east-side culture
tobacco farm, bladenboro, nc
tobacco farm, bladenboro, ncwe spent the weekend back in Whiteville for father's day. while driving down there, and around there, a few things stuck out to me.
first of all, corn grows FAST. i don't think it would be an exaggeration to say that since we'd been there last, about two weeks ago, the corn fields were at least two feet taller. it almost had this effect of making the roads feel 'smaller', if only because now some of them feel more like 'corridors' than 'roads.' encroachment would be another good word to use here. i started cracking jokes about something 'special' they feed the stalks to make them grow so quickly, but there might be a part of me that really does wonder...
secondly, i'm still not used to seeing tobacco farms. i mean, you see corn fields all over the movies (though usually not very good ones, except maybe for field of dreams and x-files:fight the future), southern california has many cabbagge (read: smelly) farms, among other produce, in ventura county, as well as orange orchards and the like. but not tobacco.
there's also something to the idea that these tobacco fields have been around in these areas for a LONG time, with generations of family history behind every acre. i dunno. it's just interesting to me. i'm not used to it.
these fields, as well as the old tobacco barns, unused but beautifully splintered and weathered by the heavy rains and intense humidity of the south, hold a certain mysterious quality for me...
first of all, corn grows FAST. i don't think it would be an exaggeration to say that since we'd been there last, about two weeks ago, the corn fields were at least two feet taller. it almost had this effect of making the roads feel 'smaller', if only because now some of them feel more like 'corridors' than 'roads.' encroachment would be another good word to use here. i started cracking jokes about something 'special' they feed the stalks to make them grow so quickly, but there might be a part of me that really does wonder...
secondly, i'm still not used to seeing tobacco farms. i mean, you see corn fields all over the movies (though usually not very good ones, except maybe for field of dreams and x-files:fight the future), southern california has many cabbagge (read: smelly) farms, among other produce, in ventura county, as well as orange orchards and the like. but not tobacco.
there's also something to the idea that these tobacco fields have been around in these areas for a LONG time, with generations of family history behind every acre. i dunno. it's just interesting to me. i'm not used to it.
these fields, as well as the old tobacco barns, unused but beautifully splintered and weathered by the heavy rains and intense humidity of the south, hold a certain mysterious quality for me...
