Ingrid's Corner

Harvest Time

by Ingrid

I hope everyone had an enjoyable Christmas.  We sure did and I want to thank you all for your merry comments.  It sure put a smile on my face.  Moving on….figuratively and literally….yep, we hit the road yesterday, but before I start sharing our journey I have a couple of loose ends to wrap up about our time in the Phoenix area…….

I never thought my post on Cotton would attract very much attention.  Boy, was I wrong.  I guess I’m not the only one fascinated by this plant, fiber, textile.  Thanks everyone for the awesome and enlightening comments on that post.  Some of your comments piqued my interest even further regarding this intriguing plant.cotton textile

Each time I drove by the cotton fields, I would take in the transformation of the plant.  As several of you mentioned, the fields would eventually turn a sea of white, and indeed they did.  I then new harvest time was near.cotton harvest

Since it was the holiday season (this harvesting took place mid December) that meant baking and when one lives in a RV it is not unusual to run out of ingredients quickly.  Come on, it’s not as if I have a walk-in pantry complete with back-up supplies of flour and sugar and I won’t even begin to talk about the small RV refrigerator…..sigh. Fortunately, I had a super Wal-mart, Safeway, and Fry’s less than fifteen minutes away.agriculture

Running out of supplies had me driving off to the store regularly and that meant driving by the cotton and rose fields repeatedly.  Oh, darn!  Can you tell how inconvenienced I was 😉  wink, wink!agriculture

Talk about timing….on one of my returns from a last-minute grocery run….I glanced toward a field and there he was.  Oh my gosh!!!  I quickly pulled over with little care of any cars behind me, jumped out of my truck, pulled out the camera, and started snapping away.  There was even an exchange of waves and perhaps an intended pose.agriculture

textiles fibers

textile fiber cotton

Two dozen photos later Mr. Harvester is now at the other end of the field.  What’s that I see?  More equipment in the distance?  I had to check it out.harvesting cottonagriculture fibers

I watched as the tractor unloaded the freshly picked cotton dumping it into another container.  It appears this process will then compact the cotton into large dense squares that are numbered and made ready for transport.harvest agriculture

I’m not sure how many times the cotton picker goes through a field but it seems to be more than once.  The harvesting continued well beyond dark with the aid of lights.  This particular field was a buzz with activity for about five days before all the equipment was moved down the road to another field.

With the cotton picking over, it’s time to check on the roses……textile fiber

Photos of me were taken by fellow blogger Jerry.  A big thank you to Jerry for a fun day of running around Phoenix with our cameras.  Your photographic talents and vision are inspiring!



46 thoughts on “Harvest Time”

  1. I love seeing how things are harvested and packaged. We take so much for granted when we shop and pick up a bag of this and a can of that without appreciating everything that gone on before that point.

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  3. This post was nostalgic for me, bringing back to my early years in Phoenix. I must agree with Rick, your photography just keeps getting better. Wish you were around to give me a few lessons on the Lumix. Happy New Year to you and Al. 🙂

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    1. Thank you LuAnn. It helped me a great deal to work with someone who knew what they were doing around a camera….lol. Now its time to practice, but I keep reverting back to IA mode.

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      1. I know what you mean. And if the sun would come out here, I could do a little more practicing. We are headed to Henderson Beach SP later today where I hope there is more opportunity for photos.

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  4. Thanks so much for this post! We’ve always wanted to watch a cotton harvest. For years we’ve passed large fields of cotton in South Carolina, on our way to Florida. We’ve never seen any harvesters working, or we would be making this post! Again, thanks, it was really interesting.
    Sue

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  5. I had to step away from WordPress for a few months to care for a family member and was anxiously looking forward to seeing what you’ve been up to Ingrid. I absolutely LOVE your travelogues and they just keep getting better and better as is your photography especially that first cotton “portrait” which I’d say without a doubt is exhibition quality. I wish you continued safe and happy travels during 2014.

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    1. Wow Rick, thank you so much and so nice to hear from you. Hope all is going well and I look forward to your future posts. Happy New Year!

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  6. Wow! I’d no idea of the machinery used to pick cotton. Thanks for the lesson, Ingrid. I would ave been fascinated watching the cotton being harvested.
    Hope 2014 is a very good year for your and yours.

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    1. Having grown up in your neck of the woods where corn is a common sight in the country, this cotton stuff was new to me and quite interesting. Wishing you a Happy New Year as well. My New Years resolution is to cook more….and loose weight 😉

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  8. Very interesting post… We camped at City of Rocks last spring. Loved it. Will you have time to visit Silver City? Safe Travels and Happy New Year.

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    1. We just stayed for one night to check it out. On our way back to Phoenix in March we hope to stay longer and explore the area. City of Rocks is a great little find…..we too loved it!

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  9. Well, that was one cotton pickin’ great post!! Dennis drives the corn and bean combine in the Fall to help a farmer harvest..He LOVES farm machinery! I rode with him a couple times and it is amazing what they can do! Safe travels to Texas…Please ignore any rumors floating around about my misbehavior in that state..;-) We are heading to Falcon Lake Wednesday for a couple weeks. Hope you enjoy. FYI, there is a place where you turn off Rt 35 onto Park Rd..it’s called Pops (if it’s still there). Just a beer and wine joint but we found it a real hoot…carry out deep fried oyster basket too…Rumors have it that George Strait hangs out there on occasion. He has a home in the Fulton/Rockport area..just sayin’…

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    1. Hope you left site #17 ready for us….you know, welcome basket perhaps a couple of mints. We should hit Canyon Lake Sunday and hang out for a few days before hitting Rockport. I’ll keep my eyes out for George. 🙂

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      1. Potter’s Creek is full right now..Not sure where you are headed, but call ahead if you are headed here..One site right next to us just got taken yesterday.

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    1. Spending tonight at City of Rocks State Park north of Deming NM….America’s version of Stonehedge…..very cool. Is the FL almost over?

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  11. I am amazed that a machine can so easily pick and clean that cotton so quickly. I’ve seen lots of plants here in the east and the bricks of finished cotton. But I’ve never seen the middle part of the process. Thanks for sharing!!

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  12. Very cool! You had your own little field trip…courtesy of nature and the manufacturing industry. This is so much easier than picking by hand!

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    1. Thanks Nancy. I must admit, I got a good chuckle out of the Bon Voyage comment considering the desolate desert environment we drove through today from Tucson to Deming NM…..I don’t think I even saw a puddle of water…lol

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    1. Thanks……Having grown up in Illinois, can you believe I’ve never seen soy beans being harvested? I’ve seen my fair share of bean fields but not harvesting.

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    1. I’m amazed by the equipment so I can only imagine how fascinating an engineer might find it. To design and think up such machinery…..

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  17. Great pictures Ingrid. I’m so happy you got to see the cotton all the way through harvest. It is an amazing process. I live in a farming area where cotton and corn are the money crops. I enjoy very much watching the seasons change with the crops from planting through harvesting.

    Glad you had a great Christmas. Am looking forward to the New Year following your blogs as you travel and relax.

    Clayton (Victoria,Tx)

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    1. Thank you Clayton. I was pretty excited to catch the tractor working toward my end of the field because I had no other access. We’re heading toward Texas. I hope my posts do your home state justice. We’ll be hitting San Antonio and Rockport…..maybe Goliad 🙂

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  18. COOL Captures – thanks for sharing! One of these days I have to stop and take pictures of the harvesting of wine grapes, nuts, rice, etc. – find something that catches my and my reader’s interests. Happy Weekend – Safe Travels!!!

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    1. I’d be very interested in photos of the different harvesting. Timing is everything. I had all but given up on trying to catch the tractor in the field and when I least expected it….voile! Have a great weekend 🙂

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  19. I really enjoyed this cotton harvesting info, Ingrid. The first photo, the close-up was especially stunning. Question: is there a smell that permeates the air with cotton harvesting? With many thanks, Jet

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    1. Thanks….I was very intrigued by the cotton and it produced absolutely no smell, even when I was up close to the plant. The harvesting caused a great deal of dust leading to allergic reactions to many in the RV Park, hubby included. I’m sure there was plenty of pollen released but again no smell. 🙂

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  20. Double cool….we now have the story on the cotton harvest and you got to share tips from Jerry! Wish I could have been there…what a fun time! A belated Christmas wish and greeting…happy travels in your new direction! C

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    1. Thank you and hope you had a lovely Christmas as well. We had a blast meeting Jerry and Kim. Now we’re on to the Gulf for a little ocean time in Texas.

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    1. No frolicking unless you’re looking for some serious exfoliation….lol. Ah, wait until the next post on the roses…..we’d have a blooming good time!

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