Waiting for the spring

Wara (rice straw) hunkering in a ume (apricot/plum) orchard.
The farmer will use this for a variety of purposes during the growing season, bedding around sprouts/seedlings, support/protection for pea plants as they start climbing, beds for strawberries and melons, and generally just tilled into the garden as mulch. I would love to have this supply out in my hatake (field/plot). We get a load from a local guy and it gets laid down and covered over with a blue tarp. I would much rather use this style. Maybe next year.