Daily Walk in Difficult Times 89

Barley (or is it rye?) with a sun-scorched fringe on top sets the field aglow in the otherwise dull late afternoon light.

Whilst most crops are ripening well and are even being harvested early, one of the fields near the village has a late-sown crop which is still green and growing, with upright seed heads and long vertical whiskers. After the very hot spell last week, many of these whiskers are singed, and they have changed from green to brown or red. The effect of this on the appearance of the whole field is magical, making the undulating surface of the field with all its tram-lines into a subtle striped pattern of red and green. In the early evening of overcast skies when I took these pictures, small birds were swooping low over the crop catching insects. And a family walking waist-deep through the crop, on the public footpath that traverses the field, provided a nice counterpoint and perspective for the scene.