I have been watching the second-crop rice grow in a field next to the Phana by-pass for about three months now. When I first noticed it back in January it had only recently been planted, or transplanted. That was later than is usual for the second crop here, but then the first crop was harvested later than usual because the rain was delayed so long last year.
Not all the farmers in Phana can grow a second crop. They need access to water in the dry season. Some of them have dug their own ponds and are able to retain sufficient water to irrigate their fields. Others, like this farmer, are lucky enough to have fields next to one of our rivers. This is the Huay Phra Lao (huay being a good Lao word for small-medium sized river) as it passes right next to the field:
The farmer pumps water out of the river ...
... and into the field:
Now all she has to do is keep the monkeys away. But as I have shown previously, she is well armed. Or her children are.
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