This week on the farm: a dog’s life

It was another bright, sunny day this weekend, and well into the 80s (that’s high 20s if you’re not in the US).  The farm is prepping for the first week of CSA pickups.  The lettuces are ready to pop, and you can see Kenneth harvesting Napa cabbages in the greenhouse on the right.  It was a beautiful day.  The only one to complain was the dog.

Not that I blame her for taking refuge in the shade from the lovage.  It’s too hot to be wearing a fur coat.

I don’t know if she was uncomfortably warm or glad to have me around, but the dog shadowed me for most of the day.  I spent the morning hand-weeding the cucumbers and squash with a couple of volunteers. Lily hunkered down in the paths until the farm manager came by with a tour group of this season’s new CSA sharers.  Then it was off to greet people.

As usual, everyone was thrilled to meet Lily.  Seth jokes that when he gets to work, everyone’s all, “Oh, hi Seth.  LILY! HI THERE, HOW ARE YOU SWEETIE PIE?”  It’s hard not to gush over the dog. I might be biased.

Lily and I took a long break at lunch.  While the others went back to mulching the paths between the tomato beds and weeding, I took Lily to the stream that runs along the farm’s perimeter.

We rounded off the afternoon by watering the greenhouse tomatoes.  And by “we,” I mean me.  Lily is afraid of the sprayer.  Scary, no?

I like watering the greenhouse because it feels insulated from everything else.  Sounds are muted through the plastic walls, the sprinkler head leaks  so the water runs down your arms and cools you off, and there’s a breeze through the open doors and sides.  If you look out one way you can see the lettuces in their neon glory, and through the other is the field of lusty garlic.

You wouldn’t think it would take that long to water 300 tomatoes — at least I didn’t — but I was in the greenhouse for close to an hour and a half.  After that, everyone cleaned up and called it a day.  Don’t let Lily’s expression fool you; she was devastated to leave.

Notice how she avoids stepping in the garden beds?  That’s hard work, not crushing baby plants.  But someone’s got to do it.