This is the first Spring I have spent on the Olympic Peninsula, and even though I expected some rain, I certainly wasn’t prepared for it to be this cold and gloomy this long. And I know I’m not alone—it seems that everyone I talk to, whether they’ve been in the area for 2 years or 10, has been taken aback by the sheer scale of moisture and chilly temperatures we’ve had the past few months.

We’re certainly seeing it here on the farm. The rain has prevented us from getting plants into the ground as quickly as we’d like, and the cold days have certainly made harvests a bit more, uh, difficult.

But there’s one place where this dreary season hasn’t seemed to take effect: our greenhouses.

There are four greenhouses here at Red Dog, and each one of them helps us seed, germinate, and grow both our crops and the plant starts that you can take home for your own gardens.

As you stroll through them, you take in the vibrant colors and smells—the brown stems and yellow-speckled leaves of chocolate sunflowers, the near-intoxicating whiffs of tulsi (aka “holy basil”), and far more wonderful hues of green than I can even begin to describe.

I’ve had the pleasure of spending much of my time over the last few months in these magical spaces, helping to grow and tend to the beautiful vegetables and flowers that we will all get to enjoy over the next year. And take it from me: we’re in for some good eats.

And as you wait for the weather to get nicer, know that here at Red Dog, if one ever finds themselves in a low mood or cold demeanor, they need only to step into one of the greenhouses and they will be filled with the fresh feelings of springtime and the high hopes of the summer to come.

~Cormac