When you spend your time pulling carrots out of the ground during a heat wave, or cutting salad mix as the wind tries (and succeeds) to steal the leaves from your fingers like it did during last Friday’s storms, it’s impossible not to become close with the folks who are working alongside you.

Since I moved across the country to work at Red Dog just four short months ago, I have been shocked by the community that this farm has given me. During that time I’ve made lifelong friendships here, getting to know each of my workmates—what makes them laugh, what makes them tick, and best of all how all our unique personalities fit together to make this job worth getting out of bed in the morning.

Now, I know I’m not the only one who has felt the full swing of autumn crash down on top of us the last few weeks—and I’ve loved watching the changes happen all around us—but with this new season there is a somber inevitability that we are staring down the barrel of here at Red Dog. Last week a couple of our friends and coworkers finished their employment agreements and are now off to start new and exciting adventures. Don’t get me wrong, I’m ecstatic for them, but I couldn’t help but feel their absence in our daily morning meetings this week…and I know that it’s just the beginning as many folks here are going to be heading out in the coming months.

Now that I’ve sufficiently bummed you out, let me tell you why this is so great: Red Dog has been one of the best working environments I’ve ever had, and even though more and more folks are going to be hitting the road, I’m reminded of that old phrase “don’t cry because it’s over, smile because it happened.”

So as you pick through your CSA box today, I hope you smile at the (literal) fruits of our labor, because it was all harvested and prepared by friends—not just your run-of-the-mill coworkers. And behind every onion, bean, or broccoli crown was a person who has made me laugh, supported me, and suffered through my terribly sung parodies where the lyrics to songs are changed to match what we’re doing in the moment (imagine “Ironic” by Alanis Morissette but instead of being “like rain on your wedding day” it’s “like aphids on my kale leaf”).

Working at Red Dog has taught me so much, and I feel truly privileged to have had the opportunity to be here this season and get to know all of these great folks, and I hope you’ve enjoyed the wonderful produce we provide for you as much as we’ve loved growing it.

Happy fall!

~Cormac