Days Are Getting Shorter

Full sun all day through and hardly a cloud in the sky. Cool breezes blew through the forest fields. Temperature moved between the mid 60Fs and lower 70Fs.

CSA, a market and a picking day. I headed down to the barn this morning and combed over the tomato trays-- either the barn cats are slacking off or they've developed a taste for tomatoes. Big bites through several striped german and rose. I squared away the store and CSA with tomatoes-- then off to business. Gizzie was watching the store today/packing up the market van. Newport, the foreman and I headed over to the big tomato field to join Old Rudolpho/his nephew. Picking the entire field is only going faster and faster-- what used to take 8-12 people two days now only took 5 people and the hours from morning to lunch. We filled 30 some buckets altogether-- but then it was lunch time.


After lunch Gizzie, Newport and I laid out the rest of the CSA. Looking pretty good today: tomatoes, corn, eggplant, cabbage, lettuce, cherry tomatoes, butternut, buttercup, ornamental pumpkins, beets, green/wax string beans, red/green peppers and 4 types of potatoes. The foreman took a long lunch to pick up his car from the repair shop-- they'd finally finished rebuilding it after a tree smashed in the roof during an early September storm. Newport and I got started on the afternoon picking-- we clipped 1 crate of swiss chard and 1 crate of half dinosaur kale/half red bore kale (things are looking pretty sad in the lower fields). Next we headed up to the forest fields and got a start clipping peppers. The foreman eventually returned in the tractor (bringing more buckets and boxes). The 4 long rows gave us: 2 big boxes of green peppers, 4 big boxes of red bull nose italian and 3 boxes of red bell peppers (plus 5 miscellaneous buckets worth).

By the time we washed, boxed and chilled the chard/kale/peppers it was near closing. The foreman was running around the store without saying a word. Gizzie, Newport and I joked around over a couple cigarettes behind the cooler-- everyone was waiting on the paychecks.

All paid and home again.

p.s. On we go. I'm working the early shift tomorrow. I'll see if I can't weasel my way into some basic tractor work. Then it is off to the fair on Sunday-- how much agriculture can a week hold? We're gonna find out.

Woof-- time for wine and to recline.

Take it easy.