Monday, October 10, 2011

Little Green Promises



At our little farm, August started in July and ended in September.  Our lovely spring and summer garden came to a grinding halt, much to our dismay.  Since then, we’ve had too many false starts in our fall garden to count.  Fragile fall seedlings of broccoli, lettuce, and carrots singed, even in the shade. For a while, only the weeds thrived around here.   Farming friends share similar stories, but they really don’t make us feel any better. 

When we least expected it, Mark and I, and everyone in our hometown rejoiced with the cool reprieve that came in just after Labor Day.  The ever so mild temperatures reminded us that our labor was once again, a labor of love.  More importantly, those tiny seeds, laboring to burst forth with new life, have finally achieved it in our fields.  They are bursting forth exactly on Mother Nature’s schedule, if not our own.  God willing, those little green promises will deliver nourishment for our family, the members of City Farm, and the locals who frequent the market. 

At this rate, the fall harvest may not come until winter.  But we all know Lafayette is not a 4-season town anyway, so we will not fret over seasonal semantics.  We’ll spend our days tending the garden and giving thanks for the hope of a bountiful harvest, which we can’t wait to share. 

Mary