What do you think of when you hear the word, “fields”? The first image that comes to mind on this wintry day is the snowy fields of the farm of my youth. Then, I skip to the other fields of that town. Sadly, I realize that most of them now have houses sitting on them, with no cow or horse or goat, in sight. In place of Queen Anne’s lace and dandelions, there are now Country Estates.
Next, the words of folk songs come to mind – “The Field Behind The Plow,” “The Green, Green Grass of Home,” and the “Four Green Fields” of Ireland, a meaningful song because of the Irish history the song represents. I recall poetry such as “Flanders Field” – “In Flanders Field the poppies grow …” Then, of course, from the Beatles, we have “Strawberry Fields … forever.”
In movies and in television commercials, we see children or grownups, playing or walking through fields of flowers. We view the fields of destruction, the Battlefields of the American Civil War. We visit the rice fields of southeast Asia. We witness the Amish, working in the fields with their horse-drawn plows. Isn’t there a movie, “Field of Dreams” – that is about baseball?
Why this cultural emphasis on the word, “fields”? Can it be that the word is a metaphor for life itself?
A field is potentially life-giving. It receives seeds and produces plants. If not watered, the plants may die. If not fertilized, the plants’ growth may be stifled. Success at growing anything depends on the amount of nurturing that is done. This is not unlike raising children.
We are so fond of the word “field,” we hijack it for another meaning: career. We speak of someone as being “outstanding in his field.” In this case, we do not mean the farmer, (an old joke).
Fields are vital to our sense of well-being, as many big cities, like Chicago, are finding out. There is a conscious attempt to add the color “green” to cities that otherwise lack parks, trees, and lawns. What greater joy than to see blooming plants and bushes, in the spring? Environmentally, green living foliage emits oxygen and takes in carbon dioxide, and that is very beneficial to humans!
Right now, the fields are sleeping. They are resting up for whatever task we will ask of them in other seasons. Snow is their miraculous blanket, covering uneven terrain, and making the earth look refreshed. Snow, in itself, carries nutrients from above, which is why New Englanders call it, “poor man’s fertilizer.” This is particularly said of the snow that comes down in late spring.
There is nothing like the quiet that surrounds a snowstorm, nor the peaceful feeling one has when looking out upon the vast, white expanse from inside a cozy, warm home. As I gaze at the gentle snow gliding down, I get lost in reverie, thinking about cross country skiing on the fields where I grew up, or ice skating on the little “pond” that appeared in the dip in the field, only at that time of year, or attempting to put the horses out to pasture when the snow was high.
I recall taking a book with me into the field. Nature in the Winter provides diagrams of animal tracks, allowing me to find out just what kinds of animals had been around by looking at the shape of the paw print. You see, fields have something to offer, in any season. For now, the earth is as “pure as the driven snow.” In its silence, the snow speaks volumes about the earth and its need for renewal, and about us, and our need to sometimes quietly enjoy the beauty of nature.
Patricia Cummings in New Hampshire, where up to 14″ of snow is expected today.
