A Beautiful Crop

I always think that Canola in bloom, spreading its brilliant yellow blossoms across a field, is the most beautiful crop we have here in southern Ontario.  It's blooming time is quite variable; as a cold weather crop it can be planted early, or it can survive into the fall.  But whenever it blooms, it is striking.

This is well south of the valley, seen on my trip to London the other day (when it was sunny, unlike the past two days!).

And the sky was just as beautiful as the Canola!

The field was across the road from a nice looking dairy farm in the far distance.  Canola is an oilseed crop, the oil pressed from its tiny seeds.  And the oil is both nutritious and low in saturated fats, so it's considered a healthy choice for consumers.

Canada is one of the world's top Canola producers, ranking far ahead of the United States, because Canola likes the cooler climate of the Canadian prairies.

I've thought for years that this dairy barn would make a nice picture; the yellow Canola sets it off perfectly.

Driving by, seeing just the blooms, you might think Canola was like a grain, but it's very different, a member of the Brassica family, like Cabbage, Cauliflower and Broccoli, with quite large leaves at the base.  Quite a distinctive crop when you see it growing, and a great contribution to our rural landscape when it's in bloom!

Linking to:

The Barn Collective

and