One of the scenes I looked forward to on our Christmas trips to the west in recent years was seeing the bales of cotton alongside the highways and roads of California and Arizona. Some were as big as a large room, while others were smaller in size. So I was delighted to find our new surroundings in Arizona included cotton fields!Pictured above is a cotton field with the cotton blossoms in full bloom. As you can see the contrast of the white flowers against the brilliant green of the foliage creates a striking scene. The flowers are also very fragrant and look especially striking at night. It reminds me of the night garden I created one summer at our home in East Grand Rapids -- all white flowers that beamed in the dark of night! On a much larger scale, of course!!
Late summer brought an end to the life cycle of the cotton plants -- the foliage died and left the cotton "bolls" visible, creating a blanket of white across the fields. It was so exciting for me to watch the progression, and I wish I could share it with you. However, that would make my blog very loooooong:-)
Harvest time finally arrived at one of the field near us. Although I wasn't able to catch the "action", I was able to photograph one of the machines that harvested this field. You can see that it is right next to a residential area. That makes one wonder how many more years this field will be viable and growing cotton for our clothes, home textiles, and other products that this plant is used for. But I will enjoy it for as many years as it lasts!
Now I'm sure you were all wondering what the cotton "bales" look like. Here is a long row of these bales. I wanted to get closer, but there was a sign warning against trespassing. Being the law abiding citizen that I am, I stayed on the other side and took pictures as best I could. Actually I wanted to get Tom to stand next to one, so you could see how big they are. These are about the size of a small room in a home, so that gives you a little idea.So if you got dressed today, chances are very good that you were wearing a garment made out of cotton grown in the United States. For the US of A is one of the top cotton producers in the world. The cotton is shipped to many parts of the globe to be used in the manufacturing of textiles. So stop and thank a cotton grower for giving you that pretty shirt/blouse you are wearing. And come see the cotton fields of Arizona for yourself next fall. We would be happy to show you around!
