It was a September day-- too soon. Full sun with a warm breeze. Temperature stuck in the low/mid 70Fs.
Just me and Newport today.Things got off right this morning-- we pulled the awning off the roof and set it back into place (must have been a heavy wind storm last night). I drove the new van up to the forest field and picked up all the squash/zucchini/cucumber buckets the crew filled this morning. Back at the store, Newport and I cleaned up the yard and gave the daughter a hand filling all the produce containers. The time has finally come!
Newport and I met the boss down in the barn and stacked away an entire front loader full of cantaloupe. We set down big cardboard trays and piled 'em high. The boss brought 2 more front loaders full of melon-- simply amazing. It was gonna be a barn day, so Newport brought down the radio and we started sorting and shining the 84 buckets of tomatoes Bah and the crew picked yesterday.
Newport and I caught up on each others' business-- he'd gone off on vacation last Wednesday with his girlfriend. Big News: apparently the boss mentioned to Newport this morning-- there's a new employee, my buddy Gizzie. I've know this fella for years, years, years. He must have visited the boss this weekend, without telling me-- 'cause he was hired on the spot. Gizzie is an actor, just back from touring around the region with a traveling troupe-- he's a tall one and bone skinny. 2 weeks of hard days will do it though-- my friend will be reborn, farm tough. We've worked together in the past: once as parking-lot-cart-serfs for a wholesale club and then we spent a summer living/working together at a produce/deli shop by the ocean (those were storied times, I'll tell you that much...). These straight picking days have been become a bit monotonous-- now things are bound to get interesting. Raise my glass and tip one to him, here ya go Gizzie, welcome into the club.
Anyway, Newport and I shined away the morning. Old Rudolpho and family came over to lend a hand. They found Newport's taste in music hysterical-- singing along, vaguely, with each chorus. When an Elton John song played, Old Rudolpho set aside his rag and tomato-- then broke into a spinning, leg twisted, folk dance. We all broke down laughing, clapping and cheering him on. It was an easy morning to work. Lunch time.
After lunch I organized a final 40 or so cantaloupes into the barn pile-- then back to tomato shining. The Guatemalans and Newport trickled back from lunch. Newport decided to play some of the Beatles-- figuring, hey they're accessible, everyone likes the Beatles. Old Rudolpho and his daughters much preferred Elton John-- they made bad faces and sang loudly over the music. We finished up the tomatoes in a few more less-than-comfortable hours. Next up: we joined the crew cutting all the zucchini and squash along the greenhouse. It wasn't a massive haul-- but the blossoms are developing nicely, there will be a rush next week I'm sure.
The boss had errands to run out of town, so he called Newport and me over. We grabbed buckets, knives and crates.There wasn't much needed, but we picked 2 buckets of string beans (1 green, 1 yellow wax). Next, we sauntered over and cut one big crate of kale (1/2 red boar, 1/2 dinosaur). We carried the slim catch back to the store, just in time. The daughter was at the register on the phone-- it was the boss and he needed corn. Newport and I grabbed a bag and hiked up to the hilltop (to the corn field on the other side of the stonewall from the potatoes). We trudged through the weed jungle and packed 90 or so ears into the bag. Old Rudolpho's daughters walked over as we finished up-- quietly, they made hand gestures pointing to the corn. Newport laughed-- he speaks surprisingly good Spanish, he really caught them off-guard. Old Rudolpho's daughters wanted 4 or 5 ears for dinner-- still laughing we handed them 6.
Fall is really coming fast-- the sunlight has already started to change. Closing time wasn't far off but it felt much later. Newport and I stopped for a smoke break on the hilltop-- kicking back on a pile of boulders overlooking the peach orchard. He told me that he'd met his sister's girlfriend for the first time this weekend. He told her straight-- 'the way I think of it, now I got two sisters, and I rag on this one constantly: I don't mean anything by it, but it's my brother-duty to give you both as hard a time as possible.' They celebrated by drinking and exchanging their favorite gay/straight jokes. Good things are good, when you let 'em be.
Back at the store, we washed up and packed away all of today's pickings. Newport rotated all the older produce to the top of the stacks in the cooler, I just kept carrying in and piling up the boxes. The boss got back from his errands and joined under the awning for an end of the day chat. This is a big, turn around, market week-- trying to make up for the slack and rain earlier this month. The boss is happy to have Gizzie on-board, he figures we now have everyone we need to get through Fall harvest. There will be long days, early mornings/late nights, ahead-- but what else is new.
Bring it on, I'm ready for the Fall.
I've been slacking with the pictures-- maybe I'll do a photo day/give Gizzie a tour this weekend.
I like the sound of that. We'll discuss it over beers tonight.
Take it easy.
What seasonal snausages!
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