Wednesday, April 18, 2007

Wishful well

Some 80 percent of Illinois’ land surface is farmland. And most of that is given to growing corn and soybeans. I spotted this barn sitting on a high point in a soybean field while photographing near Bloomington last weekend. The structures sat surrounded by the remains of last year's harvest.

The concrete well is testimony to the fact that most of the state is dependent on the weather during the summer growing season. Some farmers have hedged their bets by digging wells to provide some irrigation to their crops during dry spells. The 1930s were dry times in Illinois, as were the 1980s.

On this early spring morning, all seems to be ready for yet another growing season – the land is waiting to be tilled, the well is at the ready should a dry spell threaten the crops, and the barn and wagon set to receive the harvest many months down the road.

This picture can be repeated thousands of times across this state.

Click on picture to enlarge. Photograph © 2007 James Jordan.

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

James,
Your photos are just what I need on a day like today. . . so much sadness, thanks for posting!

James said...

virginia, glad you found some solace in this photo. I think we're all hurting in some way.

Zeekat said...

Decadence of decay, love it