the last day

My internship at Side by Side Farm is finished.

And how is that? How is it that it all happened so quickly? Didn't I just learn how to transplant things? Or what harvest days are like? Or starting seeds? Wasn't that all yesterday?

First thing this morning, Devin and I harvested the revived kale. I flicked and squished Harlequin beetles as I went along breaking off the leaves. Then we went on to the chard and Devin had already gotten the basil. He also cut open a cantaloupe he'd just snatched off the vine. It was unlike any other I've ever had - milky, creamy. We set up shade cloth over some radishes before heading down the hill. Jean had tanks of water ready for cooling and cleaning the greens. I'm familiar now with the process - pour them in, press them down into the water gently, let soak, bunch and shake dry.

This week in the share we had: basil, heirloom tomatoes, eggplants or sweet peppers, hot peppers, baby fennel, okra, garlic, shallots, and the the greens were up for grabs.

I wrote up the chalkboard sign and the notes attached to the CSA member checklist. After picking some flowers for the spring house, we tidied up the wash station a little. "Mission accomplished," Devin said. "You have completed a farm internship." And so I said my goodbyes and headed out. I was a walking feast, with my share, a brown bag of shiitake mushrooms (fresh off the log), goat cheese and eggs. In the full, glorious sun I backed my car up the narrow gravel driveway and was gone.