Fields of Barley

Love is to the heart what the summer is to the farmer's year. It brings to harvest all the loveliest flowers of the soul.

(Billy Graham)

Today we have had rain. Unbelievable rain. Rain that, when my window was open just a crack, bounced inside and onto my computer about 2.5m away. It rained very hard for a long time. However, by about 3pm the rain had stopped, and by 4pm the sun was blazing and it was hot!

This barley field is just down the road from me. It may look very rural and serene, but there are main roads on three sides. I had to keep waiting for a gap in the traffic to get this car-free!

I love barley. Not just because I'm not allergic to it (I'm allergic to wheat, egg, cow's milk products, and a few other things) but because I love fields of barley in the wind. It looks so fluid, like a gently rolling sea. There was no wind when I took this shot, but it is quite difficult to capture the effect in any case.

I'm relieved to see that the rain doesn't seem to be preventing the ripening of crops round here, unless of course it is turning yellow from lack of light rather than golden from ripening!

No prizes for guessing today's song - I've chosen the Eva Cassidy version as like most of her music it sends little shivers down my spine.