To Do: Pick Cotton

I love the South!  And finally after all this time living in the south, I got to see my first crop of cotton in bloom!  I have seen it green, but I just had never seemed to manage it just right where I was out and about just before it was picked.  And go figure--the only camera I had was my cell phone.

I've become somewhat of a city gal now.  Rarely do I get to see fields unless I'm on a trip.  Farmers were out harvesting soybeans too, and that smell of the dust smelled like home.  But imagine my excitement when I saw field after field after field that looked like this:

Isn't it gorgeous?  If I was a farmer, I would build my house right dab in the middle of a cotton field. 

I was on my way to Sikeston, MO to meet my college roommate, Amanda (who lives near Evansville, Indiana---this is our halfway point).  After telling this farm girl about the cotton fields, she said she had never seen any either.  We totally lucked out because there happen to be a field of it practically in downtown Sikeston. 

Call it stealing--but I was able to pull off a bundle to put on a shelf in my house.  (Ironically, next to my Transfer House plate to remind me of Decatur, IL).

I thought I wanted a whole plant, but (a) it's not easy to pull out of the ground, and (b) that is really stealing.  And southern belles don't steal!  Plus, the farmer across the street was outside...though I was really hoping he would come over.  I have lots of questions.  Anyone know a cotton farmer?