Harvest Day

The Medina family is up and in the misty fields an hour or two before the packing crew comes in. They'll already have several dozens of bins of lettuce, chard, turnips, and more waiting in the cool, dark barn. Everyone of them gets a good soaking while the washing tubs fill and labels are written. It will take all day to process the harvest for 460 shareholders.

I walked in one morning and got a bow-like greeting from Daren.
"Okay . . ." I mutter.
"I don't have to cultivate. Get to be in packing today. I'm just happy about that," he explains.
I laughed a little at the good mood it put him in.
Cultivating is slow and lonely, but packing is like a knitting circle where everyone gets to chat and work together.

These are the days we wait for as we plant and weed and seed the crops all Spring. The change is welcome, like a small season of its own on Windflower. Aidan usually arrives early enough to make a pot of coffee before the rest of us pour in. Ted is busy making his list of who gets what in the new office space that Jan constructed for him. Now he's close by, ready for our volley of questions.



There were 460 bunches of nice turnips, and they all needed washing. The results are pleasing, but it's time consuming. Getting them clean is part one. They get packed and labeled, hauled into the cooler, then shipped the next day.