Rice Harvest

When we arrived in April, it was planting season for rice.  The tiny little bundles of seedlings have now grown thirty inches tall and drooped over under the weight of the rice.

We were very surprised to see how rice is harvested.

Bundles of rice are tied together with straw, then tied to posts.  I'm not sure, but I think it is to let the rice dry.

In most fields the posts are then covered with netting.  Again, I'm not completely sure why, but I think it is to keep the birds away.  The farmers of the field above have had the field covered for several weeks.  Most fields are not covered before harvest, so I'm not sure why the did it.

This field makes it seem like so little rice for such a big field.  I wonder how long that much rice would feed a family of four.

All of these pictures were taken between my house and the grocery store which is about a half mile away.  Part of a block might be residential, and the other part a large garden or small field.  I'll try to get a picture of a rice harvester.  They're pretty cool...