Aug 22: Sit for a bit
Hello pals of the patch!
Amanda speaking here. Not sure if everyone is aware of who I am, but I’ve been collaborating with Carlos on this newsletter for the past few years, have worked as a farm hand for the past two summers and am often the one behind many of the photos. Just giving you some context as whose voice you hear now, as Carlos is still processing the loss of his father and the reality of it all and doesn’t quite have the space or energy for adding his voice to the newsletter. His family was in town last week which was good to connect and remember and they were so keen to help out at the market last weekend. Thank you to you all for stopping by the market stall and sharing a kind word or memory.
Sitting in the Suck
In a conversation I had the other day with Carlos, he mentioned the times recently where he is “sitting in the suck” ie. the sucky-ness of losing a loved one, especially unexpectedly, requires lots of time to simply sit in that grief. To sit under the weight of it all, feel the impact and let it change you. This time of year seems to lend itself well to that notion: the burden of the sun, pressing down during the hot, lethargic Dog Days of summer. The sheer tonnage of produce ripening, ready, and rotting so that you simply can’t move fast enough to chop, eat, can, munch, dry and preserve it all. The feeling that you haven’t done enough in this moment or season, that opportunity or life is passing you by, and you’re not taking every bite you can.
I don’t have much advice for any of it. Grief or overwhelm or whatever word that sums up this feeling, there is no right way to talk about it or process it, so I suppose the only idea I’ve heard might come as a platitude: to be grateful for the opportunity to feel it. To step back and sit a bit longer, letting it wash over you entirely.
As mentioned, we are in the season of everything exploding and are excited to be bringing a few types of tomatoes this week, as well a some eggplant, peppers, cauliflower, potatoes and all of the usual suspects of greens, herbs, herby greens, kale, chard, zucchini, radish, beets, and more that I am likely forgetting!
Volunteers Wanted (again!)
In this season of everything happening, we are also putting the word out for another volunteer farm night! We had such a great time a few weeks back pulling garlic, that we are going to have 2 options next week to come by the farm in the evening and lend a hand for an hour or two (or however long you can!).
Wednesday, August 27th & Thursday, August 28th we would love to host anyone interested to come by the farm between 6pm-8pm and sink your hands into some soil. If you have a friend or someone who you think might enjoy it, invite them too! If you are able to email us or DM on Instagram, that would be helpful to plan a bit, but if a last minute decision is how you operate, we’d welcome you, too!
As always, thank you for being here and supporting… it’s felt! We hope you have an amazing weekend, and we will see you soon.
-OKHP Crew