Dead Corn

I was riding a favorite backroad of mine a while ago when I noticed the dead corn.  Something said stop and take a picture.  I wasn't in a hurry, so I did.  I guess you could say I was in one of my "fall moods" that day, enjoying my ride, yet thinking there won't be too many more before the snow comes.

There was something about that dead corn that made me think of winter's onset even more than all the falling leaves.  I rode by this corn row many times in the spring and summer, watching it grow tall and green.  Seems like a long time ago.

I noticed much on this solo ride.  It's amazing how different it is when you're alone on the road, especially since I'm used to riding in a pack most of the time.

I go by these spots almost every day, but for some reason they were more worthy of my attention this time.  An old barbed wire fence, once probably important to keep people out and maybe animals in.  Now it's food for rust, and maybe in this case, a little food for thought.

This old tree's been guarding that fence line since before I was even thought of, and it will likely still be there long after I'm dust.  Is it a maple or an oak maybe?  I'm not much for Dendrology.

Of all the things that made me pull over that day, this is probably my favorite.  An old cornerstone by a crumbling rock wall.  Makes me think of the Frost poem Mending Wall.  Was it the cornerstone for an old barn, long since fallen and rotted?  Or, does it simply mark the end of the wall and maybe the corner of the property?  There was nobody around to ask...but I bet that old tree knows.

This is a beautiful spot in the early dawn, or on a clear night at dusk, and I've seen deer out by the tree line.  On a spring day under a bright sun this place appears vibrant, full of promise, but on the day I recently stood here it seemed very lonely.  Who built the wall I wondered?  What was here so long ago, and why isn''t the land used now?  Lots of questions.  No answers.  Much left to the imagination.

I rode away and cherished every minute of the rest of my fall day's journey.  You have to once the corn is dead.