Going on Day 4...

For all my boasting about how calm we were as harvest approached, it went a bit south in the 2 days before…Because, of course, we had a lot to get done! And there were some things we had forgotten about…So we did a bit of scrambling, and I was stressed.

I was so stressed that I took not one picture of the first day of picking! Historian fail! Although, I could probably just reprint a picture from last year, or some other year, because they all look the same. We always start at the same spot, and you can barely see the crew, so I could probably substitute a print from any year and no one would know!…Which begs the question, why is taking a picture on the first day such a big deal?

Oh, yeah.

A much bigger worry was getting the subs we needed, but thankfully, the spots all got filled, and the kids who needed to be somewhere else got to go. We’ve got one more day with a sub this week, and then it’s back to The Regulars. I worry less when The Regulars are on the machine because: 1.) They know the job. 2) They know the trials that await them. When we have new kids on the machine, I worry if they can handle the conditions.

AND when it is beastly hot like this, I worry about everyone! It’s miserable out there, and I just can’t imagine making it through the whole day…

AND, I’ll be honest here, a good part of my worry is that they might not be able to, and then I WILL HAVE TO GO OUT THERE!

Heaven help us…well, me…Heaven help ME!! Check that…The Farmer would need Heaven’s help too if I had to work a full day out there in the heat.

Oh, how I appreciate these kids…and pray fervently for their health and safety and that they come back every day.

No altruism in it; carnal self-preservation is too dominant in my requests. But I do try to express my gratitude in ways large and small – otter pops, ice for their water bottles, cold water, praise…eventually, a good wage…They deserve all of it!

As predicted, the first pick over the field had a lot of soft berries and a liberal dotting of mold…not so pretty as we like it to be. Now that all that stuff is cleaned off, we should be seeing prettier berries populating the flats…However, the heat will contribute to making them soft. We are happy to know that the forecast ahead is dry, and the heat will lessen. So looking forward to that! Staying at this temperature is hard on the bushes and the kids!

Today I think we are getting in the groove. I’m remembering to charge the radios each night, and wash the sun shirts, and make sure there are enough Otter Pops in the freezer. I made a grocery run to stave off my panicky thoughts of running out of supplies: we were out of Jasmine rice and Kosher salt! I mean, how were we going to get by without these items essential to life?

I think I have 3 of most everything now, and 6 cans of baked beans because I am forgetful, so we can survive the harvest, or a protracted blizzard should the need arise…and I will probably still be using up some of these supplies when it is time for a blizzard to come. Except the Otter Pops…I hope to be able to store enough for at least one week…8 young adults eating Otter Pops means they disappear quickly! A week's supply is quite a few boxes if the weather stays like this.

I’ve also been looking for muu-muus. I never understood the attraction these held for older women – until I began experiencing sudden heat spikes unregulated by my own personal thermostat.

It’s a problem. And now I understand muu-muus…They are as close as you can get to being unclothed, but still be decent.

Two words: rush shipping…

I’m off to Amazon.