Farm Chronicles

It's that time of the year again when most people are not seen in their houses but rather in their gardens or farms. The rain came early this year, and we were all excited about it as the sweltering weather was becoming unbearable. Anyway, the rain mattered more to farmers who, immediately after the storm, hurried to their farms to plant some seeds.

I'm on a two-week break from school, so, of course, I'm back in the countryside where my parents reside. I love it here because of the lushness and greenery of the environment.

Two days after we were blessed with the rain, my siblings, mom, and I went to the farm to harvest some cassava as the ground is soft enough to pull them out without much struggle.

Upon reaching the farm, the storm had pulled down some plants, especially the plantains. It was a struggle to raise them back up, but with a few more hands, we managed. When we were done, we went on to harvest the cassava.

I was unable to pull out much as my strength failed me, so Mom and my brother did most of the harvesting while I helped replant some cassava sticks.

This here is a sweet yam. I've grown to hear it being called "sweet yam," so I don't know what it's called in other parts of the world. Mom doesn't eat it, but she planted it for commercial purposes. She sold tons of them.

I guess I was lucky to meet the very last one, which she handed to me after learning how much I liked it, especially when mashed.

While planting, I found these eggs hidden beneath the coconut tree in our farm. I took them out just to take a picture and put them back where I found them so as not to upset the mother.

We harvested lots of cassava, but sadly, I didn't get to take a photo of what we took home because my phone died.

Reaching the house, we started to peel the cassava, which I hated doing so much. At that point, I craved going back to my house, but there was no going back for me. Luckily, I'd say, I mistakenly cut myself with the knife I used, and that was when I swore not to touch a thing again. My siblings and mom completed the job while I entertained them with cries due to my bleeding finger. Lol.

Here's the final stage before it's processed into swallow.

The cassava is washed and soaked in water for about two or three days. When it's soft enough, it's taken to the mill and ground properly. After that, it's washed, and the chaffs taken out, then it's pressed for two days to get rid of water. It ends up looking like flour when the water is completely dried. Things are expensive in Nigeria, and one has to do what it takes to survive the economic inflation.

By the way, my brother found this very adorable birdie that crashed while in flight. He held it in his palms for a while, letting it regain its strength. It took a while, though, and when we had lost all hope, thinking it was completely broken, it flew off, leaving us a long tweet. I think that was its way of saying thank you. Hehehe.