A few years ago, I began farming simply because I love veggies (yes, my go to midnight snack is and will forever be kale sauteed in sesame oil). And besides, who doesn’t love a good daily workout and getting a little dirty under the sun as your job? Boy, was I naïve.

I started very late this season at Red Dog Farm, in the beginning of September. I jumped into a very capable, hardworking team of farmers. I marveled at the fantastic conversations to be had while harvesting radishes, the excitement over playing squash ball as we made a game out of a laborious fall squash harvest, and the joy of sharing a particularly large earthworm found in the field.

We are currently amid a great changing of seasons – something felt very deeply in the farming world. Growing up in the sunny Central Valley of California, this rainy transition has been particularly challenging for me. Back home, rain was always a delicacy, a rare nourishment for the parched earth, not something to have to brace against. The abundance of water here in the PNW makes for exquisite soil, nothing like the cracked clay I grew up with. However, a rainy day out in the field can be physically and mentally difficult. As much as I try to embrace my inner frog, it’s tough getting soaked to the bone day after day. I find myself pondering the words resilience, change and adaptability often these days. We often fear change because it is unknown, unpredictable. But change doesn’t have to be scary! After the first frost last month, I was shocked at how kales withstood the layer of ice coated on their leaves and continued to grow. And root veggies like carrots and beets actually get sweeter with colder weather as they convert their starches to sugars to prevent freezing. On the human side of things, winter farming means a smaller, cozier crew as the big harvest season tapers, fields scattered with the vibrant blues and oranges of farmers in raincoats, mugs of hot chocolate during our snack breaks, and four wheel drive on the farm trucks as they navigate a muddy terrain. We adapt, just like the earth does! What a gift to be able to connect with the seasons in a uniquely raw and tender way.

Farming is so much more than just growing vegetables – it’s about being a team player, learning to take care of yourself, getting to know the people who enjoy the food you grow, and resilience. Farming is the hardest and most rewarding thing I have ever done, and I am so, so glad to be a farmer.

~Mia