A few weeks ago, when we were farming so happily, Alissa said that she didn't have any time in her schedule to come and visit, so maybe I should come and see her. At the time, it seemed like a slightly crazy idea. Now it seems like the perfect answer to this monsoon season. Even though tomorrow is the first day that we will be at all the markets (we are adding the last two, we have already been peddling spinach at Leesburg and Takoma Park and Arlington for a few weeks), I am sitting at the airport, poised to escape.
The market trucks are parked and loaded with everything but the vegetables. We searched around and found all the tables and boards and tarps (right where we left them, so neatly, in November), we cleaned out the truck beds, and we picked and washed dozens of crates of spinach. Ready or not, the season is underway.
In the last two weeks, we have had only one afternoon of sunshine, and it was a bit unexpected. We thought it was supposed to be not-rainy but we didn't know it would be steamy and warm. I walked out of my piano lesson and suddenly felt like we should be taking advantage of this summer moment. It was like a sauna, with all the moisture coming off the ground. There was one particular project that was waiting for the stars to line up -- Jon had finished preparing all the hoops for the new tomato tunnel, Ellen had got the plastic laid inside for planting, we just needed a time when there were enough people, no wind, and no rain. We had tentatively said we would try to get this done during a predicted window of calm on Wednesday, and it was Monday afternoon.
When I got home, I told Jon I wanted to see if we could get this 300' piece of plastic up. The weather forecast said we had about 5 hours before another big storm at 5:30. He couldn't come out to Loudoun until 4:30 at the earliest as he had an appointment. Undeterred (I had the bit in my mouth by now), I asked what we needed to do before he got there and he explained it to me. I sent Ellen a text and said I wanted to see if we could get this done. She was dubious. I asked David G. what he thought, and he texted back: "Unorthodox. I'd help though." I asked Zach, who puts up tunnels all the time, what he thought and he told me unequivocally not to do it. Too much risk, too much wind coming.
Ok, I thought, let's do it. Carrie is always up for anything, so she bundled Zoey into the car and we headed out to Loudoun just before the traffic got all snarly. The traffic window around here is tiny. If you don't head to Loudoun by 3 pm at the latest, you are in for a long trip.
It was still hot and sunny (and super sweaty). Ellen sent us James and Phillip to do whatever we needed, so we got the big roll of plastic rolled out (it weighs hundreds of pounds, I am pretty sure. It took three of us to barely lift it onto the truck) and we put some finishing touches on the tunnel. Then more people came to help and we wrangled that big wet (just from condensation from lying on the ground for a few minutes) sheet of plastic over the tops of the hoops, pulling and lifting until there was a giant white caterpillar in the middle of the field. By this time I was completely soaked with sweat and condensation and I said to Carrie, "give me that baby." She said she was wondering why she still had the baby and I was hauling plastic. So I took Zoey who is a treat no matter what and we watched the people doing the work while we rode around on the golf cart. Jon arrived to finish the job, tightening down the ends, and the rest of us went home. In all, it took us an hour to get it covered, and Jon worked alone (his preference) for a while to get everything just right.
When Carrrie and I got back to Vienna, the skies were dark and the wind was rough. Hail stones started sailing sideways, crashing into cars and trees, big ice chunks landing on the ground. I wondered whether the tunnel was still there. Jon didn't get home until much later but he said the tunnel was fine, he just had a hard time seeing the road while he was driving back.
Yesterday we got the tomatoes planted in that tunnel, where it is dry and cozy inside. We haven't been able to get much done in the fields lately but at least we finished that one big project. Farming, like most other things in life, is all about taking advantage of opportunities. Always being ready to jump.
Part of being ready to jump is having all your resources at the ready, and this time we pulled it off. Sometimes things go right, and the storm arrives later than predicted.
No comments:
Post a Comment