Are they bales of the fluffy white bits ... sorry for the technical terms ... I have never driven through cotton country ... my daughter is a lawyer specialising in water allocations ... she cannot talk specifics with us, but many of her clients are up that way.
Yes the fluffy white bits are gathered from the plants and wrapped up into bales similar to those big round hay bales.
Bits of white stuff seem to blow off the bales as they are being transported to the cotton gin, leaving white traces along the side of the road during the harvesting season.
I took a close up of the bales last year here http://sweetwayfaring.blogspot.com.au/2012/08/cotton.html
Diane, since you live in Queensland that is not surprising. The roads are narrow and have very steep sides (probably to carry away the much heavier rainfall you have).
Ian usually does photos stops for me in NSW but I don't even ask most of the time in Queensland. I am also reluctant to do so when we are towing a van as that makes finding a safe place to pull up more complicated.
Tumbleweed It was August (known to be a windy month of the year) and it was blowing a gale. Tumbleweeds hurtled across our path, pressed forward by the busy wind. While I was photographing the tumbleweed, I braved the icy blast to find a few more tiny flowers and fruits by the roadside.
The Pinnacles, Broken Hill Clear blue sky is very dull! But there is something of interest in the image. These odd shaped mountains appear on the skyline just outside the city. I had planned otherwise for my closing sky today. On a hill outside town there are wonderful sandstone sculptures which I saw the last time I was here. I planned to photograph them against the setting sun but we left our run too late, so you don’t get to see them until our return journey.
Are they bales of the fluffy white bits ... sorry for the technical terms ... I have never driven through cotton country ... my daughter is a lawyer specialising in water allocations ... she cannot talk specifics with us, but many of her clients are up that way.
ReplyDeleteYes the fluffy white bits are gathered from the plants and wrapped up into bales similar to those big round hay bales.
DeleteBits of white stuff seem to blow off the bales as they are being transported to the cotton gin, leaving white traces along the side of the road during the harvesting season.
I took a close up of the bales last year here http://sweetwayfaring.blogspot.com.au/2012/08/cotton.html
Ahha ... saw that link ...
DeleteWell it still looks interesting. It looks like your driver is like mine. He can never find a place to stop for a shot.
ReplyDeleteDiane, since you live in Queensland that is not surprising. The roads are narrow and have very steep sides (probably to carry away the much heavier rainfall you have).
DeleteIan usually does photos stops for me in NSW but I don't even ask most of the time in Queensland. I am also reluctant to do so when we are towing a van as that makes finding a safe place to pull up more complicated.
Can you imagine picking cotton by hand?
ReplyDeleteThose thorny, sharp pods?
It's probably still harvested that way in many countries.
A field full of cotton to hand pick ... what a daunting task!!
DeleteI reckon it would make you appreciate your clothes and mend them rather than throwing them out in no time like we do these days.