I’m joking, of course, and this field is part of Anderson Farms. Not only is it the largest single cultivated field in Bernalillo County at 700 acres, it was formerly owned by Senator Clinton P. Anderson, the radical politician who was the Bernie Sanders of his day. This photo shows the various stages of the field’s cultivation. First, flowing from left to right in the center is one of many dirt roads that connect the various “benches” of growing alfalfa. The light green fields in the middle were planted just about two weeks ago–old fields tend to get weeds like mustard in them and every few years they need to be plowed, disced, and sown with new seed. Compare the light green emerging alfalfa with the dark bench to their right, which will be cut any day now. In the foreground is alfalfa that was mowed yesterday and is now drying in the sun. When dried, it will be winnowed into long, tall piles. Then, towed by a tractor, a bailing machine will scoop up the piles and compact them into neatly tied bales. Then a very clever bale truck will scoop up the bales and neatly stack them in the bed of the truck. In the background of the shot you can see the stacked bales being stored. In addition to all the birds I write about having seen here, I’ve also seen coyotes, jack rabbits, and raccoons around Anderson Farms.
“My” Alfalfa Field
