A Farm or a Canvas?

Working on the farm feels to me like working in an art museum. Around every corner, in every row, and under every leaf there is something beautiful hiding, and the longer you look at it, the more you’ll see.

Tomatoes peeking out from underneath the greenhouse tarps show us their rainbow from green to red as they ripen, growing heavy and bright on the vine. The green beans from afar appear to be small bushes with nothing to discover, but once you begin peeling back layers of vines the bean pods reveal themselves, standing out from the vines in their plump juiciness. Curly parsley is a favorite of mine to harvest. Its tight twists and turns in its many tiny leaves form beautiful little trees as we bunch stalks together. The “kale forest” is another of the most magical places on the farm to me, with the frilly lace of the green curly kale leaves, the vibrant purple stalks of the red curly kale glowing in the sun, and the highly textured lacinato kale, each leaf containing so many hills and valleys you could think you were looking at a mountainside from an airplane, rather than holding a single leaf of kale.

Possibly my favorite piece of art to witness on the farm is the beets, a very underrated vegetable if you ask me. The depth of color in the red beet feels like an ocean – it must get deeper for leagues. And the vibrancy of the golden beets feels like rays of a setting sun bursting out to reach you over the horizon before the day fades.

I’ve never seen such bright colors in a gallery. Getting to witness these beautiful natural works of art every day makes me feel immensely grateful. Without any paint, ink, pencil, any glue or carving tools, the world contains so much beauty. If you’re looking for it, art is everywhere.

~Eli