This is the last week of Summer Harvest at Wild Hare, and I’ve walked countless laps around the field today, looping around the various pathways that Mark has recently mowed, doubling back through areas that have held things like peas and beans at the start of the season, stumbling over vines and soaking my pantlegs thoroughly in places where big beautiful brassicas and root tops await our attention (for the eight months of the growing year that aren’t Summer).  Nothing overwhelms me or calms me quite like a walk around this farm does, and today.   Today, I set out to clear my mind and to frame out my last note of the season to you all, gratitude being one of the most intense feelings that this farm brings about in me.  The message that I want you all to hear is this:

Today is the Autumnal Equinox, but we’ve got TWO more weeks of the Summer Season at Wild Hare before we make our switch to Fall on October 6th.

The seasons sort of bleed into one another this time of year, mapping awkwardly onto dates that we picked a year ago, not really knowing whether the Summer stuff will drop off abruptly or if the Fall stuff will mature a little bit ahead of schedule. This year, I feel fortunate that Summer is tapering off gently and that I haven’t had to enjoy my last fresh Tomato or Melon just yet. But, hold onto your ladles and roasting pans. Autumn’s abundance is arriving already!

Get a load of the stunning Napa Cabbage we’re harvesting this week! I gasped when I saw it. It is technically a few weeks early, but somehow also right on time. As we inch closer to Autumn, the seasons sort of dovetail into one another. Even though it really feels like Fall each morning, we’re still picking things that feel like Summer—Corn, Peppers, Tomatoes and yes, one last round of those sweet little Cantaloupes. What a timely gift their abundance has been! We knew that the late-season stone fruit would be in shorter supply due to those untimely May frosts in Eastern Washington. I’m thankful that our melons could fill the gap while we awaited peak Apple season’s arrival. Those heirloom and early varieties are starting to roll in from Okanogan, giving us literal bushels of things to look forward to in the coming months.