Autumnal Observations from the Crew

Autumnal Observations from the Crew

Live from the (rain-saturated) field, it’s Flycatcher, bringing you the crew’s thoughts, emotions, and observations on the changing season. I found them down in Nanci Field, starting off the day with a wet strawberry harvest.

Butternut, named for that fall classic, speaks to me about the sounds of the season: “I think of Canada geese flying overhead… the leaves rustling in the rain and wind, down by the creek. When there is rain across the valley, and it’s not quite hitting you yet but you hear it coming, and then it downpours, like yesterday.”

I ask Phoenix how this time of year feels to her. “It feels like the seasons are changing in my life. This is a season of discovery and change, and it brings me a sense of warmth and fullness.” An anonymous squashy source disclosed that Phoenix has also said “she feels like she is learning who she is every day.” What a season of transition!

Minotaur, always using her nose, shares some of her favorite seasonal smells: “Burn piles and that smoke smell, along with camp fires and bonfires, it’s all about the wood smoke. Inside, it’s squash baking in the oven, Halloween cookies and the sickly sweet smell of candy. It’s tea season, so the smell of a cup of peppermint tea. In the field, it’s the smell of decomposition as crops are being tilled in for the final time this year.” (“Rotting brassica plants,” Lil Shrimp adds. She then shows me a mushy, very overripe strawberry. I’ll come back to her when she’s calmed down a bit.)

Medusa wants to talk about the fall flavors, her favorite being “chai tea. Last night I made some syrup out of elderberries, which are ripe now, to prepare for winter. Fall is a lot of pumpkin pies, pumpkin soups, pumpkin bowls. But this is my first fall here, and it is interesting and exciting to experience the transition – like still having strawberries at the beginning of fall. This transition is fun and new to my taste buds.”

Now Lil Shrimp talks about the sights of the season: “My cat curled up in my bed, as I sleep later into the morning because it is darker and colder, and we get snugglier. But when I finally get to work, it’s all about the early morning mist gently hugging the plants before the mid-morning sun burns it away, leaving us with the most beautiful rays of light.”

Their final thoughts? “Autumn is awesome!” “I’m falling for fall!” “It’s *souper* cool!” and, “Soup’s on!”

This has been Flycatcher with another report from the field. I’ll see you next time, but until then, have a great autumn!

-Amy