dense yellow #2

purchasing supplies for a raised bed i am constructing for ramps ( more on that tomorrow ) took me by the big box stores this morning so i stopped by the industrial field and had a look from a little different viewpoint...i went to the side of the field where the rows begin/end and had a look...among other things that i found were five closely spaced plants with five closely spaced ears...i looked down the row at ground level ( which sort of belies the filled look the field has when you look at the tops of the plants...there's actually a lot of open space down there ) and saw some "weeds" cropping up...i also noticed something i hadn't before..straw...there's a lot of straw on the ground and it is doubtlessly there to damp down "weeds"...the fifth photo is of the ground on the seventh of last month and i see no straw so i am wondering if it was put down recently 9or if i am just seeing it now because of a different approach to the field...and while we are on the subject of the soil's surface let's bear in mind my fondness for well turned support roots.