From the Fields - Thaddeus
The sunsets have been surreal. They melt on the horizon into a passion of colors that grow in intensity before fading into the evening. Purples and pinks are the main colors. Clouds provide a thin blanket across the sky that reflect the colors and add texture to the evening making it the best sight of the day.
The days are still warm, hitting the 90s and sometime triple digits for an hour or so, but the evenings cool off and the mornings are chilly enough to warrant a light sweater. There was a bit of rain last night. The day was warm, and the sky was filled with a few huge clouds that didn’t even cover half of the sky. I stared at the clouds for a while, thinking they looked like rain, but convinced myself it wasn’t going to happen because they were missing their usual gray color, and there just wasn’t enough of them.
We were at neighboring farm Full Belly for their annual Hoes Down festival. Once darkness settled in across the farm, a few drops came. At first, it was nothing and then the farm was overcome with the pitter-patter of raindrops on metal roofs. We ducked under one of them. The people on the dance floor mostly scattered, but some remained, hooting and rejoicing over the first rain of the season. As quickly as it came, it left.
The next morning, I walked around our farm. The dust was settled, and the smell of wet dirt was is my soul. The fall crops of kales, chards, carrots, beets, lettuces, bok choy and radishes looked especially fresh. Their leaves were washed of any dust, and I think their spirits were lifted with the water. Under the Mother Oak by the creek, a group of deer stood picking up the acorns that had fallen. They didn’t seem too bothered by my presence. Turkeys, quail and doves were all out enjoying the morning.
Beyond the farm, the dry grass on the hills looked a little more worn from the weather. The oak trees were still holding on to the green color in the leaves, but it will be only a matter of weeks before they turn brown with the season. All of our summer crops are done. The fields that were the home to the melons, tomatoes, eggplants and peppers are now bare dirt and ready for a seeding of cover crop that will be germinated with the rains that we all hope continue to come.
Enjoy your boxes this week. - Thaddeus
