No, “down under” does not refer to Australia. How is life under the surface of your crop fields? Imagine being one of the critters that live in, not on, your soil.

Let’s start with where they might live a life of luxury. The Monte Carlo of Cornfield County.

Now, I don’t pretend to be an expert on underground biological life forms. I’ve heard there are millions of creatures in a teaspoon of soil, but don’t ask me to name them.

Put yourself in the shoes of one of these bugs that I’ve aptly named “Bug.” What would be Bug’s ideal living space? How about an undisturbed woodland in Tennessee?  Maybe native prairie in Nebraska? An old fence row in Illinois? Even in such luxury, Bug still must eat, rest and perhaps defend itself against “bug eaters.”  Life is consistently routine with only minor disruptions.

But suppose Bug is in a less desirable home, a decrepit slum by comparison. Life down under is frequently disrupted.

On a sunny morning, Bug is alarmed by an unusual sound, soft at first but it keeps getting louder, finally roaring. He feels the ground around him vibrate slightly, then steadies as the roar diminishes into the distance. Then he hears it returning, rumbling louder than before, the ground shakes violently, and instantly, WHAM!!, his pleasant home is ripped apart, tossed and turned.

The violent shaking stops and the roar fades away. Dazed, he sees daylight through a huge crack between clods and crawls up to…