When I was walking the other day I happened to glance over and saw this:
I know it may be hard to tell from this distance but can you tell what is wrong with this picture? Now if my siblings don't get this right I am going to be really disappointed. While you are pondering that question let me tell you a little story and then maybe my question will be easier to answer.
As you well know we grew up on a farm with a very large yard. A very large yard that required hours of mowing. Now I think my not that much younger brother did quite a bit of the mowing when we were growing up but somewhere along the line the job fell to me for a couple of summers. Of course, you know you just can't mow the lawn. There are rules that must be followed. First and formost the mowing lines must be STRAIGHT. Yes, I meant to yell that. So to ensure that the lines were straight my dad would trim the different sections that were to be mowed and then I would have straight lines to follow and hopefully continue. Second, to turn left you may not just turn left. NO, you must go beyond the corner and then bear right until you can hit the next row straight on. This insured that all corners were absolutely square. This obsession with straight rows also extended to our bean and corn fields. (hint) I can remember him going out to the fields and looking to see if the rows were straight. This also extended to neighboring fields. He measured a farmer's worth in the straightness of the rows in his field and consequently our worth was revealed in the straightness of our mowing lines.
Now let me show you that picture again but with a little closer look.
Is it clear now why this got my attention the other morning? But I must cut this farmer some slack. There isn't a straight road in this state so it may be just a genetic quirk. Straight rows may just not be possible.
Every morning when I walk by this field I see these crooked rows of corn and think of all those straight lines I had to mow when I was young. And to this day I still try and make sure my mowing lines are straight. Some things just can't be left behind and forgotten.
And just for grins here is a picture of a barn that I walk by almost every day. Two years of walking by this barn and I just recently noticed the pretty blue color on the east side of the barn.
2 comments....porters always have something to say!:
I knew the answer before I read your hint. Actually it was the first thing I noticed in the picture.
I have a good future post that deals with this subject. Lots of stories about straight lines.
I am sure peej will add to these comments as well.
Yeah, I have the straight line gene too. I noticed it right off the bat. I can't tell you all the criticism I've fallen under over the years. However, now I look at yards in the summer and judge the land owner by the straightness of the lines. Crooked mowing lines annoy me something fierce. I don't claim to be the straightest mower, but I'm improving.
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