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The Transplanter

The Transplanter

The tractor crawls along, the transplanter rolling behind it – creeping, really, slow and steady. Long, green, metal arms reach out, supporting three seats for three riders. All aboard! We plop down, settling into our positions. The transplanter sways with us, bouncing slightly under our bodies.  In front of us are shelves, holding 25 or 30 trays. Each tray...

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For the Appreciation of Hands

For the Appreciation of Hands

As I sit here, thinking of what to write about, I notice my hands and how they have changed through the years. They are currently becoming rougher, tougher, and quickly tanning from this spring’s sun! They show scars of previous times in my life. To me, hands can silently but loudly tell a story of someone. They are very becoming of our current time and place, job,...

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Mother’s Day

Mother’s Day

I have been nurtured by many in my life—by my mother, by her mother, even by her mother too. Many, many guided me so that I could grow and thrive. When I think of the care given to me in my childhood, how it felt, I remember the curvature of my favorite tree against my back. I remember laying in tall grass, listening to it whisper in the wind, watching the clouds...

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From Seed to Salad

From Seed to Salad

This is the first season we’ve grown oakleaf lettuce as a head lettuce. We source organic Bauer pelleted seeds from Johnny’s Selected Seeds in Maine. This particular variety of seed is named after one of Johnny’s employees, John Bauer. The green Bauer oakleaf lettuce, one of many lactuca sativa (lettuce) varieties, is a type of butter lettuce with distinctly...

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From Romeo to Roscoe: Names on the Farm

From Romeo to Roscoe: Names on the Farm

When I first started working at Red Dog, one thing I did not expect was all of the names I would have to learn. Now, I’m not just talking about the names of my coworkers (though there were about 15 folks working on my first day, and learning their names was definitely a challenge), I’m talking about their radio handles, the names of different crop varieties, field...

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Farm Clothes

Farm Clothes

There’s a painting called American Gothic by Grant Wood that depicts a man and woman in practical clothing on a farm. It has been inspirational as a slice of life, a piece of art that makes life look pretty predictable in the setting of a farm. Now, I am not sure where the artist was from, but out on the Olympic Peninsula, the weather demands a lot...

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