Shadows and Repost

At first I thought this was sand, maybe White Sands NM in New Mexico. I think this is on the brink of a great comp, but the shadows kind of bother me that I don't know where they're coming from. It looks like you "pano cropped" this one, probably for a rule-of-thirds type composition? If you did crop it, I would be curious to see what it looks like in the full frame if the other stalks are in view. I assume they would be cut-off by the bottom on the frame or not photogenic and hence you cropped it with good reason, but this comp is just not quite there for me. However, it's definitely not a bad comp and has other great elements that make it a very usable image. I'm trying not to be too negative as it is a nice image and I imagine others will love it as well.
EDIT: I should read better, just saw "80% of original". So I'm sure your crop was the best thing for this image

Here is the same image with the shadows at the bottom cloned out. Again I appreciate you comments.

The repost looks better Richard but you can see some cloning artifacts. The warm light on the grass is very nice, I could see pushing the light in the snow a touch but leaving the shadows where they are. The highlights are a sweet addition too. Cheers

Less is definitely more, great repost!

Love the repost! Definitely pushed it over the top to a emotion-ridden intimate masterpiece