Before you see the pictures I should make clear the difference between crop circles and crop formations. You have seen crop circles- beautiful displays of organized patterns. They are reported in Mexico, the US and more rarely, Asia. But for some reason yet unknown to man- most of the crop circles in Earth appear in the UK. Sure, there are hoaxers who take responsibility for these geometric forms. But there are plenty of crop circles that have never been explained. And while there is no agreement on how they are created, they are always fun to look at.

Now we get back to Arizona. In late March, Michael Polani was driving past the intersection of Gilbert Road and Ocotillo in Chandler when the green oat crop caught his eye. The unusual way the stalks were laid over one another prompted him to grab a video camera and a still camera to preserve the sight. Instead of a round pattern of lines and squiggles as we often see in England, the crop in Chandler showed long rows of downed stalks. Without rhyme or reason, clumps of apparently unharmed and untouched crop remain in the middle of some of the rows. And where the crop is pushed down, Michael said the stalks were oriented in random directions, as if they were braided or thatched on purpose.

View the report and more here.

Among the first people he contacted was my friend Linda Moulton Howe. Linda has based a career on investigating some of the world’s most mysterious… mysteries. Her web site: www.earthfiles.com was the first to report on the formations. The sighting soon made it onto web sites all over the world and to this day, Michael’s phone continues to ring with calls from investigators, journalists and other people interested in learning more.

In the mean time, samples Michael collected from the Chandler field are in a Michigan laboratory for testing. When testing is complete, we'll post the results!

Are they real?

Well, well, well. Isn't that the question of the day! This did happen before, you know. In June 2005, similar patterns appeared in a field of barley on the West side of town. Tolleson farmer Trent Johnson said the formations were nothing more than the result of a lot of water and a lot of wind, exerting their pressure on an immature crop.

Might that be the case in Chandler too? It's possible, although Michael Polani doesn't think so.

COMING:
This week I located the owner of the Chandler field and I spoke to the farmer who plowed the crops. The farmer gave me some very interesting information that should soon shed more light on this. Once I have his interview on tape, I'll be ready to share it.

Until then- watch more video that Michael took before the field was plowed.
Here is a slide show of some of his best photos.