The Sour Patch Time: Fall Week #1 – 10/23/24

The Sour Patch Time

We have down-shifted into the fall shares, where much of the food you receive has already been harvested. We still have to wash and pack it, but the hardest of the work has been done already.  We still have root crops in the ground and work to be done, but everything feels WAY more mellow these days. The work is dwindling.

Yesterday’s harvest list felt so very small, as did our team. Last Friday we said goodbye to 6 members of the team. Outside of Mike and I we have just 6 crew members left, with at least 1 of those members saying goodbye tomorrow. It’s a bit surreal.

Everything actually feels a little surreal as it is still so very warm. Yesterday we worked comfortably out in the fields, admiring the beautiful fall colors while we felt warm sun still on our shirt-sleeved arms. None of us were complaining! In fact, it felt kind of strange not to share this reward-like weather with the whole crew.

Soon we will have just a few crew members on staff that will handle all the work we have up until Christmas time. And while my mind is starting to day dream about daytime hockey scrimmages and winter vacation adventures, it is also a little sad to see folks leave. We kind of form a seasonal work family of sorts and it’s a strange feeling when that work family suddenly disappears.

It is bittersweet. It is sour sweet. Like one of those sour patch kid candies. The ending of the hard hard work is sooooo sweet. The leaving of the crew so sad.

This little micro season, of falling leaves and leaving crew is what I call the sour patch time.