Opening the floodgates

While the north side of the area has already planted their rice, we have not been designated to plant ours until this weekend. Today was the official day to flood our fields, so we opened the little gates in the canals and let the cool fresh water from the Midori River flow in. Each canal has pipe outlets with a slotted gate that can regulate the water in and out of the fields. We cover the pipes with mesh, usually the recycled mesh bag from onions or apples, to catch debris, wayward fish and snails.

During a quiet moment in the evening, you can hear the rush of water as it pours through the small canals into the larger drainage channels and the croaking of so many frogs that it is almost deafening. I feel like we are in a jungle near a big river. I guess it is good to hear so many frogs. With all the ecological concerns around the world, we apparently have enough frogs for all. During the daytime, dozens of water birds feed continuously on the little creatures but there is never a shortage to perform in their orchestra of chirping in the evening.

Red tractors dot the landscape as they plow the flooded fields into smooth glassy pools that will receive the rice seedlings.