Out Our Back Window

A few months ago I posted an entry introducing you all to our neighborhood, including pictures of our back door neighbors,

the cows. Early in August, about a month into the rainy season, the fields had filled up with water and their true nature as rice fields became evident. A few backhoes showed up and shored up the walls between the paddies. Then one rainy Sunday morning a team of workers appeared and began to plant the rice.

 

The rice seedlings are delivered to the fields in sacks.

Then the seedlings are planted by hand in small bunches, a foot or so apart. Here is a full day's work for the team.

It truly looks like back-breaking work. I know I couldn't do it.

Some of them worked in bare feet. Some of them wore socks. One or two of them had boots that were lower than the water line. Eeewww, working in wet boots all day long. I can't even begin to imagine what that would be like.

I was really worried for awhile, when I realized that there would be acres of standing water outside our backdoor for the season. How terrible, I wondered, will the mosquitos be? There is always the fear of contracting Dengue here, a mosquito borne disease. Whatever is living in the fields still, frogs in the water, bats in the trees, dragonflies in the bushes, geckos climbing all over my house, must be eating like Kings and keeping the mozies under control because we have not had a problem at all. It's been a great relief!

The plants have grown very high and filled in a lot in the last two months. 

You can see the rice grains growing on the tassels.

I'm very curious to see the harvesting process. We'll share those pictures with you too, when the time comes.

What's out your back window today?