September on the Road, #1

Kansas sky, Flint Hills on Highway 400

It has been about six weeks of being on the road, going here and there. Some of it has been fun, some has been stressful, some of it has been sad. We have seen so much of the Midwest from Kentucky to New Mexico and everything in between. This last week was sightseeing and watching the fall harvesting and noticing the earth gradually transition into autumn. Farmers harvested corn with combines that looked like massive creatures from outer space. Soybeans, sunflowers, and cotton waited their turn for the harvesters. Yellow was the predominant color as the Midwest was a carpet of wildflowers in shades of saffron, gold, lemon, and shades of raw sienna. Dashes of lavender and sumac in shades of brick dotted the roadsides.

In Kansas fields were covered with tufts of cotton bolls just a few weeks away from picking. If you thought King Cotton was only grown in the Deep South, you would be surprised to see these fields of cotton growing around Pratt, Kansas. It is a grade of cotton that produces strong fibers being used for weaving into denim.


In Santa Fe we visited a Saturday Farmer’s Market. It was wonderful, rich in color, textures, and foods of autumn harvest. Beautiful and abundant, the stalls were full of ristras, long strings of red chilies. Vendors were roasting chili peppers and they tasted

wonderful. DH does not like spice or heat so I left most of the things there, but oh, how I enjoyed looking. I did bring home chicos (dried corn), Anasazi beans, and pinon nuts from the region.

And have you ever had lemon cucumbers?


We were lucky to have perfect weather which made for the most beautiful skies. In Kansas the spaces widened out and the sky covered us like a blue shawl fringed in white clouds. As we got to New Mexico, the skies lived up to their fame of a New Mexico Blue.

Until later....

                                                    
                                                  High Road to Taos under New Mexico sky