Last of Layman's...

I hope I haven't bogged you down too much with pictures from our adventure at Layman Farms.  We had a great time (but did I mention it was HOT?) and enjoyed a field trip with Daddy.  Of course, he doesn't often get to come on our trips, but this time he took the day off  and we enjoyed ourselves thoroughly. 

Have you ever been in a corn maze?  Do you know what it is?  There was a hay maze at the Triple-R Ranch one year made out of hay bales stacked so that you had to crawl through them up and down and back and forth on your hands and knees.  No Thank You said the Claustrophobe - although usually I don't mind crawling under and through, the fact that you couldn't SEE and that it was touching you on 4 sides was a turnoff. 

This is actually a maze cut into the corn that you walk through with a little map and clues (turn right/left) posted at strategic intersections throughout.  The thing about a corn maze is that on a hot day, with the sun beating down from overhead, there is not much air movement and the temperature is about 10 degrees warmer inside the maze than on the open field.  I did not know this.  If you're already bundled up for a day at the farm (boots & jeans) and are better suited for Birkenstocks and shorts, then it is an unpleasant matter indeed. 

You can see part of the maze cut in the cornfield to the right of the entrance.

Therefore, while we can honestly say that we walked [in] the corn maze, that is all that we can [honestly] say.  Only our small family and Julie and Luke know the truth.....and we'd like to keep it that way....for now, anyway!  Moving right along now to ... Duck racing!

This made up for that hot hike through the cornfield.  We buried our legs and hands deep into the corn and it was cool just beneath the surface.  See the red cheeks on the girls?  This brought our temperature back down to normal, by just sitting in the shade and burrowing into the cool. 

 

While it was fun to watch the girls slip, swim and slide in the kernels, I learned just how dangerous that could be to a farmer getting stuck in a silo filling up with the corn.  You really can't get on top of it!

All in all, a good day.  We prepared for the trip by reading Corn is Maize by Aliki, which is a very thorough review of the history of corn, corn's uses today and how it is harvested.  We also looked through the pantry for items with corn syrup in them and learned the word, "ethanol."  Of course, we avoided the politics associated with growing crops for fuel, etc.....maybe in high school....