rice planting season

They have flooded the fields and planted the rice and are now praying for it to grow. The fields surprisingly come in all shapes and sizes. Some are fairly large (nothing like a wheat field) but some are as small as 10 x 10 feet. Generally they are square but I have seen some wacky shaped fields because they attempt to squeeze them in anywhere, on the edge of cliffs, in between houses, yes you even will see rice fields in the middle of cities. The field is built up around the edge to contain the water once it is flooded but it also contains masses of frogs! They are quite loud as of now but it is a somewhat peaceful song. I scrunched far to many of the poor little guys under the tire of my car though. The fields are very beautiful once flooded reflecting the sky and the mountains as you drive by. This, however, is not a very beautiful picture.

Some people still plant their fields by hand using a basket full of seedling on their shoulder. Many old women are permanently stooped at a 90 degree angle; I am assuming due to planting and gardening. I should mention they also cover themselves from head to toe in various clothing meant to keep their skin white in avoidance of the sun.

Many people around these parts though use a tractor like machine to do the planting for them. They simply load the seedlings in the back and it somehow plants them into the ground. They also have mini-combines for harvesting in the fall. I was a bit disappointed because I was unable to plant rice with my elementary school but perhaps next year.