Today we celebrate our first harvest. Well, not exactly our first harvest, because we have been harvesting greens for our own salads for a couple weeks now, but it was our first harvest of the year to feed other people. Rufus and I slide into the familiar cadence of counting out ties, slicing at the base of bright green stems, and rinsing soil away to reveal delectable vegetables. The harvest moves along smoothly as Rufus and I banter back and forth. It is on harvest days that I am most thankful for weeding days. Our beds are far from weed free, but they are also far better than they were last year, which makes harvesting so much more enjoyable. After the morning harvest, we move into planting mode. Rufus tills up beds and works on direct seeding and I plant potatoes. We are experimenting with a new growing strategy with the potatoes this year, planting them on the surface of the soil and covering them with mulch, to make for easier digging. As I mulch the potatoes, already a messy job, thunder rolls in the distance and heavy rain begins to fall. Now the mulch is sticking all over my skin and clothing, but it is the end of the day and I am determined to finish the job. I press on to the end of the bed getting dirtier and itchier by the second. When I step into the foyer, I am more mulch than farmer and dripping wet. I feel like I shouldn’t even go into the house, but I have to get to the shower. Rufus laughs at my disheveled appearance and directs me straight to the bathroom, where I proceed to cover everything there in mulch and soil. It is almost impossible to keep the farmhouse floors clean this time of year. Even after a thorough hot shower, I brush some hay from my hair.

~Joy