bye bye berries

Unfortunately, the rain I wrote about wiped out a lot of our already-ripened strawberries. The ones that were still green when the rains hit have mostly been picked, sold, and eaten as the season winds down for the year, although Penny says we'll probably be harvesting them in smaller amounts until the end of the weekend. For the past few days I've been singing a chorus of "No-I'm-sorry-we're-out-for-the-day-maybe-tomorrow-we-really-can't-guarantee" to a parade of disappointed customers.

It's reinforced that fact for me: in farming, you just can't guarantee. At the bakery where I used to work, nothing couldn't be done - if it wasn't in the display case, chances were we could bake or frost or fill it out back. But at the farm stand, it's up to mother nature. Customer service is not exactly what nature's about, and unfortunately a lot of people have to go home berryless. On the bright side, blueberry season isn't too far off...

In other news, I've finally figured out how to get my photos onto the computer! I plan on going back and adding them to my previous posts. Penny says she doesn't know how I function without a smart phone - I like my old-fashioned technology, my dumb phone and digital camera, but even they can be tricky to figure out...

beet greens ready to be washed

these were the early days, when there were only a few veggies to put out

the flowers are starting to look colorful

they become lovely little bouquets like this one by the register

rainy day

Today was one of those hot, electric summer days, heavy with thunderstorm. The storm finally came around midafternoon. Since people tend to buy veggies while the sun is shining, the brief storm brought with it a little reprieve from an otherwise hectic day. It was nice to breathe for a moment, the farm stand quiet except for the percussive downpour on the roof.

Sydney confessed that she loves days like this. Poor Rachel, meanwhile, was out weeding when the rain hit, but she didn't let it stop her from finishing the job. Jamie got even messier today: after a morning spent planting flowers, she came back with dirt caked to every extremity including her nose. She seemed completely delighted.

Luckily, the rain had stopped and the hot sun had returned by the time I had to bike home at four. On my way, I got a photo of the farm from Wells Road, and if it comes out the way it seemed it will from the tiny preview on my digital camera, it shows the farm stand, the fields, and the tiny restaurant next door as if they are veiled in white mist. It wasn't really misty out, and I thought it was just my camera acting characteristically defunct. But on further inspection I found condensation on the lens, from the day's heat - at least, I think that's what it was. I can't help but find this really cool, somehow, this fake mist, this ghostly fog that exists only in the picture.

you don't have to think that the phantom fog is as cool as I do - but you can't deny that the farm is gorgeous