Late September and early October are harvesting time, the farmers get out in their big and smelly and noisy tractors and harvest the corn, the cow corn – they call it sileage – that they will feed the cows all winter.
The stalks are tall and thick this year, they are a kind of art all in themselves, with their curves and turns and distinct lines. In a few weeks, they will all be gone.
Interesting. Where I grew up we called it feed corn (for feeding animals) as opposed to sweet corn (for people.)
And when I was little we (well, my Dad and the neighbors) made silage from the stalks (it fermented in the silo, smelled wonderful, but you had to be careful not go get overcome by the fumes if you were working in the silo.)
As an adult I’ve learned that since we produce so much corn in this country, it’s used for a lot of things besides livestock feed – high fructose corn syrup & ethanol being the first things I think of. But also plastic, batteries, cardboard, diapers . . .