Misty Mornings in Chimacum Valley

Thanks to David Conklin for the photo!

Happy September! It feels like August flew by here on the farm. Each new month brings new vegetables into season, and as we say hello to our fall crops, we say goodbye to some of our summer fruits and veggies. In August we said goodbye to two of my favorites: raspberries and basil. And as Flynn wrote about last week, all of our onions are now out of the ground and curing in our greenhouses. 

As the month passed too quickly, it seems it took summer with it. I’m not originally from Washington. I moved out here in June from the East Coast. And while over there we are used to a good summer thunderstorm, I was worried about how I would adjust to all the rain, the seemingly endless gloom, of the Pacific Northwest. At least to us East Coasters, that is how Washington is depicted. However, after my long trek across the country I was pleasantly surprised to be met by blue skies, beautiful white clouds, and eternal daylight (or so it seemed for a while). “Don’t worry, it won’t get grey until the end of September, maybe even October if we’re lucky,” I was told by the locals in my first few weeks as I was still getting acquainted with my new atmosphere. So I was quite surprised two weeks ago, in mid-August, when the sun disappeared for a week. Oh no. Here we go, I thought. However, I was surprised to find myself enjoying the weather more than I thought I would. Heading out to harvest around the farm in the mornings with a cool breeze and wrapped in a fleece that I pulled out from the back of my closet was a welcome change of pace from the hot summer sun. I realized that misty mornings bring other welcome surprises too. 

If you’ve ever visited us on site here at Red Dog Farm, you would know that the farm is nestled down in the valley. That means the fog takes longer to lift here, but it also means that the weather can change quite drastically between 7:30 am, when the sun hasn’t yet scaled the nearby hills and mountains, and 10:30 am. While I’ve been at this farm nearly every day since moving here in early June, I am still taken aback by the beauty of this valley, and this town. On misty mornings here at Red Dog sometimes it feels like I can’t see more than 20 yards in front of me, and that I’m wrapped in a cool damp blanket. It’s easy to forget how beautiful our surroundings are. However, that just makes it more magical when a few hours later, I pause for a moment while harvesting spinach, or bunching carrots, and am left speechless by the distant golden mountains. Every sunny afternoon that emerges from a gloomy morning, it’s like I get to drive down into Chimacum Valley for the first time and remember how lucky I am to be here!

~Paige S