corn seedlings

This is a corner of the field that the farmers were harrowing and planting just three weeks ago. We've had some light rain over the past few days. The soil is damp and black, and the seeds have germinated and are sprouting up in neat rows. There's a saying here in Illinois - the corn will be "knee high by the 4th of July". One year we had some freakish weather that caused the corn to go through some phenomenal growth spurts. Towards the end of summer, some fields stood 8 feet tall! It was a little disconcerting to drive down Swanberg Road, which had become a gauntlet of freaky tall corn.