The geometry is important in the hopyard. Lines lines and more lines. The parallel lines of the poles, the parallel and perpedicular lines of the trellis. The block of forty rows of forty poles. And in an area where hops are a major crop, another block of forty forty next to it and then another. Then there are the angles and triangles at the edges and corners formed by the poles and the support wires.
All they were doing at those corners the other day when I shot this was posting up labels for the sections for the coming season, but a lot of work in the hops takes place with these tractors with the elevated platform. They are designed to fit beneath the trellis wires, and the poles and wires are placed so that they will fit.I learned about the dimensions of the hopyard from my friend who grew up on a hop ranch not far from us. Each section is forty by forty.
She told me a story that emphasizes the importance of the geometry, too. She had been playing on the tractor as a kid and accidentally nipped the corner support wire of a 40 by 40 section. The whole yard fell down. Oops!
It was a long time before she got to drive the tractor again.
Triangles! Can't live without them!
2 comments:
Like a chain, only as sturdy as its weakest support wire! And I bet the farmers on the platform are not thinking "geometry"! My lines and plane are up.
I beg to differ with Lew -- I bet they do think a lot about Geometry when they have to construct the plot. Interesting post.
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