not ever likely to think will this snake hurt anyone, or does it do more good than harm?  It was quickly dispatched.

The field has been flooded for a couple of weeks in preparation for the planting.  The first thing that occurred on Saturday morning was the arrival of a pair of oxen and the driver, with a board dragged behind.  He went through the entire area to be plugged with the rice, smoothing the bottom beneath the surface of the water.  At the same time, one man was tying bunches of the rice that has been growing in the "rice nursery," while 3 of our guys carried the wet, drippy bundles to distribute evenly in the wet area.

The women were sitting under the trees waiting until there were enough bundles for then to begin.  There were eight women, colorfully dressed in their saris, which they tucked up above their knees to keep from getting in the muddy water as they did their planting.  It took them from 9:00 a.m. until 5:00 p.m. to plant the two fields.  It was done in a beautiful order, starting at one side of a field at the edge, and moving backwards until they had plugged each individual rice plant into the water.  They moved back to the start of that same field and did it again, working almost in unison. They are bent over for hours--back breaking--but so beautiful to watch.  I wanted to try it, but the snake deterred me a bit!

The rice will be harvested in three months--in the meantime, we will watch the plants grow and the field fill in.  As mentioned in a previous blog, a rice field is God's green.