Today I woke up on the wrong side of the bed. Actually, not only on the wrong side but at the completely wrong time. Failing to properly set my alarm last night, I ended up sleeping in about an hour longer than I had anticipated. Still waking with the sun and feeling like it must have been Sunday, I rolled over and remembered, oh, I’m supposed to be harvesting right now. Rushing around the house, skipping breakfast, coffee, a moment to reply to emails, and my typical morning routine, I rushed to the farm half put together, still in sandals, the shirt I’d slept in, and with terribly bad breath. Coby greeted me with a smile and a “Good morning, sleepy head.”

This made for an interesting morning on the farm. Personally, after skipping the routine that I know so well, it’s hard to settle into the regular day, beginning with a list of either items to harvest, beds to weed, or what we should be planting.

Of course, while I was still half asleep, my wonderful interns Coby and Turtle had begun the regular course of the morning. After being with us for over 6 months, these girls could most likely run the farm by themselves by now. But, I was still grumpy. The whole morning was a big rush to get everything done. Things just didn’t seem to piece together like they often do. Finally after the great struggle to make things flow like they’re supposed to, it was time to get back home for lunch.

I took a moment to reflect and to calm down after the great hurry to pack up shares for our members at Sevananda. Sitting, actually, laying on the floor thinking of how one simple thing like sleeping in had in fact ruined my morning, I began to think of the newsletter article that Coby had written last week. Who am I to think that I had a terrible day? The weather couldn’t have been better, the farm couldn’t look happier after the last rain, we’d harvested over 100 lbs of food in less than 5 hours, and I wasn’t on the verge of suicide like the Indian farmers that are at the total whim of fierce and unrelenting drought and without help from their government or even neighbors.

I love times like these when I feel so helpless and upset about something so small and have time to reflect on how lucky I actually am. In my model bad day, we still shared laughs and good stories over the radish harvest. We still cracked jokes and had heart to heart discussions, and even though the chickens were without water for a small portion of the morning and the greenhouse looked sadly withered, I knew that things would still live and be grateful for the attention that we’d pay them after things slowed down a bit.

Turtle’s mom had the chance to help us work yesterday; she shared stories of her business endeavors and freedom as a mom. Coby’s car broke down several times as Sabrina tried to drive it to Savannah for a brief vacation before returning home to Switzerland. From all these experiences and stories that they have to share, there is always a time for bad moments, but from it comes the most exciting adventure tales that allow people to show their scars and maturity from their struggles.

This year has been phenomenal in many senses. I often wondered upon first visit to Serenbe Farms if I would in fact be able to grow anything in the battered red clay soils. Our harvest has just topped 15,000 lbs of food. I wondered if I’d be a good mentor to my apprentices that are in fact older than I. They never cease to amaze me with their great ideas and excitement for farming. I have been so blessed to have such amazing folks to cross my paths. Thanks to you all. I wondered if our CSA members would be grateful for their shares and enjoy the food that we chose to grow. I continually hear praise and tidbits of how this last round of eggplant parmesan was the best they’d ever had.

We’re not the farmers that are so depressed with the state of agriculture that we can’t do it anymore; we’re not the farmers that are losing jobs because of the E. Coli epidemic. We’re not the farmers that are being exposed to pesticides on a daily basis. We get to do this because we love it and we love the people that support it. It’s not often that one can choose a job that is also their hobby. The fact that I woke up on the wrong side of the bed this morning is just another way for me to realize that my life is perfect. With all the bumps in the road, the joy of the lifestyle that we are able to live and the appreciation we bestow upon nature and we receive for what we do is irreplaceable. Thanks for your support.

You all probably know that the recent spinach issue in the news is a by-product of mass produced, untraceable food production with ‘who knows what’ as their inputs. Please have no fear, our greens are probably the safest that you can eat. While I would still wash them because you may find traces of aphids or worm poo, none of this will harm you.

I had mentioned back in the spring to prepare yourselves for more greens than you can imagine. I remind you again, we’re heading into green season, so like or not, your bags will be filled with lovely green leaves from now till the end of the season.

Many times our greens can be prepared any way you can imagine. Sometimes spicier than others or sometimes taking a bit longer to cook than others, each green is unique. We’re glad to tell you about them, why we grow them, and how we cook them, so please ask questions and share with your fellow members. There is no wrong way to use them, so experiment!