Off To The Farm

(not "the farm")

One of my favorite things about this time of year (the end of summer) are the trips I take to my favorite u-pick farm, Bernards Farm, on my scooter. I take mostly back roads to get there to avoid the highway and I love the feeling of cutting through warm air. I love the smells on the air too as I pass farms and hay fields, ranches with cattle, and orchards full of dropping fruit.

I don't love it when bugs hit me like little speeding bullets. I should wear my full face helmet more often, but I feel claustrophobic in it. There were a lot of bugs drifting around yesterday.

I love picking in the fields. I usually bring my headphones or a friend. I like to see the sky moving all around me. I like standing in the middle of neat endless rows of tomatoes, beans, peppers...and feel the microcosm of intense biological activity under way and underfoot. The bees and bumble bees were very busy and the sun on the fruit was making science I could smell.

The only thing I don't like about it is being in the middle of the sun myself. Not being a creature of sun and heat I wither like raisin and get sweaty and I would get grumpy if it weren't for all the produce I see piling up in my buckets. How can I get grumpy when I see such abundance? I picked three 5 gallon buckets of tomatoes, 1 five gallon bucket of tomatilloes, 1/2 five gallon bucket of jalapenos, and bought one medium sized watermelon for $44.50. That is one hell of a good deal.

What I will be making: more tomatillo salsa, tomato sauce, maybe tomato juice, and jalapeno jelly.

I was going to write more because I have a post brewing in my head right now that started yesterday when I was smelling summer on the air, the last of it. But I have to get dressed, eat something, process a ton of produce, and I'm really hoping to pick a few blackberries. They are almost over and it seems a crime to miss out. There was a great picking place I went to two years ago and I'm wondering if it still has good fruit to give. It's close by so I might run over there to have a look.

I hope you're all having a great Sunday!