On the drive in the mountains yesterday, after the lovely field of purple flowers, we came across this farmer preparing one rice paddy in between two that were already planted.

Nikon D200 + Nikkor 17-55 f/2.8 @ 55mm — ¹/60 sec, f/4.5, ISO 500 — full exif & map — nearby photos
Preparing the Paddy

Nikon D200 + Nikkor 17-55 f/2.8 @ 26mm — ¹/90 sec, f/4.5, ISO 500 — full exif & map — nearby photos
Rice Waiting to be Planted

For actually planting the rice, the tractor takes an attachment that holds tray after tray of rice seedlings, and automatically puts them into rows as he drives along. The clump in the foreground above are some such trays, likely left over when the foreground paddy was planted. I suspect they'll use them in the paddy being prepared in the photo.

Nikon D200 + Nikkor 17-55 f/2.8 @ 55mm — ¹/60 sec, f/4.5, ISO 500 — full exif & map — nearby photos
Just-Planted Rice

Nikon D200 + Nikkor 17-55 f/2.8 @ 55mm — ¹/90 sec, f/4.5, ISO 500 — full exif & map — nearby photos