There is a light drizzle of freezing rain tapping at the door of my cabin today. It is little more than a week before the words I am writing are due to appear on your breakfast table or work desk with your morning coffee and scrambled eggs. But I write when I can, and today, despite a full schedule of televised football games, and the stacks of ungraded papers in my briefcase, and a good book lying open on my nightstand, I am clacking away on a keyboard to the whir of a heater and the steady drip of my gutters.
I am considering a careful walk to my truck in a few minutes. I want to pull it under the overhang of a rusting tin roof so I won’t be scraping an ice-glazed windshield tomorrow morning in the dark. Incongruous to the past few days’ worth of unseasonably warm January days, the icy rain makes me want to pull on a thicker sweatshirt, hunker down and wait for spring, but I was reminded again just this morning that a little bit of green can go a long way in the winter months to encourage a bud of optimism. Looking at the long-term forecast and its oncoming freight train of frigid arctic air, I may need a bit of encouragement…
Just across the road from my place, a farmer friend has planted acres and acres of winter wheat, and even before it disappeared beneath a blanket of snow a few weeks ago, it was as green as a golf course fairway. I love wheat fields, particularly in the wintertime, for they are cheerful reminders that spring and lawn mowers and leafy trees are never far away. I thought those very thoughts as I retrieved my morning paper today, standing near my mailbox to look over the field as it was raked by a wet northwesterly wind.
Years ago, I asked Artie Yeargin, who farms the rolling clay of the farmland to the west of us, if he’d consider planting a little wheat, and so, two falls ago, he did just that. I have always liked to watch wheat blow in the spring wind, enjoy it even as it lies dormant through the winter. By late June or early July — earlier last year since we had precious little moisture — winter wheat is ready for harvest. By then, it is a uniform blanket of reedy gold stalks, its fat heads rocking in the breeze like metronomes.
I don’t know if Artie planted the wheat just to get me to be quiet or not. I had always heard that wheat can be a tenuous crop to grow, for much can go wrong. Timing, of course, is important, and it needs plenty of nitrogen, and it is susceptible to a host of pests and diseases. But, I have also heard there is money to be made from it, that one of its benefits is that wheat fields can be doubled-cropped with soybeans, and, of course, there is straw to be harvested as well. I have no idea of his reasoning, but Artie planted even more wheat this fall, and I couldn’t be happier, for on gray days such as this, there is that ever-present green just across the road.
Centuries ago, long before we could walk down grocery store aisles and grab loaves of bread and packages of muffins and boxes of cereal from the racks and shelves, wheat was eaten like I eat popcorn: by the handful. People gathered the seeds, rubbed the husks together and chewed what was left in their palms. Wheat is actually a grass, originating near the “Cradle of Civilization,” in what is now modern-day Iraq. That’s a long way and ages from being today’s buttered toast or bowl of “Wheaties.”
According to the Wheat Foods Council, wheat was first cultivated in the United States just a year or so after the Revolution began, primarily as a “hobby crop.” Now, it’s grown in 42 states, and more than 75 percent of all American grain products involve wheat flour in one way or another. The latest statistics I found determined that Kansas grows more wheat than any other state, although North Dakota isn’t very far behind. A single acre of Kansas farmland can produce enough bread to feed more than 9,000 people for a day, and one estimate says that the entire state grows enough wheat in a year to feed every human being on the planet for two whole weeks (or keep my son in cereal for a month).
Of course, farming is actually science, and I am interested as to how wheat stays green at a time when so many other plants, including many of my “evergreens,” turn anemic and brown. After being planted in mid to late fall, winter wheat (scientific name Triticum aestivum) seedlings begin a process called “cold acclimation.” The seedlings pop their heads through the soil when the temperature drops below 50 degrees or so, and as it absorbs light, wheat produces considerable quantities of carbon, storing it in its crown. The combination of the colder air and the carbon helps the plants store energy for the spring thaws. Ironically, wheat needs cold weather to be able to flower.
I have said it before about things that require more brains than I have to understand: The science of the natural world interests me, but I appreciate its beauty more, and for that field of wheat across the road, I am thankful, not only for the bread it will produce, but for the mood it puts me in. I don’t know exactly what variety of the six main kinds of wheat Artie has planted, and I don’t much care since gluten and I are good friends, and pasta is one of my best buddies.
In the early summer, I’ll watch the wheat fields turn to gold, and combines will move across them in an early harvest. But, for now, the wheat’s green encouragement in this bleak mid-winter gives me what I really need.
Mike Lunsford can be reached by email at hickory913@aol.com, or c/o the Tribune-Star at P.O. Box 149, Terre Haute, IN 47808. You can learn more about his writing by going to his website at www.mikelunsford.com. He is currently working on his fourth book, “A Windy Hill Almanac.”
News
Related Photos
-
Tribune-Star/Jim Avelis Wintering over: James Koch Jr. has planted winter wheat in a sandy field in far northern Vigo County this winter.
-
Tribune-Star columnist Mike Lunsford
Discussion
MIKE LUNSFORD: Cheerful green of wheat fights winter blahs
- News
-
-
ISU unveils interactive Bayh Family Legacy Wall at school
A who’s who of Indiana Democrats paid tribute to Evan Bayh and several generations of the Bayh family Friday during a dedication of a new interactive display at Indiana State University.
-
Can you smell me now?
A contraband cell phone has been discovered by the Vigo County Jail’s youngest and most unique officer.
-
GIVING BACK: Steve Weatherford buys shoes for kids day before charity run
Terre Haute’s Steve Weatherford, punter for the 2012 Super Bowl champion New York Giants, showed once again his generosity Friday by donating new athletic shoes to more than two dozen Vigo County kids.
-
N.Y. Giants honor Weatherford as ‘Man of the Year’
Dan Tanoos, superintendent of Vigo County schools, remembers the first time he saw Steve Weatherford as a freshman at Terre Haute North Vigo High School.
-
Sunday recital at The Woods
A recital featuring songs from well-known composers is at 7 p.m. Sunday in the Church of the Immaculate Conception at Saint Mary-of-the-Woods.
-
Police investigating rash of car window shootings
Terre Haute Police are investigating a rash of shootings that have shattered car windows throughout the city.
-
City hospitals get passing grades for patient safety
Two Terre Haute hospitals have been ranked for patient safety by an independent organization that assesses safety, quality and affordability of healthcare for Americans.
-
Three from Operation Turn and Burn sentenced in federal court
Three co-conspirators in a Wabash Valley methamphetamine trafficking ring were sentenced this week to several years in federal prison.
-
Skateboarders, BMX bike riders working to improve area of city park they use
The sound of small wheels rolling across smooth concrete fills the air, accented by the clacking noise of a wooden skateboard coming to an instant stop on a metal edge before rolling on again.
-
Indiana State to host 2014 MVC baseball tourney
Build it… and they will come. The Missouri Valley Conference and Indiana State University made that famous line from the movie “Fields Of Dreams” reality Thursday.
-
Overlay recommended for 812 area code
The state agency that represents Hoosier utility customers is calling for a ten-digit solution to southern Indiana’s vanishing supply of 812 area code telephone numbers.
-
Elementary school saddened by student’s death
A 9-year-old Dixie Bee Elementary student died unexpectedly Wednesday evening as the result of pneumonia, said Vigo County Coroner Susan Amos on Thursday.
-
Vermillion CSX crossings undergoing maintenance
CSX maintenance crews are working on railroad crossings between Dana and Chrisman, Ill. this week and next, a CSX official said Thursday.
-
Beware of scams everywhere
Ever get a phone call in the middle of the night from a person claiming to be your grandchild, who unfortunately has been jailed in Canada and needs bail money?
-
INDOT to start work on Indiana 163 in Vermillion County
Maintenance crews will begin a pavement preservation project Monday on Indiana 163, between Indiana 63 and the Illinois state line west of Clinton.
-
Union Hospital community garden spots now available
Community gardening spots are now available at the Union Hospital Community Garden for Wabash Valley residents interested in planting and maintaining a garden but may not have the space. The garden is located west of the intersection of North Sixth Street and Seventh Avenue in Terre Haute at 1430 N. Sixth St.
-
Correctional officer remembered at memorial
Greene County native and Wabash Valley Correctional Facility Officer Timothy Betts was honored during a memorial ceremony at the National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial in Washington, D.C.
-
Money donated for Dresser sculpture
100+ Women Who Care of Vigo County on Thursday awarded a $20,200 grant to Art Spaces that will help make the Paul Dresser sculpture, “A Song for Indiana,” a reality.
-
Powerball jackpot quickly jumps to $550 million
The Powerball jackpot jumped to $550 million on Thursday — the third largest lottery in history — as dreamers in all but the seven states where the game isn’t played snatched up tickets for the minuscule chance at a life on easy street.
-
About 200 channel catfish find new home in Dobbs Park pond
About 200 channel catfish transferred into a new home at the Dobbs Park pond on Wednesday, but it’s unclear how long they’ll remain there. That depends upon the people fishing.
-
GED grads turn the tassels
Michelle McClendon’s first child was born when she was 15.
She tried to stay in school, but it was just too much, so she dropped out to take care of her daughter. -
MARK BENNETT: Local summer music series idea remains a good one
One-of-a-kind ideas happen rarely.
As the biblical adage goes, there is nothing new under the sun. We humans succeed occasionally, inventing electricity, automobiles, telephones and the Internet. Invariably, though, someone else insists, “Hey, my grandpa thought of that years before Edison.” -
State to spend $2M to clean up voter rolls
Indiana’s bloated voter registration rolls, which officials say make elections more susceptible to fraud, will soon come under more scrutiny by the state.
-
Community tips lead to arrest on methamphetamine charges
Acting on community tips and other information, Indiana State Police troopers from the Putnamville District Meth Lab Enforcement Team were led to a rural Vigo County residence where they arrested the homeowner on meth-related charges and a female companion on a Clay County warrant for driving while suspended.
-
Historic National Road Yard Sale begins May 29
Bargains galore are expected along a 824-mile stretch of U.S. 40 as the annual The Historic National Road Yard Sale begins May 29 and continues through June 2
-
Woman arrested after selling relatives truck without permission
A Terre Haute woman faces a charge of auto theft after being arrested for selling a relative’s vehicle without permission.
-
Redevelopment Commission hears TIF districts in good shape
Terre Haute’s special economic development taxing districts, known as TIF districts, are in good financial shape, according to a report given Wednesday to the city’s five-member Redevelopment Commission.
-
Tribune-Star staff wins awards from IAPME
The Tribune-Star was well represented once again at the annual Indiana Associated Press Media Editors awards in Indianapolis Saturday.
-
Indiana’s 2013 Click It or Ticket effort begins Friday
As motorists take to the roads this Memorial Day holiday, the Vigo County Traffic Safety Partnership is urging everyone to buckle up as Indiana’s 2013 Click It or Ticket seat belt enforcement effort begins Friday.
-
Giving back to the community: Day of Energy
Flowers and fresh paint. A new platform for handicapped seating. Spotlight replacement. And even a new utility pole and electrical service. About 10 different projects made positive improvements at the Wabash Valley Fairgrounds on Thursday through a volunteer work day called “Duke Energy in Action.”
- More News Headlines
-
Coffee Run Leads to Hatchet Hitchhiker Arrest
Probe Begins After Conn. Commuter Trains Crash
NTSB Begins Investigation Into Conn. Train Crash
Conn. Commuter Trains Collide; 60 Go to Hospital
Lotto Fever Sweeps the Country
Fmr. IRS Head Insists No Politics in Targeting
Raw: Driver Ejected From Truck, Over Bridge
NM Mom Chases Down Child Abductor
Raw: Gun Scare Mars Cannes Film Festival
Raw: Germany Protestors Picket Barbie House
China, Others Want What's Under the Arctic Ice
CDC: Fecal Bacteria Common in Swimming Pools
Raw: Suicide Bomber Kills 2 Americans, 13 Others
Raw: 6 Die in Russian Ship Fire
Raw: Texas Gov. Flies Over Tornado Damage
Raw: Crash Sends Car Into Fla. Pool
One Million Evacuated As Cyclone Hits Bangladesh
$1 Million in Jewels Stolen at Cannes Film Fest
Raw: Bear Falls From Tampa Tree
Ousted IRS Chief: Errors Not Caused by Politics
Twiggy, the Water Skiing Squirrel
Sailor Surprises His Mom At Her CU Denver Graduation Ceremony
Official: ‘Amazing’ No One Was Killed In CT Train Crash
Coffee Stop Leads To Arrest Of YouTube Sensation Wanted For Murder
Bearded Dragon Reunited With Owner
Marine Reunited with Warzone Companion
Beyonce Is Pregnant!
SF baseball player overpaid $500,000 RETURNS money -- and team says KEEP IT
Dad returns from Afghanistan, surprises family during Rays' first pitch
See Jennifer Lopez's New $10m Hamptons Mansion
Woman tricked into taking abortion pill
Emma Watson Goes Pantless
IRS scandal: Republicans seek to tie Obama to agency's woes
Play of the Day: Flipping to Safety
Pregnant Kim Kardashian Squeezes Her Swollen Feet Into Stilettos
Top Videos of the Week: Angry Taco Bell Guy, Glacier Moves on House, Dog Hates Baths
Cindy Crawford Stuns At Cannes
