Hauntings in the Fields

As the days are becoming shorter and the veil is thinning, things are getting a little spooky here at Red Dog. Every morning, we arrive one by one, our headlights illuminating the gravel drive as we slowly make our way towards the dark silhouette of the farm. As the sun creeps its way over the valley it reveals a thick layer of mist that clings to our long rows of crops, concealing what lays within. The muffled cries of birds awakening seep out of the fields as we sip our morning coffee and cover ourselves with layers until only our eyes are exposed.

Hoods pulled low, we disperse into the mist, harvest knives ready to slice into our first harvest of the day. Our frigid hands grasp at clumps of thawing spinach as spiders crawl over our legs. We think we hear the static of an abandoned radio echoing across the field, but it has vanished under thick layers of weeds. There is the ever present looming of the dying Jerusalem Artichoke jungle above our heads, and every so often we witness a rustling from within. While their flowers droop and leaves brown, underground they are teeming with life and worms squirm around their roots as they channel energy into bulging tubers we will soon consume.

In the Packshed, muck and water fly through the air as we excavate loose root vegetables from the thick bog of mud that engulfs them. We pull pristine, glowing carrots out of their earthly tombs and store them in our cooler where they will be safe from the dangers of the field. By the time the sun is high in the sky, the eerie silence of the morning has been replaced by the giggles of the crew and the steady whir of tractors. Yet, we know that soon after we head home for the evening, the full moon will illuminate what lurks within the shadows of our crops as the coyotes howl through the long night.

Happy Halloween!

~Viv