When the Corn is Ripe

Last Sunday, Sept. 7th, was a beautiful warm sunny day, and after Mass, the three of us, my son, his wife, and my self, decided to go out for lunch. We also decided to go to Gurne which was about a 30 minute drive through the country side with corn fields all around us. My son mentioned that the corn silk was changing color.It changes from green to a dark brown. That indicates that the corn is ripe when the silk is brown. That reminded me about my experience with growing corn at Brozville in Wisconsin.

We had an area of ground which was on the border of a marsh which provided water to the soil. The soil was the result of composting of leaves and grass clipping over
the years. This resulted in a good rich black soil instead of fine sand every where else. The combination of soil and water made it ideal for gardening. So I thought I would try planting some corn. Besides I love fresh corn on the cob, and my neighbor up the road was raising corn every year. So one spring I made an area about 12'x12' for my corn planting. I bought one box of corn and planted them carefully in rows. They germinated nicely, and they were growing in rows just like the corn fields.
I watched them growing up to 6' tall with ears of corn on almost every stalk.Then I'm watching the green silk to see it changing color. The box that the seeds came in said that when the silks turn a dark brown,the corn is ripe.

It was happening according to plan, and one day when I came back from the garden, I told Dorothy that the corn about ready to be picked.I told her that tomorrow I will pick the corn. The next morning, when I went to the garden, I was shocked. All the corn stalks were lying criss cross on top of each other. Each ear was peeled back, and the kernels were eaten off the cob. I searched the whole area, and I found one ear of corn that was left behind. I carried it back home, and showed Dorothy that it was all that was left of my crop. She said to me,'How much did you pay for the seed?" I told her $1.00. Then she said," That ear of corn cost you $1.00."

What really happened was raccoons smell the corn when it is ripe, and bring the whole family for the feast. They actually climb up the stalks, and their weight brings the stalks down so they can reach the ears. They peel the ears back the same way we do before we eat corn on the cob.