Aaaaahhh, a sense of relief washes over my entire body as I see the rain fall on our fields! How long has it been since our last good long soak? Hhmmm, I'm not quite sure??? I lost track a long while ago. TOO MANY WEEKS, that's for sure!
Now that the cooler north winds have returned and the air smells like fall, I feel like it's safe for me to declare what a wild ride this past summer has been! I mean it wasn't all difficult. I think everyone would agree that this was the perfect summer to enjoy our beautiful Island. Aren't we some of the luckiest people? To live in a safe, healthy, beautiful and bountiful Island! No wonder everyone wants to visit and vacation here!
This warm dry weather though has its challenging side. As farmers, we do expect to work and endure some hot days, but not for an entire season! That's a little more difficult to manage. At times, the heat was so hot and draining that it felt like the only way you can fully hydrate yourself is if you had a camel pack strapped to your back. Hydrating ourselves and our soils was definitely a full time job!
What a summer to finally have our irrigation system up and running! Sooooo thankful! Every evening, when our overheads were turned on and water moistened and cooled the sizzling soil, I stared in awe and quite honestly felt like I had finally made it as a farmer. Witnessing the MAGIC and POWER of WATER! Seeing parts of the farm slowly turn yellow, orange and brown, while most of my garden remained lush and green was such a gift.
Since this was our very first year with a running irrigation system, we most definitely experienced the steepest of learning curves. There were celebrations mixed in with rookie mistakes. Overall, I'm just grateful that we were able to grow some veggies and have a garden this year!
Could we all give a great big HIP, HIP HOORAY! to celebrate our hard working staff for powering one of the warmest summers yet! And another CHEER! to thank our irrigation system! I think it's safe to say that we've made it through our hottest and driest summer yet! YAY! Now on to the fall harvest!!!
Commentaires