Winter Wheat

 We plant "Hard Red Winter Wheat" in the fall.  That's a long name for a grain, but wheat is named for the growing season, the gluten content, and the color.

 Hard wheat has a high protein content and is used predominantly for all-purpose flour.

 Wheat that is planted in the fall sprouts, grows a few inches, and then lays dormant for the winter.

 Then in the spring, it looks like this! 

Lush, lovely greenness...when everything else around is still brown and ugly.

It will be harvested in late June or early July...hopefully before the fireworks start for Independence Day celebrations.  It's always a race.  By then the wheat will be fully ripe and...dry.  (Fireworks and wheat fields are a bad combination.)  But for now, I'm going to enjoy the green!