Kitty grass

You know how pet stores sell little square pots of 'kitty grass' for your cat to chew on, for its health, nutrition and happiness?

My cats go nuts over it; a blade of that grass (wheat grass, I believe) is almost on par with a kitty treat. Not willing to shell out for buying a pot at a time (it only lasts a few weeks before it goes to seed), I instead bought some seed, which I plant as needed. I recently planted a pot of the stuff, and it says to keep it in the dark until it sprouts, which only takes about 3 days. I keep it in a shady part of my kitchen for convenience and so I don't forget about it. When the sprouts do emerge, they're extremely phototropic -- they come out at a significant angle, straining towards the nearest light.

All except one, this time. One sprout happened to push up under a clod of dirt that remained nicely balanced atop the sprout's point like a mushroom. The sprout hoisted it about an inch into the air -- straight up. I guess the light sensor is on the tip. :-) Kind of interesting. Here are a couple of photos; you can probably spot the sprout that had the dirt clod atop it, and you can just about see that each sprout is composed of a slender green shoot encased in a protective transparent sheath with a blunted end. The green sprout pushes upward out the top of the sheath after it's about an inch or so tall.