Rains and Rainbows

It’s wet season on the farm. In the past few weeks, heavy rains have rolled through the valley, the water table has risen, and those of us working outdoors have been thoroughly drenched. 

One week, we had rainbows every day – sometimes many in a day, arching broadly across the sky. There were single rainbows, double rainbow, partial rainbows. Rainbows that started and ended at Red Dog. Rainbows in the distance. 

We had a hailstorm. It came in a flash, thudding down all around us, bouncing off kale leaves and windshields. We’ve had windstorms. The air ripping through the valley. It flapped greenhouse plastic, slammed doors shut, and shook loose our truck canopies. 

Every winter, a lake forms in our western fields. This year, it’s big – spanning across the all the beds, the whole length of one field and crossing the road into the next field. When we walk near it, we sink into the ground, sometimes loosing a boot. It’s mud season on the farm.

Everyone has their own approach to managing the cooler weather and wet conditions. Some of us turn to hand warmers, slip them in our pockets and the toes of our boots. Some of us tip-toe around puddles and try to position our bodies so that the wet never reaches our clothes. Some of us have given in to the wet, kneeling in puddles and letting the water trickle down over the top of our boots. 

Each morning, in the breakroom, we witness each other’s weather proofing rituals. Layers and layers of clothes, donning our bibs and boots. At some point in the season, our boots inevitably give way to heavy usage. We’re faced with a choice…buy new boots, return to an older and maybe less damaged pair, or get creative. Many of us have integrated plastic bags into our dressing routine, with our own personalized approached. Some like the bag under the sock, some over. Some double up, sock-bag-sock. If you could take a snapshot of us getting ready to clock in each morning, you’d see various stages of attire – feet with sock layers too thick being shoved aggressively into tight boots, pant legs being folded into boots while bib legs are pulled over the top, sleeves rolled up, gloves put on. 

It’s been a lucky year though, as wet as it is. The rain seems to come mostly at night, with only flashes of downpour here and there during the day. The cold, foggy mornings consistently turn into semi-blue skied days. The chill of the air becomes a subtle, gentle kiss of the sun. Even the most dramatic days give way to sun breaks or bouts of laughter at just how absurd our tasks can be when even our pockets are filled with water. 

~Hannah