cows and rotting plants

Today I learned that you can see a few of my uncle's cows in the satellite picture of his house on Google maps. I knew you could see cars, but I hadn't thought about cows.

The really important thing I learned today is how flax is made into linen. It involves a practice called field retting (less expensive these days than water retting) where the flax stems are left to rot in the field after they're cut, and when their outsides rot away, you can get at the interior fibers. Hemp is handled the same way.

Now I understand why, when I tried to make linen sheets for a friend of mine who's allergic to cotton, my chest hurt like it used to in Illinois, where they rot corn stalks in the fields. In case I needed any more evidence, my husband developed some of the most spectacular allegic shiners I've ever seen. Holy moldy fabric, Batman.

It is, however, really beautiful fabric, even if it isn't allowed in the house.