August Is Made For This

August 1st.

Summer arrived so late this year that it feels short, and yet here we are: August.

The time of year when we oscillate between gratitude for the bounty of harvest and the exhaustion of mounting work.

I feel it in the length of to-do lists, harvest lists, and the number of items that get pushed to another day.

We’re in high-summer mode:

Edge is out by 6:30 am to harvest, and a few days ago was out past 10:30 pm picking peas by headlamp.  

Between peas, beans, and raspberries, it sometimes feels like we’ll never stop picking — winter will come and we’ll still be out there, reaching for the plump berries, sugar snaps, handfuls of beans.  

But winter — that thought is enough to harvest more now.  To stretch out these days beyond what they already are.

In the lower field the weeds are creeping in (okay, in a few beds, bursting), and the grass hasn’t been mowed for two weeks.  

And in the midst of all the bounty, we seed more, transplant more, setting the fields for fall and winter harvests.

Even here in Zone 4b we’ll continue seeding into September, planting out the greenhouse with winter greens by October.

Among the successions, we’re planting: carrots, beets, lettuce, chard, kale, herbs, and beans.

And so it goes: seed, plant, harvest.  Seed, plant, harvest. (And somewhere in between, weed, eat, and go swimming).  

August is made for this balance: 

The crops maturing faster in the hot days and afternoon thunderstorms, the harvest pulling us out to the fields, and the subtly shortening days reminding us that another season is on its way.  

Reminding us to steep in this one while it’s here.