On a farm, being outside nearly all the time, watching the weather, seasons, and work flow through the year, you get really attuned to what different times of year feel like. What they feel like outside, the quality of air and light, but also how they feel in your body. June for example is so so bright and so green. You hear frogs rather than the buzzing of insects, belying how verdant the world around the farm is, and it's also so so itchy. In fact, late June is also known on the farm as "the itchy season" due to the first sunburns of the season, picking squash, the prevalence of browntail, the first biting bugs, and the first deep dives into trellising tomatoes. I feel like I'm always scratching.
It's now August, which we on the farm like to call "the tired season." The verve and excitement that propels us into each farm season has officially worn off after too many loooong, hot days. We no longer get unbearably giddy by each new crop coming in as there are too many to almost keep them straight and there is too much work and just not enough time. While (so far) this August and mid-summer has been a little more forgiving with its plentiful rain and more mild weather (it's incredible how exhausting hot weather can be), the deep tired that comes with August has really snuck up on us. This summer has been flying by, which I attribute to things going pretty smoothly on the farm despite being a bit short staffed, a bit of an early drought, and a continuing pandemic. July seemed to pass in a blink, and pretty soon it'll be September, which I guess is IDGAF season, because while we're still technically in summer, by then farmers' minds are squarely settled in planning and executing for the winter and even the next year, thus the successes and failures of the current season are just notes for planning for next year.
I don't mean to make August seem all bad, by any means, because as our crew so beautifully pointed out to me this week, it's also the most colorful season. We are truly swimming in a sea of beautiful veggies right now, home made salads are truly a delight, and you can literally walk through the fields grabbing handfuls of things and eating them, which is such a privilege and joy. So I guess it's really the "tired but eating unbelievably well season," which isn't bad at all....
Thanks for eating through all the seasons with us!
