Summer’s End and Fall Planting in our Veggie Patch

Summer’s End
by Thaddeus from Farmfreshtoyou.com

It’s evening after the heat of summer afternoon, and I am walking down the dusty gravel road that curves along the canal through the farm.
Beyond the canal our first planting of heirloom tomatoes has been disasembled.
The vines once supported by stakes and string that tower over six feet tall now lie on their sides in awkward lumps.
In the fallen tomatoes, I see a coyote who already sees me. We look at each other, both wondering what the other will do until we both keep going about our evening activities mindful that the other is still there.
Soon this field will be chopped and planted over to cover the crop and these tomato vines will be remembered only on my spreadsheet that tracks history by fields.

On my left are freshly planted fields of kale neatly organized. Each bed has thee lines of little plants.
The fields have three different types of kale, and the plants have not yet grown into each other, leaving individual plants and the grid patterns of the field still visible.
Looking over the field, the color difference of the red, green, and Lacinato kale atop the rich dark soil is as beautiful as any rainbow that has stretched across the farm.

Beyond the field, the hills rise with dry grass that is worn into a golden color from the summer sun.
On the golden hills, dark oak trees stand with their crop of acorns that have started to fall.

Watching over our farm, the oaks keep time of the seasons with the color of their leaves as they have done long before we were here.

In the evening breeze, there is a particular smell that has blown in. It is the smell of something that aged – a smell that is musty and delicious. Soaking it in with deep breaths, I am happy that fall is close enough to smell.