Cotton Picking Ride
I grew up in a valley, carved out of the desert by the Rio Grande. The beginnings of this river start somewhere near Silverton Colorado, works its way south through New Mexico, meanders through what is now the international border between Texas and Mexico, finally dumping itself into the Gulf of Mexico around Brownsville and Matamoros. There was a time when the big river flowed robustly, water carrying collected sediment to its mouth for deposit. Nowadays, maybe for the past couple of hundred years or so, maybe not that long, a mere trickle would be lucky to reach the gulf. This valley, the Rio Grande Valley has fertile soil for farming; the only thing it really needs is water. Irrigation is the answer for that
All I know is that in the early and middle 1950’s there was an irrigation ditch behind our large lot that provided wonderful brown water for thirsty crops and yards. A place to play, when the gates were first opened it was a thrill to see what was coming with the shallow waters, perhaps a mess of carp. When the ditch got full all one had to do was sit on the bank and watch the water flow and make little whirlpools
Today, on this new route to work, I go right through the middle of some great farming, alfalfa, cotton, corn, chilies, pecans, and whatever else I am not aware of. It’s pretty cool that I am doing this for the first few rides right in the peak of the growing season. I see a couple of tractors moving around, but not seen any going through the fields yet. It looks as if this could happen any day now. The next few weeks of riding this country should be interesting. The irrigation ditches are all full flowing strongly, you can hear the noise turbulence makes as it flows through a gate. The fragrance each type of crop gives is enjoyable even if it does excite allergies later in the day.
In my childhood, back by the ditch where our fence line was, we had chickens for eggs and now and then, eating. On the other side of the fence was the bank of the ditch and on the other side of that was a cotton field. I did some cotton picking once, but I wasn’t supposed to. I went to the field and took a couple of the cotton bulbs, or whatever you call them, when they were still green, like the picture shows. I tore one open to find that there was nothing interesting about it, so that was the end of my cotton picking days. For now, riding along side the field is plenty of fun.
All I know is that in the early and middle 1950’s there was an irrigation ditch behind our large lot that provided wonderful brown water for thirsty crops and yards. A place to play, when the gates were first opened it was a thrill to see what was coming with the shallow waters, perhaps a mess of carp. When the ditch got full all one had to do was sit on the bank and watch the water flow and make little whirlpools
Today, on this new route to work, I go right through the middle of some great farming, alfalfa, cotton, corn, chilies, pecans, and whatever else I am not aware of. It’s pretty cool that I am doing this for the first few rides right in the peak of the growing season. I see a couple of tractors moving around, but not seen any going through the fields yet. It looks as if this could happen any day now. The next few weeks of riding this country should be interesting. The irrigation ditches are all full flowing strongly, you can hear the noise turbulence makes as it flows through a gate. The fragrance each type of crop gives is enjoyable even if it does excite allergies later in the day. 
In my childhood, back by the ditch where our fence line was, we had chickens for eggs and now and then, eating. On the other side of the fence was the bank of the ditch and on the other side of that was a cotton field. I did some cotton picking once, but I wasn’t supposed to. I went to the field and took a couple of the cotton bulbs, or whatever you call them, when they were still green, like the picture shows. I tore one open to find that there was nothing interesting about it, so that was the end of my cotton picking days. For now, riding along side the field is plenty of fun.
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