Assignment: Family Farm Visit
The Location: Rural Shelby County

My family owns a small chunk of land near Shelbyville, Missouri. I grew up hunting, fishing and cutting a lot of wood on that land.

It’s very scenic with big old oak and walnut trees that speckle the rolling hills of tall grass. I’ve spent many days sitting on the bank of the small pond, fishing for catfish, bass and crappie.

My grandpa maintained that pond and one year, he decided to plant a lily pad in a corner to add a little more color to the scene. Slowly, the lily pads began to take over, now pretty much covering the entire pond. It’s quite a sight to see.

On a hot summer day, those big yellow flowers floating on giant green leaves is quite a beautiful thing to see, but it does keep you from fishing. I stopped by the farm this fall after the lily pads had died out. There were not bright colored flowers or floating leaves. Everything was brown.

Rising from the water like weird little aliens bowing to the sun were the seed pods. That just means more of those lily pads in the future.

They are nice to look at, but I still miss the fishing.